General Education

What are General Education Courses?

General education (GNED) courses provide a broad theoretical overview of a topic of personal and/or societal importance, designed to strengthen critical analysis, problem solving, and communication skills, on the following five themes:

Why do Students Need General Education Courses?

General Education Resources

For more information about General Education, please see review the Liberal Studies General Education website.

For further questions, please contact the Faculty of Liberal Studies:
LS@durhamcollege.ca

Want to Develop a General Education Course?

New GNED course proposals must be submitted to the General Education Proposal and Course Review Committee for review and approval. Typically, the Faculty of Liberal Studies will issue a call for GNED course proposals in the winter semester, as course inventory dictates. The Committee will assess submissions based on subject area, proposed curriculum and perceived interest to students and then make recommendations for development.

Following GNED course approval from the General Education Proposal and Course Review Committee, a faculty member may develop the course outline and curriculum (e.g. learning activities, assessments, presentation material). The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) offers faculty support in course outline development. Course outlines are uploaded to Coursedog for final approval.

The CTL recommends using the Jumpstart model for GNED course lesson planning, learning activities and curriculum. This model ensures an evidence-based practice of designing courses that emphasizes the use of activities to engage the student, the presentation of a manageable amount of information, the opportunity for students to practice it, and then the consolidation of learning before moving on to the next unit of study.