{"id":1878,"date":"2019-02-27T17:41:51","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T17:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/fsem\/?p=1010"},"modified":"2019-02-27T17:41:51","modified_gmt":"2019-02-27T17:41:51","slug":"giving-students-a-voice-in-their-curriculum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/faculty-engagement\/2019\/02\/27\/giving-students-a-voice-in-their-curriculum\/","title":{"rendered":"Giving Students a Voice in their Curriculum"},"content":{"rendered":"

As an incoming first-year student, Giansy Paul never imagined she would be asking Political Science majors at Stetson about the changes they\u2019d like to see in their curriculum.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"\"
Giansy Paul<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Paul signed up for a First Year Seminar<\/a> (FSEM) last fall called \u201cThe Voice of the People,\u201d examining the role of citizens in a democracy and whether they are informed enough to participate effectively in political decision-making.<\/p>\n

Along the way, she became part of an innovative project to gather opinions from political science majors at Stetson about potential changes in their department\u2019s curriculum. These suggestions are now under review and could lead to revisions to better educate the students for the 21st<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what my class did was something that I don\u2019t think most colleges do, which sets us apart from other colleges,\u201d said Paul, a student from Miami who plans to double major in Political Science and Public Management.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy participating in the Deliberative Poll and watching the political science majors discuss their curriculum was another reason why I was like, \u2018Yes, this is where I\u2019m supposed to be,\u2019\u201d she said about attending Stetson.<\/p>\n

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David Hill, Ph.D., Chair of the Political Science Department, talks with students in Elizabeth Hall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The project was the idea of her FSEM professor, David Hill, Ph.D<\/a>., chair of the Political Science Department<\/a>. Hill wanted to use a cutting-edge method of gathering opinions to hear from political science majors about possible revisions in their curriculum.<\/p>\n

The FSEM students used Deliberative Polling<\/a>, a concept developed by Stanford University Professor James Fishkin who noted that citizens often are uninformed about issues when they answer public opinion polls. Because of that, polls can reflect people\u2019s quick impressions based on TV sound bites and news headlines.<\/p>\n

Deliberative Polling, on the other hand, takes the time to educate people on issues, bringing them together to discuss the issues and then asking for their opinions.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"\"
David Hill<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\nAnd this is what Professor Hill\u2019s FSEM class did last semester. A random sample of 38 political science majors gathered in small groups on Nov. 19 to hash out the proposals, such as whether to begin requiring a Political Philosophy class, as many other colleges do. The FSEM students served as moderators, keeping the discussions on track.<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cWe were very pleased to sit and observe, as faculty members, a group of 18- to 22-year-olds have a very serious conversation about curriculum,\u201d Hill said, adding that Political Science Professor Eugene Huskey, Ph.D<\/a>., and Assistant Professor Steven Smallpage<\/a>, Ph.D., also attended the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe weren\u2019t talking about politics or social problems. We were talking about curriculum within the Department of Political Science, and to watch a group of college students do that so seriously and enthusiastically was really great,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The students generally supported the proposals, which also included developing tracks, or areas of concentration, within the major. And especially gratifying, Hill added, was watching the students gravitate \u201ctoward the more academic rigorous options.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still sorting through the responses, but we\u2019re going to very seriously consider what the students told us that night,\u201d Hill said. \u201cWhat makes this really unique to me is using the FSEM students to do the Deliberative Poll.\u201d<\/p>\n

He hopes to use Deliberative Polling again within the department and said the process showed how First Year Seminars can be used in \u201cinnovative ways that can contribute to the university\u2019s mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly, the end product here was improving the Department of Political Science and making our curriculum more appropriate for the 21st<\/sup> century, which is what we\u2019re trying to do to provide the best education for our students,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ranjini Thaver, Ph.D.,<\/a> professor of Economics and Director of the First Year Seminar Experience, praised the project for allowing students to take such an active and important role within the Political Science Department.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Ranjini Thaver, Ph.D.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\u201cWhat is fascinating about this project, in particular, is that the FSEM students, in their very first semester at Stetson, were allowed agency and leadership in developing a rigorous, engaging and timely curriculum,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\u201cThis project also demonstrates how a rich, content-driven and unique FSEM experience may acclimate students to the demands of higher education, while at the same time, instilling within them the importance of effective writing, speaking, critical thinking and information literacy,\u201d she added. \u201cOur education is best when students are so passionately engaged in their studies, that they welcome learning new ways of thinking and being!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ajah Conage<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

FSEM student Ajah Conage said she initially thought it was \u201ca little weird\u201d to ask students about their curriculum. But the experience changed her mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe students are ultimately the ones taking the classes. They are the ones who have to make these decisions,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was a good idea that I think maybe other universities could try.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published originally at <\/em>Stetson Today<\/em><\/a> February 1, 2019<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As an incoming first-year student, Giansy Paul never imagined she would be asking Political Science majors at Stetson about the changes they\u2019d like to see in their curriculum. Paul signed up for a First Year Seminar (FSEM) last fall called \u201cThe Voice of the People,\u201d examining the role of citizens in a democracy and whether they are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-showcase"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/faculty-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/faculty-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/faculty-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/faculty-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/faculty-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/faculty-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1878\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/faculty-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/faculty-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/faculty-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}