Curriculum Design Rationale

I see a need to rethink the way we design curriculum or implement it. I am not sure if it is the design or execution of it that is the problem. In our upper level classes I see a lot of these ideas being carried out, such as communication, critical thinking and collaboration. When I was teaching some of these things were included in an optional or supplemental curriculum, but not in the main scope and sequence. Personally, I am an introvert so I hate collaborative projects, and did not do them because of my own preferences, but looking back I wish I would have given them a chance. High level writing, critical thinking skills, and collaboration needs to be addressed more because this is what a lot of new careers are all about. We emphasize digital technology pretty well, but many students have the option not to participate in those elective classes. I believe they need to become a part of the core and we need to utilize more technology in all classes. Everything is online, and many of our students do not know how to use google docs and forms, excel or powerpoint. Graphic design is also a big need that we need to emphasize more.