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How
to Submit a Proposal for
The Senior Synthesis Course at IUP
Information about submitting a proposal for synthesis is also available in Adobe Acrobat Reader format:
Synthesis Proposal Forms Instructions, cover sheet, publicity form, checklist, criteria, other information for submitting a proposal for synthesis, in Word format.
Synthesis sample Sample synthesis proposal: War and Peace
This packet of materials is for use by professors who wish to propose sections of LBST 499 Senior Synthesis. It contains:
- "A Model for Thinking About the Nature of Synthesis," as prepared by Synthesis Criteria Sub-Committee, Fall 1987
Paper copies of this packet are available from the Liberal Studies Office, 110 Gordon Hall (telephone: 357-5715). The instructions, cover sheet, and publicity form are also available in the UWUCC's Curriculum Handbook.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING A SYNTHESIS PROPOSAL
1. PLEASE CONSIDER CAREFULLY TWO DOCUMENTS FOUND IN THIS PACKET:
a. Criteria for the Synthesis Course,
as approved by the University Senate, February 1989.b. "A Model for Thinking About the Nature of Synthesis,"
prepared by an ad-hoc synthesis planning committee, Fall 1988.2. PRELIMINARY PROPOSALS. The Liberal Studies Committee is willing to react informally to oral inquiries or to brief, one or two page preliminary proposals prior to your investing substantial time in preparing a full syllabus. This is not required, but it is a way to see if you are "on the right track" and receive some suggestions while you're still getting started.
3. PREPARING YOUR PROPOSAL. Look carefully at the sample proposal in this packet. It is not intended to suggest a "best" or "right" or "only" way to design a course. It is intended to define the form that the LSC asks you to follow when submitting a proposal.
When reviewing your proposal the LSC will be equally interested in the content and the pedagogical approach. The content should be intellectually challenging and significant; the pedagogical approach should nurture synthetic thinking. The committee encourages proposals that are inventive, creative, experimental, and that show a willingness to take risks. The committee will also expect the proposal to be carefully planned and to be consistent with the Senate's criteria. Your attention is called especially to the criteria relating to the inclusion of women and minorities, to the use of writing, and to the selection of reading that reflects more than one discipline. The use of "conventional textbooks" is strongly discouraged.
When you have finished, please double-check your proposal against the "Ten Questions Most Frequently Asked by the Liberal Studies Committee." [Do not include the sheet with the proposal.]
4. PREREQUISITES: Synthesis sections should be accessible to as many senior students as possible. Because students cannot enroll until they are in one of their last three semesters, you can assume that most, or nearly all, of their Liberal Studies knowledge area requirements are behind them. If it is absolutely necessary for students to have chosen certain core LS courses rather than others--for instance, chemistry as their science option or economics as one of their social sciences, you may indicate this as a prerequisite. You should consider, however, that adding such a restriction may eliminate some students whose insights will be valuable precisely because they bring other perspectives from other LS courses or from their majors. As the Senate's criteria put it: "Keep course prerequisites to a minimum." You are strongly advised against listing any upper-level courses as prerequisites.
5. PUBLICITY SHEET. Information about synthesis sections will appear in the Undergraduate Course Schedule on a semester by semester basis. This is your opportunity to present your topic as attractively and as accurately as possible to students who are choosing sections. You should avoid the use of jargon and obscure, technical language. Students will find it helpful to read your own explanation of the topic (how broadly or narrowly you define it, which disciplinary perspectives you will emphasize, and how you expect to approach it); they will also be interested in the types of assignments, classroom activities, and evaluation methods you will use.
6. PROVIDING SCHEDULING INFORMATION. Whatever you say here is tentative and intended only to assist the director of Liberal Studies in general planning. Your semester schedule is prepared by your department chairperson in consultation with the college dean. It is helpful to note any anticipated conditions that you or your department foresee--for instance: only available in summers or alternate years or certain semesters, etc. Consult with your departmental chairperson or departmental committee as appropriate.
