This White Paper is anything but blank.
Yesterday, the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education released its 2005 White Paper -- a document published about every five years with suggestions for the improvement of Penn's undergraduate educational experience.
This year's White Paper outlines recommendations for interdisciplinary study and improving recitation quality. The 23-page document was distributed to student leaders, administrators and any faculty member who asked for a copy.
College of Arts and Sciences Dean Dennis DeTurck said he plans to implement many recommendations from the White Paper in the coming semesters.
"A lot of [SCUE's] ideas are square on," DeTurck said.
This year's paper also focused on "problem-based learning," which emphasizes that teachers ask open-ended questions.
"The point of the White Paper is to be forward-looking," College senior and outgoing SCUE Chairwoman Farrah Freis said. "We want to take the education at Penn to the next level."
In regards to interdisciplinary studies, SCUE advocated new programs, courses and sectors that would draw from multiple schools and disciplines.
The report praised courses such as Chemistry 012, "Environmental Chemistry," which combines environmental science and chemistry.
"The department worked hard to put together Chem 012," Chemistry Department Undergraduate Chairman Donald Berry said. "It's very challenging to find the right mix of faculty to teach these classes without watering them down."
Berry added that the department would like to develop more interdisciplinary courses, such as a forensic chemistry course that "an English major could take."
In highlighting problem-based learning, the White Paper says that such an approach is already in place in some fields, including computer science and business strategy. The document recommends that professors address "problems from multiple disciplines" in other courses and departments.
"Computer science focuses on finding computational solutions to complex problems," Computer and Information Science Department Chairman Fernando Pereira said. "There are many possible solutions."
In the White Paper, SCUE also encourages a change from traditional recitations to "learner-centered learning," shifting responsibility for recitations from the teaching assistant to the students, who would be responsible for raising questions, solving problems and maintaining discussion.
While SCUE advocates this as the ideal model for students and teaching assistants, both groups are skeptical about its feasibility.
"In general, student-led recitation is what I hope for," said third-year graduate student Eric Hoyer, who is a TA for International Relations Practice and Theory. "In practice, that doesn't always happen because it requires students being prepared."
College freshman Yael Bortnick said that she has been in a few recitations that are effectively discussion-based, but that this is not always the case.
"It depends on the class and the specific students and how comfortable they feel with the material," Bortnick said.
Copies of the paper, as well as a five-page summary of the report, are currently available on SCUE's Web site and will soon be placed in Houston Hall.
SCUE will hold a town hall meeting for student feedback on the White Paper next week as part of the organization's Education Week.
