Course Global Issues —-WEEK 6 Assignment – Liberal Arts Self-Assessment
I attached previous class course descriptions and assignments to maybe reference. I am just struggling to put this assignment together. If you need to aask me questions for examples or whatever I can be on stand by. I just need to get this in and it be good paper.
Review prior to beginning your writing:
1. Learning Outcomes Liberal Arts Studies (LAS)
2. The descriptions of the four Liberal Arts Breadth Areas:
• Art/Expression
• Science/Description
• Social/Civic
• Value/Meaning
3. The article by Cronon linked below:
• http://www.williamcronon.net/writing/only_connect.html
4. The College Board. (2019). Education pays 2019: The benefits of higher education for individuals and society. https://research.collegeboard.org/pdf/education-pays-2019-full-report.pdf.
Write a 3-4 page self-assessment that addresses your growth in the knowledge, skills, and values of the University learning outcomes for Liberal Arts Studies.
• Reflect on your understanding of a liberal arts education and on your learning in each breadth area. Refer to specific courses and/or life experiences that have contributed to your learning and growth in each area.
• Refer to the Guiding Questions in the Breadth Areas Resources for assistance-
⁃ Guiding Questions
Use the following general questions to guide your thinking and writing:
• How is your subject related to each of the four breadth areas?
• What are the global or cultural implications of your subject?
• Did exploration of this topic challenge any preconceptions or assumptions you hold?
• Was your understanding of a global or cultural issue broadened or changed? If so, how?
• What did you learn that you were not previously aware of?
• Any surprises or special gifts from your exploration?
• What was the most important thing you learned and would like to share with others?
• Will this research change the way you view each breadth area going forward?
• What world religion or belief system, different from your own, was explored in your research?
• What did you learn? How was it a learning experience for you?
⁃
Conclude your essay with a reflection regarding any steps you may take going forward to continue your learning in these areas in the future.
Course Description:
• In this liberal arts capstone course, students reflect on experience, knowledge, and skills in each of four breadth areas and apply learning as they examine current issues and concerns in global contexts.
• Students use critical thinking skills to recognize different values systems, cultural interpretations, and social constructs.
• They demonstrate research and writing skills in exploring a global issue.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate autobiographical reflection on one’s formal and informal learning experiences and their impact on current learning and growth.
2. Analyze the strengths one is bringing to a liberal arts education and the challenges for learning and growth.
3. Demonstrate different ways of thinking and knowing within each of four breadth areas, giving examples of the role and impact of each in one’s life and within the larger society.
4. Demonstrate critical thinking by examining one’s own values, perspectives, and attitudes, and those of others.
5. Demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively in written form.
6. Demonstrate the ability to do research and referenced writing integrating source material into a cohesive and properly documented research paper.
Liberal Arts Learning Outcomes:
Breadth. Students will articulate their understanding of various ways of knowing, including the scientific, aesthetic, cultural, historical, ethical, and religious.
Communication. In oral and written forms, students will construct and deliver reasoned arguments from multiple perspectives, provide evidence to support assertions, and develop content in keeping with conventions of genre and discipline.
Critical Thinking
Students will examine assumptions, delay judgments, deconstruct arguments, integrate multiple perspectives, and demonstrate comfort with ambiguity.
⁃ The University identifies critical thinking as the primary skill of the liberally educated person.
⁃ Critical thinking is something we do every day, without realizing it.
⁃ Statistics demonstrate that students who participate in critical thinking activities (discussions and debates) are more likely to become engaged citizens than students without critical thinking experience.
⁃ The following video explores how critical thinking is used to sift through inaccurate, misleading, or biased information, which allows for more informed decisions to be made on important issues.
*Closed captioning and an interactive transcript are available via the controls in the bottom-left corner of the embedded video player.
Video Status: Critical Thinking Explained
Critical Thinking Explained ( of 2:46)
A Critical Thinker:
There are numerous books and websites addressing the importance of being a critical thinker. In addition, many discuss what characteristics of a critical thinker will possess. Such information can be found at:
• What is Critical Thinking?
• Characteristics of Critical Thinkers
• There are a few critical thinking activities for you to explore. You may take some time to enjoy and have fun with these thinking exercises.
• Critical Thinking Exercises
• Critical Thinking Exercise Sheet
Therefore, despite indicating traits of a critical thinker, it is crucial to guide someone becoming a critical thinker. The article of Tips for Students: Become a More Critical Thinker, provides valuable suggestions to learners.
Problem Posing
Students will gather the tools necessary to be agents of social change, examining their own cultural contexts, challenging biases and habits of thinking, and working across difference to solve problems.