There is no prescribed pattern for your involvement in LBST 499. Some of you will likely choose to teach the same topic over and over; others may choose to submit new topics rather frequently. Some of you will probably teach LBST 499 fairly regularly; others will move in and out irregularly according to your other responsibilities. If you and your department desire, it is possible to schedule more than one section per semester.
7. SIGNATURES. Your signature requests the LSC to verify that your topic and approach meet the Senate criteria for Senior Synthesis and to authorize your teaching the topic in this manner as part of the LBST 499 offerings. The signatures of your chairperson and dean acknowledge their awareness of your proposal and their willingness to make a good faith effort to work LBST 499 into your teaching schedule; their signatures do not, however, guarantee that they can schedule you in any given semester because there are other equally important demands on your department's resources (as well as on your own). LSC approval is enabling, not coercive. To avoid misunderstandings, it is wise to keep your department, chairperson, and dean fully informed about your intentions.
8. DEADLINES. To allow your chairperson sufficient time to include LBST 499
in your schedule, you will need to have your proposal approved during the
semester one year prior to the one in which you first intend to teach
the course. That is, Fall 1994 sections must be approved during Fall 1993,
Spring 1995 during the Spring 1994, and so forth. In many departments and
colleges, the practice is for departmental and/or college curriculum
committees to review synthesis proposals; if this is the case, you will need
to allow adequate time for this to occur.
REVISED: April 1993 Return to beginning of document
LSC#________
COVER SHEET: Proposal for Section of LBST 499 Senior Synthesis
SECTION TITLE
PROFESSOR(S)
PREREQUISITES (Please see instructions)
SCHEDULING INFORMATION. When is the earliest
semester/summer session that you will be ready to teach the section. Do you
anticipate offering this topic repeatedly? If so, how frequently? (Please
see instructions)
SIGNATURES: Professor(s) & Date
Department Chairperson(s) & Date
College Dean(s) & Date
Director of Liberal Studies & Date
PLEASE ATTACH THE FOLLOWING COMPONENTS TO THE COVER SHEET
I. "Synthesis Summary"--one or two pages explaining your proposal, including (1) your topic, especially its scope and significance; (2) the disciplines (like biology, economics, aesthetics) whose perspectives you will use; (3) the contributions each discipline will make in terms of point of view, theory, and methodology; (4) your pedagogical methods, including the strategies and activities you will employ to enable students to think synthetically.
II. Syllabus presented in UWUCC format: (1) Course objectives; (2) Detailed course outline; (3) Evaluation methods; (4) Required reading; (5) Special resource requirements, if any; and (6) Bibliography you used in preparing this proposal. Your syllabus must indicate how you will "address the concerns of women and minorities whenever possible."
III. Publicity Form, to be submitted for publication in the semester-by-semester Undergraduate Course Schedule.
Please Number All Pages. Provide one copy to Liberal Studies Committee.
Before You Submit: Have you double-checked your proposal against the "Ten Questions Most Frequently Asked by the Liberal Studies Committee"?
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PUBLICITY FORM FOR SYNTHESIS SECTION
For Publication in Semester-by-semester Undergraduate Course Schedule
TOPIC TITLE:
PREREQUISITES:
PROFESSOR:
DESCRIPTION (limit 100 words):
TYPICAL READINGS* (provide author and short title):
*NOTE: The Undergraduate Schedule carries the following explanation: "The
mention of `typical readings' is intended as information about the type of
reading likely to be included in the course. Actual reading assignments may
vary and may include additional or substitute readings or may permit
students to select among listed readings."
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SYNTHESIS CHECK LIST:
Ten Questions Most Frequently Asked About Synthesis Proposals by the LS Committee
____1. Does your course view its topic from the perspectives and approaches of two or more discrete disciplines (or areas of knowledge)? Does it do so in a fresh, creative way that will engage the interest of students? Does it raise issues that are challenging and important?
