Page 38 - FSTE A5 Handbook

Chapter Two
Common Core Requirements at the
UGC-funded Universities

The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has produced an immense
literature on General Education reform since the 1980s (Schneider, 2014), with Liberal
Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) being one of the signature initiatives launched by
AAC&U in 2005. The LEAP initiative has recognized essential learning outcomes aiming at
preparing university graduates with higher level of intellectual capacity, broader knowledge
and real world experience to meet challenges in the 21st century. According to LEAP initiatives,
st
there are four essential learning outcomes expected to be critical for success in 21 century
world:
(1) “Knowledge of human culture and the natural and physical world,” which focuses on
the study of basic sciences, social sciences, humanities, histories, languages, math and
the arts;
(2) “Intellectual and practical skills,” which refers to capacities in information literacy, and
critical and creative thinking;
(3) “Individual and social responsibilities,” which covers areas such as ethics, civic
engagement, and cultural appreciation; and
(4) “Integrative learning,” which emphasizes the students’ capabilities in generalizing skills
and knowledge to the different real world settings (Humphreys, 2006).
st
Apart from the LEAP initiative, significant concerns on what 21 century university graduates
should fulfill has also been raised in the education discipline (Eckel & King, 2004; Kereluik,
st
2013). “21 century skills” are often mentioned, they are seldom defined precisely, although
a number of educators and organizations have offered a range of recommendations for the
st
broadly labelled “21 century skills” (Kereluik, 2013).
“The Kereluik Framework” as one of the central models for this type of learning, was developed
by Kereluik (2013) and her colleagues from Michigan State University. It is an overarching
framework that was synthesized through comprehensive review and comparative analysis of
15 high-visibility 21 century learning frameworks from a range of disciplines: from educational
st
organizations (such as the LEAP initiatives mentioned in previous section); the Center for Public
Education; some international bodies (such as the European Union); the business sectors (such
as the Metiri Group); corporations (such as Microsoft and Intel); and individual scholars and
renowned writers (such as Howard Gardner and Daniel Pink).

The Kereluik Framework (Table 2) identified three broad categories of knowledge, each of
which was comprised of three subcategories. This coherent integrative framework provides
st
a comprehensive overview of the meaning of “21 century learning” and helps anchor the
application into the development of a GE framework. The limitation of this framework is
that the differentiation between the three categories and the subcategories is not mutually
exclusive and, therefore, there are overlaps between the categories (Kereluik et al, 2013).

25