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Core Curriculum Annual Competition

AUC faculty members are invited to submit proposals for new courses that bring together diverse academic content from different disciplines with the core liberal arts learning outcomes for a stimulating student learning experience.
  1. Academics
  2. The Core Curriculum
  3. Core Curriculum Annual Competition

Recommitting to the Liberal Arts

  • To emphasize AUC’s liberal arts commitment.
  • To promote interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary examination of critical world issues.
  • To promote the ongoing enhancement of the Core Curriculum through the development of new courses or course revisions (substantial change required from original course) that reinforce the liberal arts learning outcomes.
  • To encourage faculty from across the disciplines to include more reading, writing, digital literacy and high impact teaching practices in their courses, in keeping with our liberal arts mission.

Full-time faculty members (co-authored courses must include at least one full-time faculty member).

  • Egypt or Global Studies Categories: Award(s) will be given to one or more winning courses proposed specifically for the "Egypt" category or the global studies category in the secondary level.
  • Egypt Courses: An examination of issues in Egypt through the perspective of two or more disciplines, must be the main focus of the course.
  • Global Studies Courses: An examination of issues or cultures outside of the Middle East from the perspective of two or more disciplines must be the main focus of the course.
  • Capstone Level Courses: 3000 or 4000 level courses that examine pertinent issues from the perspective of two or more disciplines, and that can be taken as a non-major capstone. The capstone courses are open for all students regardless of major, and do not require a prerequisite. All capstone courses must have a culminating senior level project such as an academic research paper.

All courses must target the Core Curriculum learning outcomes.

Topics:

  • Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related courses: Incorporating one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals would be an opportunity to integrate the course content with the core outcomes of global learning, interdisciplinary and ethics, integrative learning, and, civic and community engagement.
  • Society, Innovation and Technology: Courses that look at the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other innovations on various aspects of society, including education, social justice, the economy, ethical concerns, and others.

Outcomes:

  • Civic Engagement: Courses that highlight students' agency and role in their communities either through direct engagement (e.g. community-based learning) or indirectly through readings, prompts or assignments.

  • Data Analysis and Digital Scholarship: Courses that enhance the skills of reading and making sense of digital data and information to better understand societal problems and human issues.

  • Faculty creates or redesigns a course for the competition that fits in the competition categories announced above.
  • Faculty submits the course by November 25, 2024 on this form.
  • Winning course(s) to be piloted under selected topics core courses for one semester (usually the spring semester).
  • A course teaching portfolio submitted at the end of the pilot semester (usually end of spring semester) to be used for a fuller evaluation and consideration of potential re-offering of the course. The course teaching portfolio is a summary and reflection on how the course met the core learning outcomes. It includes:
    • A paragraph statement of the teaching philosophy used in the course
    • A reflection on how well the students engaged-in and achieved the core learning outcomes
    • A reflection on what worked well and what you would do differently in the course if taught again
    • An appendix including samples of each student assignment that indicates engagement with the learning outcomes. Examples of graded student work showing excellent, average, and poor work, and feedback given
    • An appendix showing course student evaluations and comments
    • Reflections should not exceed five pages

Certificate of recognition for winning faculty member(s) to be awarded during the Research and Creativity Convention (RCC).

 

Criteria

Details

Focus on Core Curriculum Learning Outcomes

Inclusion of learning outcomes in course descriptions, activities, assignments and assessments. Skills addressed are transferable to other courses.

Writing and Reading Intensive

Inclusion of strong writing and reading requirements such as source-based research papers or at least three critical essays.

Interdisciplinary perspectives

Content that examines an issue from the perspective of at least two different disciplines (preferably across schools).

Academic rigor

Course challenges students at respective levels.

Varied assessments

Varied assessments of the core learning outcomes .

Student-centered teaching methods

Teaching methods are student-centered, and include high impact teaching practices (writing and reading intensive, collaborative learning, undergraduate research, inquiry, analyzing issues from multidisciplinary perspectives, community-based learning, experiential learning, e-portfolios).

Engaging content 

Content and learning activities are interesting and engaging.

Deadline: November 25, 2024 course proposal submission at this form.

Format: Download and use this syllabus template for submitting the course.

Evaluation Committee: Proposals will be reviewed by the Core Curriculum advisory committee, which includes representatives from each school and Center of Learning and Teaching (CLT). Winning courses will be recognized during the Research and Creativity Convention (RCC).

Resources Available: For support with syllabus design, teaching and assessment activities, email [email protected].