Learning Outcomes for Liberal Studies Majors

Goal 1: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the central concepts, principles, skills, tools of inquiry and structure of disciplines in English, environmental earth science, history/social science, mathematics, and natural science and how concepts, skills, themes, and principles are interconnected within and across disciplines.

Understanding (U) Learning Outcomes: To demonstrate understanding of the central concepts, principles, skills, tools of inquiry, structure, and interconnectedness of the disciplines of English, environmental earth science, history/social science, mathematics, and natural science, all LSM graduates will be able to:

U 1: Define and explain central concepts and principles in English, environmental earth science, history/social science, mathematics, and natural sciences.

U 2: Identify and explain connections between English, environmental earth science, history/social science, mathematics, and natural sciences.

Goal 2: Students will demonstrate critical thinking appropriate to each discipline (i.e., English, environmental earth science, history/social science, mathematics, and natural science).

Critical thinking: the analysis and evaluation of complex ideas, artifacts, information, and arguments as a basis for formulating a well-reasoned belief, judgment, or conclusion.

Critical Thinking (CT) Learning Outcomes: To demonstrate critical thinking in English, environmental earth science, history/social, mathematics, and natural science, all LSM graduates will be able to:

CT 1: Identify a disciplinary issue or problem and compose research questions or formulate models corresponding to “real-world” problems that meet the demands of the issue or problem to be addressed.

CT 2: Discriminate between reliable and unreliable sources to gather evidence that supports a claim; analyze and evaluate complex ideas, artifacts, information, data, solution methods, and arguments that can address the problem or issue; synthesize the perspectives offered by multiple sources (primary and secondary); and explain how/why evidence drawn from sources advances one's argument and addresses one's research question/problem.

CT 3: Respond (i.e., refute, accommodate, concede) to perspectives different from one's own, state and assess the assumptions and limitations of ideas, artifacts, information, and arguments that can address the problem or issue.

CT 4: Formulate well-reasoned beliefs, judgments, solutions, or conclusions and explain why one's solutions and/or conclusions are appropriate/significant.

Goal 3: Students will demonstrate ethical reasoning, appropriate to each discipline (i.e., English, environmental earth science, history/social science, mathematics, and natural science).

Ethical Reasoning: requires students to recognize ethical issues, identify their own ethical positions and analyze other ethical perspectives in real-world situations to consider the impact of decisions and actions on other individuals, society, and the environment.

Ethical Reasoning (ER) Learning Outcomes: To demonstrate ethical reasoning in English, environmental earth science, history/social science, mathematics, and natural science, all LSM graduates will be able to:

ER 1: Recognize ethical issues and explain why they should be considered ethical issues.

ER 2: Identify and communicate their own ethical positions and recognize the potential impact of bias.

ER 3: Analyze others’ ethical positions and recognize the potential impact of bias.

ER 4: Consider the impact of decisions and actions on other individuals, communities and societies, and the environment. (e.g., address ethical, socioeconomic, regulatory, and environmental implications of earth/energy/environmental issues).

Goal 4: Students will demonstrate communication skills appropriate to each discipline (i.e., English, environmental earth science, history/social science, mathematics, and natural science.

Communication: requires students to recognize and utilize the most appropriate means to address specific audiences in relevant contexts or genres to effectively inform or persuade.

Communication (CO) Learning Outcomes: To demonstrate communication skills in English, environmental earth science, history/social science, mathematics, and natural science, all LSM graduates will be able to:

CO 1: Use proper disciplinary writing conventions and cite the ideas of others in ways appropriate to the audience and purpose.

CO 2: Use multiple modes of communication (writing, speech, visual/multimedia) appropriately adapted to the purpose at hand, and with an awareness of the needs of the target audience.

CO 3: Employ communication methods relevant to specific disciplines, contexts, or genres to effectively inform or persuade.

Goal 5: Students will demonstrate creativity relevant to each discipline (i.e., English, environmental earth science, history/social science, mathematics, and natural science).

Creativity: the ability to utilize skills and strategies to synthesize ideas, perspectives, information, or materials in original and self-aware ways, and to use that synthesis to generate imaginative acts or products.

Creativity (CR) Learning Outcomes: To demonstrate creativity in English, environmental earth science, history/social science, mathematics, and natural science, all LSM graduates will be able to:

CR 1: Recognize the creative contributions of individuals and collaborative groups in the different disciplines and describe how innovations build on previous work in the field.

Cr 2: Synthesize ideas, perspectives, information, or materials from a variety of disciplines in original ways.

Cr 3: Create original products, processes, or solutions to problems for a variety of audiences and purposes.

Cr 4: Evaluate the role of their own values, interests, and ideas in the creative process, act, or product.

Goal 6: Students will demonstrate quantitative literacy skills appropriate to each discipline (i.e., English, environmental earth science, history/social science, mathematics, and natural science).

Quantitative Literacy: competency in working with numerical data to reason or solve problems, the ability to make judgments and draw conclusions supported by quantitative evidence, and the ability to communicate those arguments utilizing quantitative tools.

Quantitative Literacy (QL) Learning Outcomes: To demonstrate quantitative literacy in English, environmental earth science, history/social sciences, mathematics, and natural science, all LSM graduates will be able to:

QL 1: Interpret and explain information presented in quantitative forms (e.g., equations, graphs, diagrams, tables) and be able to convert information into quantitative forms when required.

QL 2: Collect, manage, and analyze data using technology (e.g., graphing calculators, statistical software, symbolic manipulation software) when appropriate.

QL 3: Create arguments and arrive at conclusions based on quantitative analysis of data.

QL 4: Express quantitative evidence in support of arguments.