I Am the President of the University

The content will be overwritten tomorrow, so sorry.

…

4. The marginalization of general education courses

Whether "General Knowledge" or "Liberal Arts", literally emphasizes broad knowledge. When conducting general education in Chinese universities, a common practice is to require students to take courses other than their major.

Peking University offers five general elective courses, covering mathematics and natural sciences, social sciences, philosophy and psychology, history, linguistics, literature and art. Students must complete at least one course in each category to graduate.

This practice partly refers to the curriculum schedules of elite American universities, the most well-known of which is undoubtedly the "core curriculum" of the University of Chicago as a junior student.

This practice partly refers to the curriculum schedules of elite American universities, the most well-known of which is undoubtedly the "core curriculum" of the University of Chicago as a junior student.

The core courses include humanities, mathematics and natural sciences, and social sciences, emphasizing western classical humanistic traditions, classic reading and critical writing, with heavy burdens and high standards. It is by no means that students can work hard outside of professional courses. It is passable, so the University of Chicago students actually start to devote all their energy to major courses in the third year.

In contrast, a Peking University student needs to complete 140 credits to graduate, while the general elective courses account for only 16 credits. The rest are required professional courses, professional elective courses, English courses, and political courses.

In the lower grades, most of the students' energy is spent on professional courses. In the upper grades, they are busy with internships, job hunting, applying for overseas graduate schools and graduation thesis. The effective teaching time at universities is actually only three years.

Teachers from Peking University have devoted considerable enthusiasm and effort to the general elective courses. The teachers who teach the general elective courses are not lack of domestic first-class scholars in related fields, but the lack of the system guarantee of the core curriculum means that the general elective courses are at most an adjustment after professional courses. Yuanpei’s There is no special treatment for students.

Generally speaking, students at top universities in the United States need to complete three to four courses per semester, but each course comes with considerable homework and reading, while Chinese college students generally study eight to ten courses in a semester.

Chinese college students do not work harder than their American peers. The number of courses is doubled, and the quality of completion can only be sacrificed. One or two general education courses per semester may become formalism.

To learn any subject, you need to examine the history of knowledge development.

5. For example, Peking University formulated and implemented the "Yuan Pei Plan" in September 2001. Since 2002, the new teaching plan has been revised, and a free course selection system has been implemented within the scope of undergraduates in the whole school. In the curriculum setting, in addition to professional compulsory courses, school-wide compulsory courses, and public elective courses, general elective courses are set up. General elective courses include several courses in 5 fields including mathematics and natural sciences, social sciences, philosophy and psychology, history, linguistics and art. The undergraduate level basically forms the "general education + wide-calibre professional education" curriculum model.

Since the new semester of 2005, Fudan University has integrated the 68 majors of the school into 7 categories, including adult humanities, law and politics, economics and management, natural sciences, technical sciences, mathematics, and hospitals. Freshmen first enter Fudan College in the freshman year, and then enter the professional college one year later. Department of learning. The college restructured the curriculum content system according to the training objectives, and established a curriculum framework of comprehensive education, basic education in liberal arts and professional education.

The Xinya College established by Tsinghua University in 2014, its school-running philosophy and teaching plan, have largely borrowed from the American liberal education or general education model.

U.S:

1. In the classic American liberal arts colleges, all core courses are designed into three systems including humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Students in the lower grades can choose freely among these courses, and the upper grades are their own majors. Professional courses. Because the number of students and teachers is close, the courses are mostly for small class discussions, and teachers and students can even design their own courses and design credits.

2. American university courses can be divided into three categories:

Majorrequirement

Elective course

General education courses (generalrequirement)

General courses came into being. For example, you have chosen an engineering major, but you are also required to study literature, English, social sciences and other subjects at the same time. This type of course selection is usually presented in the form of core courses (corecurriculum) in American universities-in addition to completing the credits of this major, you must also complete courses in other professional fields through elective methods.

What courses are provided in the general education system?

Different schools have different classifications, but the general education system of American universities can basically be divided into 9 categories:

1. Writing: Mainly teach the basic outline of academic writing, including how to make arguments, cite arguments, find evidence, and get conclusions, etc.

2. Professional writing: Teach more advanced writing skills, often combined with professional courses, to improve students' reading and analysis skills in the professional field, and fundamentally avoid empty knowledge, but there is no ability to integrate and analyze writing.

3. Western cultural studies: involving the culture and history of Europe and the United States, for Americans and international students, no matter what industry they are engaged in, they must know the origin of this land under their feet.

4. Minority culture: refers to the study of non-Western cultures, including Asia, Africa, Oceania, etc.

5. Humanities and Art: This kind of courses are usually closer to the arts and involve a wide range of subjects, such as music history, work appreciation, literary work research, and so on.

6. Language: Most schools will offer courses in various languages, such as French, German, Spanish, Japanese and so on.

7. Mathematical logic: partial to science, involving professional knowledge in mathematics, physics, programming, statistics, etc.

8. Social and behavioral sciences: including psychology, human studies, economics, sociology and other disciplines.

9. Natural science and technology: content involving general directions such as physics, chemistry, life sciences, astronomy and geography. UU reading www. uukanshu.com

It can be seen that some subjects are intersecting and overlap with other professional courses.

Columbia University

Columbia’s practice in 1917-1919 was recognized as the starting point for general education in modern American universities. Since then, many prestigious schools have started to follow suit and even become a well-known education system in the United States and the world.

However, the curriculum of general education has so far been academically challenging because it covers the basic knowledge and academic fields necessary for all undergraduate students. However, this kind of "packaged learning" can cultivate students' creativity and critical thinking, increase social understanding, and have lifelong meaning for them.

Columbia University has nine core courses. The school requires every undergraduate to complete this series of courses in the freshman and sophomore year and obtain corresponding credits.

Foreign language: 4 semesters, can pass the corresponding test.

Physical Education: 4 credits, swimming test scores or "University Health Form" are also required.