The General Arts and Sciences Program – GAP
What is General Arts and Science?
General Arts and Science is a preparatory program dedicated to preparing students for their next steps academically and professionally. We offer students the flexibility in their studies to pursue their academic and career goals.
Students are provided with the opportunity to upgrade their credentials and prepare for the rigours of post-secondary academics. Students can take advantage of pathways and admission requirements to other college programs or universities.
Flexibility is one of the critical aspects of the General Arts and Science program. We offer various elective courses in three specific delivery modes (online, blended and in-class). This allows students to build a schedule around their personal schedules and learning styles.
Meet your Coordinator
Kate Traill
Email: ctraill@fanshawec.ca
What do you need to know about teaching a GAP course?
- Students may be new to the college or have transferred over from another program.
- Students take ten courses over the academic year with only two mandatory courses (WRIT and Communications); otherwise, they take elective courses based on their interests or desired future educational goals.
- General Arts and Science is a program. They can take Gen-Ed courses, but most of them will be General Arts and Science elective courses.
- We have diverse students with several accommodations and personal responsibilities beyond their academic studies.
- You will need to set aside meeting times and regularly check FanshaweOnline.
You can find some helpful links later in the GAP area of this course.
The GAP program also contains our Math and Science Courses, which have different challenges. If you teach a Math or a Science course, visit the Teaching Math & Science section.
Ideas from Instructors
- Craft a clear supplementary outline detailing the week-by-week content and assignments and briefly describe each assignment. (If you would like a supplementary outline template, contact Chris)
- Expect a range of student enthusiasm. Some of my weakest and strongest students have come from the General Arts Program. Some students have been unsuccessful in other programs and landed up in GAP because they don’t know what they want to do. Other students are very goal-directed and attempt to obtain entry into another college or university program. In my experience, this can create an almost bimodal distribution of students in terms of engagement, attendance, grades, and motivation. Recognizing this diversity of student goals and abilities has been essential to helping individual students in my GAP courses succeed. Some of the most unusual challenges have come from teaching in GAP, but so have some incredible success stories!
- When possible, I incorporate choice and self-reflection into assignments. Since many students in General Arts are in an exploratory phase of their education, I try to foster their intrinsic interests and motivations by providing assessments that allow students to self-reflect and explore topics that interest them.
- A general tip is to try to get to class 5-10 minutes before class begins to set up. And remember that classes are only 50 minutes!
- Encourage the use of Fanshawe’s resources. Compared to other programs that I’ve taught, I’ve noticed that General Arts students seem less cohesive as a group. Some students even seem to be very isolated. I try to foster a positive classroom environment in hopes that students will feel like they are a part of a community. I also actively encourage students to participate in student life at Fanshawe. I actively promote events (e.g., Social Science Speaker Series and Letters and Arts ) and resources (e.g., Career Services, Counselling and Accessibility, Learning Center) to encourage student engagement on campus.
- Ensure you are familiar with the academic offence process (Contact Kate if you have any questions).