____2. Have you thought about ways to involve students from a variety of majors? Have you thought about ways to use/build upon their experiences, talents, and prior learning?
____3. Does one of your course objectives explicitly address the development of synthetic thinking?
____4. Does your course outline show explicitly that you have reserved time at the beginning of the semester to discuss with students the nature of synthesis--for instance, what kinds of synthetic thinking you plan to have them do, why it is important or valuable, etc.?
____5. Have you addressed the concerns of women and minorities whenever possible? Have you made this evident in your syllabus or synthesis summary?
____6. Do the assigned readings come from at least two different disciplines? Have you avoided conventional textbooks which make it less likely that students will have to do their own synthesizing? (If genre and/or disciplinary perspectives of your readings are not self-evident from the title, have you provided a brief annotation for the committee's benefit?)
____7. Can a reader of your proposal see how the class activities and assignments allow students to do their own synthesizing, to make connections for themselves rather than only accepting previously devised solutions.
____8. Does the language that you use in your syllabus consistently signal to students that this is a synthesis course? Does it avoid sending mixed messages about your expectations?
Note: Synthesis courses typically want students to use integrated interdisciplinary modes of thinking with which they have limited experience. In these circumstances, colleagues who have already taught LBST 499 caution against relying on familiar language; it can inadvertently mislead students by calling up earlier models which, however legitimate in their own right, are not what you expect or want. For instance, if you want a written piece to emphasize significant integration, it might be better to call it a "synthetic essay" than a "term paper" (which may imply only description).
____9. Does the evaluation section in the syllabus state clearly how each item is weighted in determining the final grade? Are the various evaluation methods appropriate to the synthetic nature of the course?
____10. Does the publicity paragraph describe the course so it will catch
the attention of students from a wide variety of majors? Does it explain
clearly and fairly what is going to happen in the course?
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CRITERIA -- SYNTHESIS AREA
SYNTHESIS COURSE -- 3 s.h.
Synthesis is the way in which well understood parts are combined into wholes; it is the capacity to weave many complex strands into a fabric, either recreating a pattern already known or imagining and designing new ones.
The major objectives of the synthesis course are threefold. First, the course ensures that students will have the opportunity to experience a systematic approach to synthetic reasoning, contributing to their ability to think effectively about broad and complex intellectual, social and political issues as seen from multiple perspectives. Second, because the synthesis course is upper level, it will extend the Liberal Studies experience to include all four years of undergraduate study. Finally, individual students are expected to interact to extend their interests across disciplinary lines. The Liberal Studies Committee should encourage course proposals that are inventive, creative, experimental, and that show a willingness to take risks.
CRITERIA FOR SECTIONS OF THE SYNTHESIS COURSE
All sections of the synthesis course must:
(1) Nurture and stimulate, either implicitly or explicitly, the student's ability to think synthetically. In their proposals for sections of the course, instructors must identify the procedures by which this will be accomplished.
(2) Contain challenging intellectual content addressing significant issues. In their proposals for sections of the course, instructors must identify that content and those issues.
(3) View the content from the perspectives and approaches of a minimum of two discrete disciplines. In their proposals for sections of the course, instructors must explain how this objective will be achieved.
(4) Incorporate within its procedures for student evaluation specific methods to ensure that students' synthetic reasoning skills will be evaluated. In their proposals for sections of the course, instructors must identify the means by which this evaluation will be accomplished.
(5) Address the concerns of women and minorities whenever possible. In their proposals for sections of the course, instructors must explain how they will do this.
In addition, all sections of the Synthesis course should:
(1) Include a variety of assignments, some of which should require written responses, designed specifically to encourage the student to synthesize new ideas and approaches from the material presented.
(2) Ensure, if exams are used as a method of student evaluation, that exams will consist primarily of essay or discussion questions that will evaluate the student's ability to reason by synthesis, rather than by merely recalling content.
(3) Require readings from an assigned list comprised largely of original/primary materials (as opposed to general surveys or conventional texts from a discipline) and representing at least two discrete disciplinary perspectives.
