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Undergraduate education Undergraduate education at the University has undergone a subtle transformation over the last decade. The academic metamorphosis includes a strong emphasis on problem-based learning, especially in the sciences, and an increased use of technology in the classrooms. And, a three-year, experimental general education program launched in 2000-2001 may prove to be UD's crowning achievement. Problem-based learning asks teams of students to solve real-life problems by applying their scientific training. In the early 1990s, a group of faculty under the aegis of UD's Center for Teaching Effectiveness explored this teaching paradigm, putting together a proposal to the National Science Foundation to adapt it to the UD undergraduate setting. In the years since, UD's efforts to promote this type of active learning have earned two major grants from the National Science Foundation, as well as funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Pew Charitable Trusts. An honors chemistry class taught by Susan E. Groh, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, provides a good example of problem-based learning. Her students are told that a corporation wants to open a metal refinery, a paper processing center and a chemical processing factory in Riverside. Acting as town consultants, they study the chemical byproducts of each process, learning about the quantifiable behavior of strong and weak acids and bases. "They have to ask themselves, 'What would it mean if this metal refinery releases two grams of sulfuric acid per liter of river water per day?'" explains Groh. The students are prompted to do the math by modeling the problem, she says, and they master laboratory techniques such as measuring the acidity of a fluid. All the while, they are encouraged to share ideas, using one another as resources along with all available written material. In a 1998 Carnegie Foundation report that was generally critical of current undergraduate education at large research universities, UD was among only five institutions commended for "making research-based learning the standard." Delaware was praised for adopting problem-based learning in all basic science classes "to promote active learning and connect concepts to applications." The Internet and the University's campus-wide computing network have led to new teaching techniques using web-based course materials. A respected scholar, George Watson, newly named Unidel Professor of Physics and Astronomy, was named 1999 Delaware Teacher of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for just such innovations. To help his students master the complex mechanics of photoconductivity, for example, Watson animated the inner workings of a modern photocopier, projecting it on the lecture hall screen. He still may bring mechanical devices into the classroom to explore physical principles, but Watson also creates computerized lessons to supplement hands-on teaching. From web-connected workstations across campus, Watson says, students can replay such animations "to their heart's content" or until they understand. On the web, he says, even the most abstract physical concept literally takes shape. Similarly, rare literary manuscripts or works of art now may be displayed on the Internet and studied by art history or English students on their own computers or at campus workstations. And, UD's online library makes it possible to research papers and articles 24 hours a day. Finally, an experimental three-year general education program was launched at the University in the fall of 2000. As approved by UD's Faculty Senate, the program emphasizes an inquiry-based freshman year, research-based learning and a capstone experience to integrate a student's undergraduate education. A new Committee on General Education is setting guidelines, standards and academic policies for the program, and will report its recommendations by September 2003. Themed, interdisciplinary courses, known as Pathways to Discovery courses, are being created for freshmen and upperclassmen, as are LIFE courses, which allow up to 20 freshmen to share a residence and take as many as three courses clustered together. Last fall, 11 clusters of students lived together in Ray Street, Dickinson and Pencader residence halls with a peer mentor and regular faculty contact. Courses for freshmen have been created by the Colleges of Arts and Science, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Engineering, Health and Nursing Sciences and Human Services, Education and Public Policy. For example, one grouping for the pilot year was titled "Force, Power and Political Order" and involved courses in science, political science and English. Pathway courses, designed around interdisciplinary themes, sometimes have specific skills--such as writing--built in and may also apply to the discovery learning experience. The writing-intensive honors course, "Silicon, Circuits and the Digital Revolution," is intended to introduce first-year students to the science behind high technology, while promoting scientific and computer literacy and awareness. "Othello and Otello: A Comparison" is taught by faculty members from the English and music departments, whereas "Disabilities and Differences" is taught by a faculty member with 20 years' experience serving families of individuals with disabilities, and two parents of children with disabilities. The discovery learning experience, which can occur after the freshman year, includes such possibilities as a directed thesis, research, creative projects, internships, study abroad, service learning and field work. The capstone experience should integrate a student's education through participation in a group project or senior seminar. This experimental program at UD encompasses 10 goals of undergraduate education set forth by an ad hoc committee chaired by Carol Hoffecker, Richards Professor of History. More than two years in the making, the initial report urged that UD's undergraduate education become "a totally coherent experience." It proposed that every UD student:
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