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Liberal Studies Exit Portfolio

As you near the end of your Eastern career, we’d like you to think back over your education, to see what you’ve learned and how you’ve grown as a student and as a future teacher. To that end, each Liberal Studies major will assemble an exit portfolio, to be handed in to the coordinator of Liberal Studies Program by February 15 if you intend to graduate in May.

In your portfolio, you’ll think about your experiences in the core classes as well as the classes you completed within your concentration. This portfolio will serve two purposes: it will allow you to engage with critical self-reflection, a skill you will need as a teacher and a lifelong learner, and it will allow the faculty to assess the efficacy of the major.

Your exit portfolio will consist of 8 - 12 artifacts and a reflective essay. By artifacts, we mean any kind of finished work you produced (e.g., exams, lab reports, papers, creative writing). Before you select your artifacts, review the learning objectives for the Liberal Studies major. Choose at least 4 artifacts from English and history/social science and 4 artifacts from math and science with an additional 2-4 from your concentration area. The artifacts you select should comprise a portfolio of work that demonstrates your mastery of the learning objectives related to critical thinking, ethical reasoning, communication, creativity, and quantitative literacy.

You should include:

  • A table of contents, which lists each artifact included and which learning objectives you believe this artifact displays (refer to the outcomes by number)
  • Artifacts that demonstrate mastery of learning outcomes related to critical thinking
  • Artifacts that demonstrate mastery of learning outcomes related to ethical reasoning
  • Artifacts that demonstrate mastery of the learning outcomes related to communication
  • Artifacts that demonstrate mastery of the learning outcomes related to creativity
  • Artifacts that demonstrate mastery of the learning outcomes related to quantitative literacy

NOTE: One artifact may demonstrate mastery of more than one learning outcome.

  • The major project you completed in your senior seminar, and any accompanying reflective essay (LSM 400, HIS 400, HIS 406, HIS 407, HIS 420, or PSC 460)
  • 2-4 artifacts from courses in your concentration (choose artifacts from different courses that reflect the diversity of your coursework)
  • 1800 – 2000 words reflective essay (about 6 - 7 pages)

Your reflective essay should address the following questions. You can decide how much space to devote to each question and you do not need to answer them in this order, but you should think about all of them.

  1. Explain how particular artifacts demonstrate your mastery of the learning outcomes related to critical thinking, ethical reasoning, communication, creativity, and quantitative literacy. (Note: a single artifact might demonstrate your mastery of more than one objective (e.g., an analysis you wrote for Children’s Literature might demonstrate both critical thinking and communication.)
  2. Discuss 2-3 learning outcomes you think you have mastered especially well. How do the artifacts in your portfolio highlight these skills?  Why do you think you mastered these outcomes especially well?
  3. Discuss 2-3 learning outcomes you feel you still struggle with. Why do you think you find these competencies difficult to master? Are there places in the Liberal Studies curriculum where you think those skills could be focused on more deeply?
  4. You’ve taken courses in many disciplines. What connections do you see between the social sciences, natural sciences, mathematics, and English? Referring to the artifacts in your portfolio, explain how studying these different subjects together changed and enriched your thinking.
  5. You’ve also completed many courses in your concentration. Reflect on your ability to act as a member of this discipline. Describe a project or assignment that engaged you in independent inquiry and explain how your work developed your abilities as a social scientist, natural scientist, mathematician, or scholar/producer of language and literature. Be sure to include this project as one of the artifacts in your portfolio.
  6. How has your experience as a liberal studies major prepared for you what's next? Be sure to think about your future not only as an educator, but also as an educated person.