Liberal Arts Breadth Areas
Breadth Area Requirement at APGS
The breadth area requirement for APGS is applied with the flexibility appropriate to the adult student experience and transcripted academic history. Students at the adult campuses are required to have coursework in each of the four breadth areas:
1. value/meaning
2. social/civic
3. science/description
4. art/expression
In order to ensure significant exposure to the University’s four breadth areas all students are required to have the equivalent of adequate coursework in each of these areas, typically at least six credit hours.
Courses are allocated to the various breadth areas as follows:
Area I: Art/Expression:
• As part of a breadth of knowledge, students should have an understanding of and an appreciation for art in its many manifestations.
• The student should have a basic understanding of the various qualities inherent in any artistic expression and have the ability to discuss the nature and bases for aesthetic judgments.
• Along with this comes the ability to express oneself in a variety of domains, cognitive, affective or psychomotor. Expression is often revealed through communication in its various forms, including written, oral and interpersonal skills.
• It can also be demonstrated through other areas such as dance, music, art in its various representations, and creative writing.
• Examples are courses in:
⁃ Art/Music
⁃ Creative Writing
⁃ Composition
⁃ Dance
⁃ Foreign Language
⁃ Literature
⁃ Oral, Interpersonal, Persuasive Communication
• Courses NOT acceptable in this area are:
• Applied science courses such as:
⁃ welding
⁃ HVAC
⁃ word processing
⁃ etc.
• In moving from the breadth area of science/description to that of art/expression, there is a shift into another way of thinking and seeing the world. In the world of science, thinking is focused and the method of finding answers is strictly followed.
• In the world of art, thinking is open-ended, seeking new ideas, brainstorming, creative, finding many ways of thinking about and expressing an idea. While in science/description, there was a focus on one answer, in art there are a myriad of expressions.
• The methodical and precise ways of thinking and seeing the world in science/description shift to open-ended, creative, and expressive ways of thinking and seeing the world in art/expression.
• In a world that emphasizes critical thinking, problem solving, and technological advancement, the world of art and the capacity for creative expression are frequently discounted.
• When school districts need to make difficult budget decisions, the arts are often the area that experiences the greatest cuts.
• Even though art has been shown to enhance academic achievement, it is perceived to be extracurricular rather than essential to students’ learning and growth.
• Art has been part of human existence from earliest times and continues to speak across time and place.
• A quote from Leonardo da Vinci expresses this aspect of art: “Art is the Queen of all sciences communicating knowledge to all the generations of the world.”
• In the four breadth areas, art is the world that can speak without words and communicate at a level beyond words.
Resources for Art/Expression
• “What is Art?” (excerpts) is Tolstoy’s observations regarding the value art adds to the human condition. Art creates a relationship between artist and observer by exposing an emotional link between the two that would not have existed without the artistic process.
• This article – Learning Through the Arts discusses the place of the arts in schools. Dickinson (1997) presents research studies and refers to multiple intelligences and different ways of thinking and seeing the world that are nurtured through arts education.
• This article – A question of values: why we need art and design in higher education explores the value and challenges of art and design disciplines experience in higher education. The author, Kylie Budge (2012), posits art and design disciplines in higher education are extremely valuable because these disciplines present a way to interpret and reinterpret the world.
• In the following video, Gregos (2014) explores the important role contemporary art plays in society–one of the last frontiers of free expression. Gregos believes artists and cultural practitioners are leading the way for social change instead of politicians.
• Why art is important | Katerina Gregos | TEDxGhent
• https://youtu.be/UPk56BR1Cmk
• The next video, Foley (2014) is the Executive Assistant Director and Director of Learning and Experience at the Columbus Museum of Art. In this video Foley examines the question: What is the purpose and value of Art education in the 21st Century? Foley makes the case the Art’s critical value is to develop learners that think like Artists which means learners who are creative, curious, that seek questions, develop ideas, and play.
• Embedded Video Player: Teaching art or teaching to think like an artist? | Cindy Foley | TEDxColumbus
• https://youtu.be/ZcFRfJb2ONk
Area II: Social/Civic
• There is a body of knowledge usually associated with the social and behavioral sciences that each educated person needs to function effectively within relationships and to make a positive contribution to other persons and the social order.
• This area emphasizes the understanding of human behavior whether as individuals and/or groups.
• Examples are courses in:
⁃ Psychology
⁃ Sociology
⁃ Political Science
⁃ Anthropology
⁃ History
⁃ Economics
• Courses NOT acceptable in this area are:
⁃ computer networking
⁃ technology-related courses
Examples:
• This article, Henry Thoreau and ‘Civil Disobedience’ by McElroy (2005), provides an introduction to this week’s material and Henry David Thoreau, who profoundly influenced many civil rights leaders throughout the world. Thoreau wrote Civil Disobedience where he analyzed the individual’s relationship to the state by focusing on why men obey governmental law even when they believe it to be unjust.
