Course Objectives: Skill-Building and Deeper Thinking

SKILL-BUILDING

I chose to become a professor because I love working with students, and watching them  develop the skills and acquire information that will help them to achieve their long-term  goals.  On this page, you’ll find a brief discussion of the skills that I would like to see you build through my classes.  These include the abilities to:

• find connections between societal patterns of human behavior, and specific examples taken from current events, pop culture, and personal stories.
• use information collected from raw data and published research to explain your viewpoints about social dilemmas that our (and other) societies are grappling with.
• explain how your life experiences diverge from those of specific other groups of people, and why their viewpoints and beliefs might differ from your own.

In this class you will also practice skills that will almost certainly be helpful for you in the future, both in the workplace and in your personal life:

• learning to communicate clearly and work effectively with your peers.
• managing your time in order to complete graded requirements.
• expressing yourself clearly verbally and in writing.

HIGHER-ORDER THINKING

You’ll notice that some of the assignments for my classes are smaller and reoccurring (and worth fewer points), while others require more time, planning, and effort (and are worth more points).  The smaller assignments usually require what’s called “lower-order” thinking skills, like remembering and understanding.  These are considered to be “lower-order” because they only require that you remember and understand information (and be able to restate it clearly).

The larger assignments in my classes attempt to engage you in “higher-order” thinking skills, like applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating (of course, you need to be able to remember and understand information in order to reach higher-order thinking).  You might notice that higher-order thinking requires you to make connections, distinguish between different pieces of information, reach conclusions, and at times, to create something new.  Of course, these higher-order thinking skills are the same ones you will need to complete more complex tasks when you take more advanced courses at SEU, and as an employee once you graduate!

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