A Solid Core Curriculum for Georgia's Students
*The current BOR core curriculum was put in place in 1998 when the USG converted to a semester calendar. It is a discipline-based core of 60 semester hours divided into six areas, Areas A-F. The Areas are:
Area A, Essential Skills, 9 hours
Specific courses in English composition and mathematics
Area B, Institutional Options, 4-5 hours
Courses that address institution-wide general education outcomes of the institution's choosing
Area C, Humanities/Fine Arts, 6 hours
Courses that address humanities/fine arts learning outcomes
Area D, Science, Mathematics, and Technology, 10-11 hours
Courses that address learning outcomes in the sciences, mathematics, and technology
Area E, Social Sciences, 12 hours
Courses that address learning outcomes in the social sciences
Area F, Courses Related to the Program of Study, 18 hours
Lower division courses related to the discipline(s) of the program of study and courses that are
prerequisite to major courses at higher levels
*The proposed conceptual models propose to replace a discipline-based core with one that is based on themes, areas, and threads. According to the material on the Strong Foundations web site, a "theme" of a core curriculum model provides a "paragraph description of the unifying focus of the core and the rationale for this focus." An "area" is not a discipline area but rather a "sketch of subject area categories that express and develop this theme." Finally, the "threads" are a "list of skills, values, processes that will be repeated in multiple courses across the core."
As discussed on the Learn More page, there was no faculty discussion about the themes-areas-threads model. In fact, faculty were not allowed to pursue a discipline-based core or other ways of organizing a core curriculum.
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