(4) Assure the use of the most appropriate resources; these could include books and periodicals, guest lectures. films, audio and video tapes, field trips, and the experiences and perspectives of the students themselves.
(5) Keep course prerequisites to a minimum.
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IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE SYNTHESIS COURSE
(1) Because teaching methods and other factors which affect optimal class size may vary considerably among synthesis sections, the university should establish and maintain appropriate enrollments for individual synthesis sections in a manner sensitive to these needs.
(2) Students will not be permitted to take the synthesis course prior to the second semester of their junior year (standing determined by semester hours completed).
(3) In order to broaden their experiences, students should be encouraged to enroll in synthesis course sections taught by instructors outside of the students' major fields.
(4) When and if the Liberal Studies Committee is confident that sufficient resources are available, it should consider identifying the synthesis course as a "repeatable" multiple enrollment course. Thereby, students would be permitted to register for additional sections as free electives, but not to fulfill credit requirements in any other part of the Liberal Studies program.
(5) Students shall be permitted to register for any section of the synthesis course in order to complete a D/F repeat. The Liberal Studies Committee should take actions to ensure that students are aware of this provision.
(6) Because this course is unlike any other in the Liberal Studies program, the Liberal Studies Committee should develop a policy for the periodic review of approved discrete sections of the synthesis course.
(7) Proposals for sections of the synthesis course will be considered
professor(s)-specific, and any change or addition of professor(s) should be
approved by the Liberal Studies Committee.
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A MODEL FOR THINKING ABOUT THE NATURE
OF SYNTHESIS
Synthesis can take place along a continuum of complexity and sophistication from simple comparisons all the way to the creation of a new whole that integrates knowledge from initially discrete, contrasting or complementary disciplines into a unity which overcomes the inherent limitations of each in its isolation, while it further enlarges the original meaning of each into a new comprehensive meaning. Obviously, this final and fullest sense of synthesis is an ideal toward which synthesis strives, though it may only rarely be reached. Some strategies along this continuum have been outlined below, though no single synthesis course would be asked or expected to attempt all of these.
I. Initially, though it appears to be so obvious as not to merit attention, the simplest types of unities which a synthesis course might attempt to establish are those achieved by finding similarities. In one variation, two things might be unified by a common relationship to a third--for instance, physics and economics to the scientific method. In another variation, we discover two things are unified because they originate from the same source--for instance, Spanish and French from Latin or Maoism and Leninism from Marxism. Or in a third variation, things are unified because they share a common goal or pursue a common end--for instance, music, poetry, and painting all seek to create beauty.
II. Another basic strategy of a synthesis course might be to show two or more parallel approaches, perspectives or methods by which a common subject may be examined in discrete disciplines, e.g., a Marxian economist's, a classical philosopher's, and a renaissance monarch's approach to art. What are the often unquestioned assumptions of each? What are the first principles reflectively accepted by each? What is the methodology used by each to understand the phenomenon? This approach is largely comparative and represents synthesis in a very basic and largely implicit sense.
III. At the next level, a synthesis course may examine the approach and perspective of one discipline in order to show some limitations of the approach and perspective of the other, concerning a common subject. For example, a political scientist studying the impact of industrial decline on the political institutions of a steel town might not focus on the anguish experienced by individual unemployed workers in the same way a psychologist might.
IV. A synthesis course may attempt to integrate aspects of one discipline into the other, without changing the essential character of the first. For example, the course might experiment by attempting to enlarge the scope of literary analysis by using some of the methodology of analysis in the visual arts. Or, the political scientist mentioned above might employ psychological insights to understand better what was happening to voting patterns.
V. At a still higher level, a synthesis course might ask whether the perspectives and methods of each discipline are irreducible, thereby suggesting that a new model must be found which will integrate the best of each discipline while overcoming many of the shortcomings of both. Is a new model necessary in a given context to satisfy the demands of a comprehensive synthesis?
