UELO: Students will communicate effectively through oral, written, and visual forms.

Principles

There are experts who can teach the theory around these communication skills, but best practice is if every faculty member on campus sees themselves as writing, speech, visual instructor. They should do disciplinary fine-tuning.  Students should learn the conventions of different disciplines.

Importance of applied experiences: students need to be able to adapt those skills in today’s general world.

“Take on your digital world”

These skills need to be integrated across courses and vertically infused throughout the curriculum.

Concerns and Needs

There is a chauvinism for words; it is important that they master visual language.

Currently, the general education courses function as additional inoculation sites for communication skills.  These needs to show up in their majors, as well.

We need to do more to integrate general education in the major.

Best Practices

• Write then do a digital story.
• At Alverno college in Wisconsin, they collect work at every level and it goes to the office of assessment.  Students are building portfolio of work and see their progress.  Importance of measuring growth.
• E-Portfolio: Use it for every class, so students are able to see how they are growing across their career. (reflection)
• Oral defense of thesis.
• Senior thesis or signature work, but one that is in line with capstone needs.
• Bring gen ed into major capstone.