Grant Summary
$83,867 over 30 months. Georgetown University will work with Alma College, Borough of Manhattan Community College, California State University at Monterey Bay, Hope College, Skidmore College, and University of Kansas on a project that will create a framework for designing better general education experiences through "social pedagogies"—pedagogies through which educational environments in which learning occurs in the context of a community. Arguing that they are applicable and adaptable in diverse fields and at various curricular levels, the group will explore the effectiveness of "social pedagogies" in developing students' "adaptive expertise," that is, their ability to use knowledge fluently and flexibly, to manage and proceed confidently even if they begin from a point of uncertainty, and to be aware of their own knowledge. With three principal phases, the group will:
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Create a general framework for the development of "social pedagogies," documenting examples of existing courses that use them, and then drafting rubrics that outline qualities shaping adaptive expertise, as well as the criteria for evaluating student work in such courses;
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Test the framework by using it to revise current course components or to develop entirely new ones, as well as create assessment protocols to measure its effectiveness;
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Produce a guide and digital archive that will outline the framework for social pedagogy, and will include case studies; as well as discussions of how to align goals, teaching strategies, and assessment; and of how the social pedagogy framework can be applied across diverse curricular contexts.