(Posted 5-3-99)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW VISION STATEMENT FOR TEACHING
AND LEARNING APPROVED AT UNCG
Dr. Edward Uprichard
|
Dr. Lyn Lawrance
|
Dr. Ray Purdom
|
GREENSBORO -- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is implementing
a new Vision for Teaching and Learning which acknowledges student learning
as the institution's highest priority and challenges the campus to create
"exemplary learning environments."
The new document provides an overall blueprint for the development of the
campus learning environment. It follows current developments in higher
education in which institutions place high emphasis on both excellent teaching
and academic achievement by students.
In its text, the document states guidelines for faculty in the development
of new teaching initiatives. It was developed over an 18-month planning
and discussion period by a group of faculty and administrators who were
part of UNCG's Teaching, Learning and Technology Roundtable. The effort
was initiated by UNCG Provost Edward Uprichard.
"This statement sets down the University's Vision for Teaching and Learning,
and it states the values of the faculty and the administration regarding
the education of our students," said Uprichard. "UNCG has a longstanding
reputation for excellent teaching, which will continue. The incorporation
of this new vision calls for the campus to move toward a learning paradigm,
where student learning at all levels, undergraduate and graduate, is our
top priority."
The document adheres to UNCG's overall vision statement, which reads: "The
University of North Carolina at Greensboro is a leading student-centered
university, linking the Piedmont Triad to the world through learning, discovery
and service."
Clear expectations for both students and faculty also are set down in the
document. Faculty members, it states, "are committed to introducing students
to the most important knowledge and research in their disciplines, fostering
intellectual depth and breadth, and opening students to new possibilities
for understanding themselves and the world." Students are expected "to
communicate clearly and make effective use of technology appropriate to
their studies." They also are encouraged to be actively engaged in their
education.
Learning is viewed as a shared responsibility for both. The vision states
that the University will do the following:
* maintain clear, high and consistent learning goals;
* provide a variety of opportunities which foster intellectual growth;
* empower individuals to take responsibility for their own learning;
* recognize and support diverse learning styles and levels of development;
* incorporate appropriate informational and instructional technologies;
* encourage the integration of knowledge across disciplines; and
* utilize assessment, evaluation and feedback to improve teaching and learning.
Dr. Lyn Lawrance, an associate professor of public health education who
co-chaired the vision committee with physicist Dr. Robert Muir, said the
document sets clear guidelines for the teaching and learning atmosphere
at UNCG in the immediate future and beyond.
"This is an integral part of UNCG looking toward the future and planning
for the quality of its teaching and learning," said Lawrance. "It will
allow us to plan for where we want to go with technology and how it should
be incorporated in teaching. This vision statement provides a framework
and guidelines for where the University wants to go in the next 10 years."
Dr. Ray Purdom, who is director of the UNCG Teaching and Learning Center,
said that the vision statement will empower faculty members to employ new
methods, including technology, in teaching their courses. The vision statement
will initiate a shift from a "teaching paradigm" to a "learning paradigm"
at UNCG, which reflects a national emphasis on fostering student learning
at colleges and universities.
"This vision moves us more toward a learning-centered, learner-centered
environment for students where it is not just the usual tacit situation
where teachers lecture and students take notes," said Purdom. "This is
a vision of a learning environment where students take a very active role
in the learning process."
Purdom said the process of developing the vision statement began in the
fall of 1997 as the University began to look at how its educational environment
would need to change for the next century. In addition to faculty discussions,
UNCG brought in Dr. John Tagg of Palomar College, co-author of the article
"From Teaching To Learning: A New Paradigm for Undergraduate Education."
Tagg, who met with the vision working group, has become a leading expert
on applying the "learning paradigm" model at colleges and universities.
Faculty members had further input through a questionnaire and a forum.
After the statement was drafted, it went to the Faculty Senate and to the
Provost for review and endorsement.
"The vision aspires to many of the practices and activities which are effective
in facilitating learning in students," said Purdom. "The University is
educating a broader group of students in terms of age and diversity. This
vision statement, in effect, calls for an approach that is more flexible
in meeting the needs of our students."
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