If the two fields are so radically different in methodology or perspective, can we create a map of the new model showing where one discipline leaves off and the other takes over. For example, how do the methodologies of a factual discipline relate to questions of value typical of a normative discipline (such as ethics or logic) or to questions of value typical of an aesthetic discipline (such as art or music)? Simple description of each can illuminate its limitations while further implying how those limitations may be overcome by the other discipline. Bio-medical methodology may show how genetic engineering may be achieved, but it cannot answer the question, "Ought it to be done."
VI. At the highest level, a synthesis course may ask whether there are disciplines that investigate what another discipline takes for granted, and, in a sense, establish the validity of the assumptions of the first discipline. If so, there could be a hierarchical relationship between discipline A and discipline B, not unlike a set and sub-set relationship, one dealing with broader issues, the other with more specialized issues. For example, physics takes for granted the assumptions of mathematics; mathematics, in turn, may take for granted epistemological questions such as what is knowledge, or what are deductive and inductive reasoning, or what are reality and form? So history may ask, "Why did Caesar cross the Rubicon at that particular time," while philosophy may ask, "What is time?"
Prepared by Synthesis Criteria Sub-Committee, IUP, Fall 1987. Professors
B. Aierstock, A. Bouffard, T. Crumm, D. Eisen, E. Gallati, J. Goebel, A.
Henry, P. McCauley, M. McHugh, J. Pickering, S. Sanderson, T. Turton, and
students David Concannon and Desiree Henning.
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TEACHING THE SYNTHESIS COURSE
SOME FRIENDLY SUGGESTIONS FROM THE LIBERAL STUDIES COMMITTEE
1. Take time during the first week to talk about the goals of the course. What do you mean by synthesis? Why is it important for educated citizens? What makes this course different from other courses in the Liberal Studies package? Professors who teach synthesis courses elsewhere emphasize how important it is for students to understand and share your goals for the course, and common sense, as well as educational research, confirms this. We suggest that you include this explicitly in your course outline so that it isn't forgotten.
2. Don't try to do too much. This is probably a mistake we made ourselves when we wrote our "sample" course, so we know how great the temptation is! Most of you will choose topics with endless ramifications but, of course, confront a finite semester. So the trick will be to design a course that allows time for reflection and thought rather than one that becomes a breathless rush to the finish line. (One of us remembers a professor who was fond of saying, "If you're not ready to make choices, you're not ready to teach." That seems especially good advice in this case.)
3. Remember your audience. You're trying to help undergraduates become educated citizens who can read and think intelligently about the issues of the day. This isn't a graduate seminar. Perhaps a more useful model might emerge by considering how you would approach a discussion for returning IUP graduates on alumni weekend; your students might not yet have the same level of life experience, but they will share the diversity of backgrounds and the need to use non-technical language.
4. Think about ways in which you can help students to become independent learners. Because LBST 499 is one of the students' last courses, it makes sense to think of it as a transition to a world where professors (thankfully?) aren't around to provide all the answers. This doesn't mean there is no need for your guidance--if we are right, students will need more experience in synthetic thinking. But it does suggest that this course might work better if it were less professor centered than usual.
5. Look for ways to use the expertise that students bring from their majors. For instance, if the class is to read an article on protest songs, why not let a music major plan and lead the discussion. The student may not pick out the same points you would, but isn't that what we're saying?--different disciplines notice different things, and it's in the mixing that synthesis begins.
6. Don't make the proposal a more difficult task than it is. An acceptable proposal has to be complete enough to convince the LSC that you have a sound plan. It does not have to be so detailed that you are ready to walk into the classroom the next day. You can present a course outline that identifies weeks or other blocks of time rather than a day-by-day schedule. You can indicate that you intend to use selections from a certain author or category of authors without having chosen the exact passages or assembled the handouts.
[Application forms, copies of the Senate-approved criteria, and a sample proposal are available in the Liberal Studies Office, 110 Gordon Hall, telephone 357-5715]
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Last Modified Friday February 08 2008