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is widely considered the most influential leader of the American civil rights movement. He fought to overturn Jim Crow segregation laws and eliminate social and economic differences between blacks and whites. Martin Luther King, Jr.:
• ” Letter from Birmingham Jail”.
• After World War II, Eleanor Roosevelt traveled to France to discuss an issue close to her heart. The United Nations (U.N.) was a relatively new concept and was determined to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights. Put yourself in this time period when you read Roosevelt’s speech because it is important to understand her faith in the U.N. and why she thought the U.N. held the key to universal human rights. Eleanor Roosevelt:
• “The Struggle for Human Rights” .
• The following video is a interview given by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. where he examines the concept of civil disobedience and just/unjust laws.
• https://youtu.be/jBkgdGIBv00
• When he was a child, George Takei and his family were forced into an internment camp for Japanese-Americans, as a “security” measure during World War II. 70 years later, Takei looks back at how the camp shaped his surprising, personal definition of patriotism and democracy.
• Embedded Video Player: George Takei: Why I love a country that once betrayed me
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeBKBFAPwNc
Potential classes or assignments that fall in this category:
1. The Meaning of Freedom Essay
Area III: Science/Description
• A basic understanding of science and technology enhances a person’s ability to function effectively in a variety of responsibilities — at home, at work, and as a citizen and participant in society.
• With an understanding of science, the ability to discuss the nature and purposes of science as a way of interacting with the world and one’s experience of it is broadened.
• Logic and certain methods of science allows one to describe reality through symbols, numbers, and other concepts leading to a greater clarity of awareness and increased problem-solving skills.
• Courses reported in this area should have elements that foster analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
• Examples are courses in:
⁃ Accounting
⁃ Biological Sciences
⁃ Computer Languages
⁃ Health and Nutrition
⁃ Mathematics/Statistics
⁃ Logic
⁃ Physics/Chemistry.
• Courses NOT acceptable in this area are skills classes such as:
⁃ Introduction to Computers
⁃ Excel
⁃ Powerpoint
⁃ etc.
Resources provided by professor on this breadth area:
• https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/science-fair/steps-of-the-scientific-method#overviewofthescientificmethod
• https://youtu.be/N6IAzlugWw0
Area IV: Value/Meaning
• Socrates said that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” University seeks to have each student confront values and demonstrate the ability to recognize and analyze values in a reflective and even creative way.
• Formal study in the broad area of Humanities usually applies in this area.
• Examples are courses in:
⁃ Art
⁃ Ethics
⁃ Cultural Studies
⁃ Ethnic Relations
⁃ Languages
⁃ Music/Dance/Literature
⁃ Philosophy
⁃ Religion
Resources and Reading List for Value/meaning
• The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, explores his understanding of the purpose of life through the prisms of happiness, love, and compassion in our global world. The Dalai Lama believes compassion and humanity’s good qualities add value and meaning to life. Click and read
• Compassion and the Individual.
• Dr. Jane Goodall is largely known for her work with chimpanzees in Tanzania since the 1960s; however, Dr. Goodall’s work transcends boundaries by encouraging people to make a difference by doing their part which, in turn, creates a better shared world for people, animals, and the environment. Dr. Goodall found value and meaning in her work and reasons for hope. Click and read
• Jane’s Reasons for Hope.
• In Myers (2013), Chapter 12 – Emotions, Stress, and Health raises questions of the place of wealth in relationship to happiness. Myers includes a diagram of changing materialism as college students since 1976 have rated “being very well-off financially” as a very important or essential goal over “developing a meaningful philosophy of life.” Myers presents research on the meaning of acquiring more money in relationship to happiness.
Where there are questions the faculty or a sub-committee of the faculty makes the appropriate determination. Nor is it assumed that every course a student has taken must fit under one of the breadth areas.
Good Resources to use that Professors have provided
• http://www.williamcronon.net/writing/cronon_only_connect.pdf
(Cronon, 1998) discusses the meaning of being a liberally educated person, defining the difference between liberalism as a political term and a liberal education that values freedom and growth. The author identifies ten qualities that distinguish a person with a liberal education.
• http://www.virtualsalt.com/on-the-purpose-of-a-liberal-arts-education/.
(Harris, 2010) examines some of the benefits of a liberal arts education for thinking, learning, seeing the world in a broader perspective, and even contributing to happiness.
• https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2012/0919/Why-a-liberal-arts-education-is-the-best-job-preparation
(Ruscio, 2012) presents the argument that students need the liberal arts focus of learning “how to think and how to choose” rather than being limited to learning specific job skills (para. 11).
• http://jeffdegraff.com/blog/2016/12/rethinking-the-liberal-arts-for-business-education-rise-of-the-pracademic/
(DeGraff, 2016) examines the need for complex thinking skills in today’s business world skills that require broader global understanding and the ability to solve problems and communicate in a diverse and complex environment.
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