Members of the learning outcome #2 committee:
Vince Berdayes, Communication, Theatre and DanceTom Bonnell, English (writing program)Christopher Cobb, EnglishKaren Chambers, PsychologyNatalie Domelle, MathChris Dunlap, ChemistryKrista Hoefle, ArtCatherine Pellegrino, LibraryPatti Sayre, PhilosophyJill Vihtelic, Business & Economics
Learning Outcome #2 Cognitive & Communicative Skills
As a women’s college, Saint Mary’s emphasizes the value of women’s voices and their distinctive contribution to intellectual life. Therefore…
•A Saint Mary’s student masters a broad set of sophisticatedintellectual skills, including critical thinking, careful interpretationof complex texts and artifacts, accurate evaluation of data,investigative problem solving, quantitative reasoning, historicalanalysis, and technological and information literacy.
• A Saint Mary's student communicates her ideas, insights, thoughtprocesses, and conclusions with accuracy, competence, and style invarious media and contexts.
Assumptions1.General Education LO#2 is about establishing
skills and exposing students to fields of study.
2.Design Team 3 (yet to be formed) will address breadth of exposure across the disciplines.
3. To a large extent, skills can be discipline neutral.
How Do We See Skills in the Gen Ed Program?
Fundamental Skills
First Year Curriculum
Writing
Critical Thinking
Skill Building
Sophomore-Senior
Breadth in Skills
Depth in Some Skills
A Saint Mary's student communicates her ideas, insights, thought processes, and conclusions with accuracy, competence, and style in various media and contexts.
Writing is a fundamental skill
W program is central to Gen Ed
Success is due to wide participation
Critical Thinking is the process of purposeful, self-regulatory judgment. (American Philosophical Association)
Skills involved:
What is Critical Thinking?
Interpretation Analysis
Evaluation Inference
Explanation Self-Regulation
Critical thinking is fundamental to a Saint Mary’s graduate
Critical Thinking is the basis for all of the other skills
Proposal: A First-Year Seminar that addresses critical thinking.
Critical Thinking
Why could this work?
The First Year Seminar on critical thinking can be envisioned as similar to the W program. That is: It is fundamental to many other skills It appears in all disciplines It can be taught in a variety of contexts
A Confession
While we, generally, find the FYS an intellectually exciting idea, pragmatically we are unsure of whether it will work.
Two Fundamental Questions:
1. Will we get enough buy-in by faculty to staff the FYS?
2. How can we fit it into the curriculum?
Question 1 – Faculty Buy-InWe envision this course: As discipline neutral (similar to the W) but will explicitly address critical
thinking Would be a seminar class (similar to W) The topic would be a “passion” of the professor
Earlham Women and civil rights Insects and human society Feasting and fasting: food in the ancient world, Sweet persuasion Bubble, bubble toil and trouble (Econ) MONSTERS AND MARVELS (English)
Gettysburg Tryin' to Find a Way Back Home: An Introduction to the Literature and Legacy of
Homelessness in America, Samurai and Geisha: Beyond the Stereotypes, Food: Fuel for Thought and Action, A Dying Ocean: The Increasing Environmental Challenges to the Marine Ecosystem, Einstein in Wonderland: Physics, Philosophy, and Other Nonsense
Question 2 – Fit?
Possible avenues: First Year Seminar as 3 credit class with a one credit social
responsibility seminar.
Allow the FYS to count as class in the general education curriculum, similar to the W program now.
Others?
What happens after the first year?
Breadth (Distribution)
To be filled in by design team 3
CT Courses
Unit 1At least 2 of 3Quantitative ReasoningProblem SolvingData analysis
Unit 2At least 2 of 3Interpretation of textsHistorical analysisInformation Literacy
Unit 33 follow-ups to skillsalready introducedin categories 1 and 2
Breadth (Distribution) & Broad Critical Thinking SkillsDistribution requirements are designed to integrate Outcome 2
aptitudes into disciplinary requirements.
OR
What we are still working on…. Communication in other contexts Technological literacy E-Portfoilos Integrating Design Team 1 models Skill floor and how to build skills