Dear Colleagues,
Patrick Allen puts forward an important distinction involving courses
that ought to be common and courses that ought not to be.
(1) Criteria for and against common courses
Patrick's' note distinguishes courses that work with high-level
concepts and general analytical skills required for all design
students, as contrasted with specific technical skills and
function-based concepts particular to subject fields or design
techniques.
Those areas of skill and knowledge that ought to be common to all
university design graduates -- or to all university graduates in any
field -- can be taught in common courses.
Specialized ranges of skill, information, and knowledge are best
taught in specialized courses within program lines.
(2) Common courses do not always imply large classes
Common courses do not always imply large classes and cost savings.
One common course for all 200-plus first-year students at my school
is an important developmental course that helps students to develop
university level skills including analytical skills, research skills,
and writing skills.
The content area of the subject -- organization and leadership -- is
vital to all management students. Thus, it is a common course.
In addition to subject knowledge, this course is used to anchor the
skills we require. This makes small sections preferable.
When we could, we ran small class sections with several teachers plus
a large staff of teaching assistants. The vital role this course
plays in preparing students for everything that follows means that
the school was willing to lavish resources on the course rather than
to seek cost savings. This is, in part, because the success of the
course saved time and money elsewhere by improving the students'
ability to learn and work at university level.
Last year we went to a large single section class for three sad
reasons. First, and most important, our associated teachers moved out
of the country. Second, I could not replace them. We have too few
senior faculty willing to take first year courses, and most of our
faculty, senior or junior, prefer lecture courses rather than courses
that emphasize multiple modes of learning.
While cost savings resulted, we did not seek them. We prefer to run
four small sections to one large one, but we lack staffing.
Best regards,
Ken
--
Ken Friedman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Leadership and Strategic Design
Department of Technology and Knowledge Management
Norwegian School of Management
Visiting Professor
Advanced Research Institute
School of Art and Design
Staffordshire University
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