General Education Goals and First Year Seminar Learning Outcomes Focus
This document describes the relationships between the General Education goals and the aims of First Year Seminar learning outcomes. FYS faculty will address learning outcomes from each of the four General Education Goals.
General Education Goal 1: Critical and Creative Thinking
FYS Learning Outcome Focus: Successful critical thinking involves researching and documenting relevant evidence, examining assumptions, and analyzing patterns and assessing information. Creative approaches to problem solving that combine logic, insight, and methods of innovative thinking are characteristic of a critical thinker. The ability to design and ask penetrating questions that reveal deeper meaning and multiple perspectives is a hallmark of an autonomous thinker. What are some specific skills you should expect students to have? See the DETAILED RUBRIC HERE
General Education Goal 2: Communicating Effectively
FYS Learning Outcome Focus: Effective communication is an essential component of success in one’s academic and professional life. Whether verbal or nonverbal, communication includes the development and delivery of messages. Effective communication requires practice in producing texts in a logical, organized manner and demonstrating consideration of context, audience, and purpose. First Year Seminar provides education in the development and delivery of texts through assignments that ask students to explore a central idea, use credible, relevant sources to support ideas, and document source material in an appropriate style. What are some specific skills you should expect students to have? See the DETAILED RUBRIC HERE
General Education Goal 3: Making Local to Global Connections
FYS Learning Outcome Focus: Increasing global interdependency requires undergraduates to prepare themselves to solve problems and to create opportunities that will have a world wide impact. To succeed in this local to global connection, students must develop a richer sense of multi and cross cultural awareness, and to build understandings that foster genuine empathy for peoples and cultures around the world. Students can build on this awareness by linking local initiatives with those within the wider global community. Fostering informed and responsible world citizenry is an important goal for the student’s future and that of their families. What are some specific skills you should expect students to have? See the DETAILED RUBRIC HERE
General Education Goal 4: Understanding Responsibilities of Community Membership
FYS Learning Outcome Focus: Throughout their lives, individuals function as part of multiple communities—academic, professional, and public. Responsible community membership includes collaboration, ethical engagement, effective leadership, and a commitment to continuous learning. First Year Seminar develops students’ understanding of the responsibilities of community membership through a variety of shared student engagement activities, including common reading experiences, service learning projects, and collaborative group assignments. What are some specific skills you should expect students to have? See the DETAILED RUBRIC HERE