Gen Ed Connect

Gen Ed Connect

Our relationships impact every aspect of our lives – from our physical and mental well-being to our ability to flourish at work.

As academics, we often talk about the importance of making connections with students, so they feel like they belong, and we care about their learning as well as them as individuals. We also know that cultivating  connections for those times when ‘who you know’ assists  with finding a job, promotion, funding, or publication among the many other ‘must do’ tasks expected of us.

AGLS has often said that we are more than an association – we are a community. Perhaps small, but we are strong and mighty in the support we provide for one another. The connections made in AGLS are often forged from the understanding of the challenging and often never-ending changes that occur in the world of general education. AGLS officers often hear from those who attend our meetings or virtual events that in AGLS they find people who understand and appreciate what they do daily. Often it is here, in AGLS, that they feel a sense of belonging and support that they do not find on their campus.

The connections made here may be for campus work  (like accreditation or program review), or to find compatriots during the challenging times. For whatever reason, or however you have made your way here, be assured that you have a place here. You have found what we affectionately call your GEEPs (gen ed peeps).  We get it.  We will laugh, cry, scream, and celebrate with you.

Step right up and make a connection – better yet, become a regular part of our community.

AGLS is a community of gen ed professionals who understands the hard work of gen ed — pressures from external groups, resistant faculty, students who question why they need certain classes outside their desired major, assessment requirements, etc.

That understanding (when others one your campus may not get it) results in a support system to help you get through the most challenging times AND celebrate the big and small victories. You will be amazed at the degree of sharing, collaboration, mentorship, and even honesty you will find in our community.

Particularly, when you need someone to be brutally honest with you.  When you need a critical friend.  Now, we don’t mean critical as in harsh or punitive. But critical as in extreme importance or vital to getting through a difficult time.

If you need it, within AGLS you will find someone who can serve in that role.  You will find ‘critical friends’ to help you.

If you are not familiar with the term, a critical friend is a trusted person who provides constructive feedback and support to help someone, or something improve.  They are invested in the success of the work and the improvement of the individual, and they are not an impartial bystander.

Here are some characteristics of a critical friend:

  • Provides honest feedback: A critical friend is encouraging and supportive but also provides honest and often candid feedback that may be uncomfortable or difficult to hear.
  • Asks provocative questions: A critical friend asks questions that can help someone see their work from a different perspective.
  • Fosters an adult-adult relationship: A critical friend tries to foster an “adult-adult” relationship, rather than a “parent-child” relationship.
  • Is invested in the outcome: A critical friend is invested in the successful outcome of the work and improvement of the individual.

Because the concept of critique often carries negative baggage, a critical friendship requires trust, and is often framed in some type of a formal process. Many people equate critique with judgment, and when someone offers criticism, they brace themselves for negative comments. We often forget that Bloom refers to critique as a part of evaluation, the highest order of thinking (Bloom et al. 1956).

The Critical Friend is the perfect moniker because it connotates exactly the purpose of the programs we offer.  We want gen ed people to have access to a process, and a person who believes in and follows Critical Friend Theory:

  • be clear about the nature of the relationship, and not use it for negative evaluation or judgment;
  • listen well: clarifying ideas, encouraging specificity, and taking time to fully understand what is being presented;
  • offer value judgments only upon request from the learner;
  • respond to the learner’s work with integrity; and
  • be an advocate for the success of the work.

Hence, the ‘critical friend’ is a powerful idea, perhaps because it contains an inherent tension.  Friends bring a high degree of unconditional positive regard.  Critics are, at first sight at least, conditional, negative, and intolerant of failure.  The critical friend comes closest to what might be regarded as ‘true friendship’ – a successful marrying of unconditional support and unconditional critique.

Gen Ed Connect has three paths.

Click on the path for the start of today’s journey.

Find an External Reviewer

Everyone needs a ‘critical friend’ from time to time.

Find Professional Development Opportunities

You did not go to college to be a gen ed professional.
We are all learning along the way.
Click this pathway to invest in yourself.

Find Useful Resources

Have you recently or JUST stepped into the world of gen ed?
You have come to the right place.