Colonnade Learning Outcomes

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Colonnade Learning Outcome by Category

Note: Outcomes for Foundations and Exploration are compliant with the Kentucky General Education Transfer Policy. The Connections course are unique to WKU and offer an interdisciplnary learning experience design to prepare students for postgraduation experiences in the workforce or graduate education.

FOUNDATIONS

Quantitative Reasoning (QR)

Quantitative Reasoning courses teach students to interpret, illustrate, and communicate mathematical and/or statistical ideas.  Students will learn to model and solve problems.  Students with a Math ACT of 26 or higher will receive 3 hours credit for this requirement.

Students will demonstrate the ability to:

1. Interpret information presented in mathematical and/or statistical forms.
2. Illustrate and communicate mathematical and/or statistical information symbolically, visually and/or numerically.
3. Determine when computations are needed and execute the appropriate computations.
4. Apply an appropriate model to the problem to be solved.
5. Make inferences, evaluate assumptions, and assess limitations in estimation modeling and/or statistical analysis.

 

Literary Studies (AH)

Literary Studies courses provide an introduction to a variety of literature at the college level.   Assignments encourage critique and analysis and give students introductory knowledge of key literary terms, concepts, and reading strategies. Students apply this knowledge in discussing and writing about literary texts and consider how literature inscribes the human experience. Because these classes emphasize the reading of primary texts, instructors will focus on literacy skills to supplement content course work.

Students will demonstrate the ability to:

1. Utilize basic formal elements, techniques, concepts and vocabulary of specific disciplines within the Arts and Humanities.
2. Distinguish among various kinds of evidence by identifying reliable sources and valid arguments.
3. Demonstrate how social, cultural, and historical contexts influence creative expression in the Arts and Humanities.
4. Evaluate the significance of human expression and experience in shaping larger social, cultural, and historical contexts.
5. Evaluate enduring and contemporary issues of human experience.
6. Read, comprehend, and analyze primary texts independently and proficiently.

 

Human Communication (OC)

Human Communication courses develop foundational skills of critical listening, speaking, and presentation in a variety of social and cultural contexts.  Students will learn to analyze arguments and to communicate ideas clearly and effectively in oral and written formats.

Students will demonstrate the ability to:

1. Listen and speak competently in a variety of communication contexts, which may include public, interpersonal, and/or small-group settings.
2. Find, analyze, evaluate, and cite pertinent primary and secondary sources, including academic databases, to prepare speeches and written texts.
3. Identify, analyze, and evaluate statements, assumptions, and conclusions representing diverse points of view, and construct informed, sustained, and ethical arguments in response.
4. Plan, organize, revise, practice, edit, and proofread to improve the development and clarity of ideas.

 

Writing in the Disciplines (WC)        

ENG 300 or approved “Writing in the Discipline” course (3 hours)

Writing in the Disciplines courses give students advanced instruction and practice in writing and reading essays within an academic discipline and make students aware of how disciplinary conventions and rhetorical situations call for different choices in language, structure, format, tone, citation, and documentation.  Students conduct investigations into writing and reading conventions in their fields and receive advanced instruction in planning, drafting, arranging, revising, and editing discipline-specific essays. 

Students will demonstrate the ability to:

1. Write clear and effective prose in several forms, using conventions appropriate to audience (including academic audiences), purpose, and genre.
2. Find, analyze, evaluate, and cite pertinent primary and secondary sources, including academic databases, to prepare written texts.
3. Identify, analyze, and evaluate statements, assumptions, and conclusions representing diverse points of view, and construct informed, sustained, and ethical arguments in response.
4. Plan, organize, revise, practice, edit, and proofread to improve the development and clarity of ideas.
5. Distinguish among various kinds of evidence by identifying reliable sources and valid arguments.

 

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EXPLORATIONS

Arts and Humanities (AH)

Students analyze concepts, theories, methodologies, and practices from the arts and humanities in order to interpret the human experience through literary, visual, and performing arts. Courses offer opportunities for students to explore cultural expressions and enduring questions about human experience.

Students will demonstrate the ability to:

1. Utilize basic formal elements, techniques, concepts and vocabulary of specific disciplines within the Arts and Humanities.
2. Distinguish between various kinds of evidence by identifying reliable sources and valid arguments.
3. Demonstrate how social, cultural, and historical contexts influence creative expression in the arts and humanities.
4. Evaluate the significance of human expression and experience in shaping larger social, cultural, and historical contexts.
5. Evaluate enduring and contemporary issues of human experience.

 

Social and Behavioral Sciences (SB)

Students explore the human experience using theories and tools of the social and behavioral sciences. Courses require students to analyze problems and conceptualize the ways in which these theories and tools inform our understanding of the individual and society.

Students will demonstrate the ability to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of at least one area of the social and behavioral sciences.
2. Apply knowledge, theories, and research methods, including ethical conduct, to analyze problems pertinent to at least one area of the social and behavioral sciences.
3. Understand and demonstrate how at least one area of the social and behavioral sciences conceptualizes diversity and the ways it shapes human experience.
4. Integrate knowledge of at least one area of the social and behavioral sciences into issues of personal or public importance.
5. Communicate effectively using the language and terminology germane to at least one area of the social and behavioral sciences.

 

Natural and Physical Sciences (NS)

Students use the scientific perspective to gain basic understanding of the natural and physical world and the relevance of science to issues of personal and public importance. Courses examine scientific principles through different modes and scales of observation, development of theories and hypotheses, and data collection and interpretation. Hands-on experience provides an essential applied component in this category. 

Students will demonstrate the ability to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the methods of science inquiry.
2. Explain basic concepts and principles in one or more of the sciences.
3. Apply scientific principles to interpret and make predictions in one or more of the sciences.
4. Explain how scientific principles relate to issues of personal and/or public importance.

 

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CONNECTIONS:

Local to Global

Students will examine local and global issues within the context of an increasingly interconnected world. Courses will consider the origins and dynamics of a global society, the significance of local phenomena on a global scale, and/or material, cultural, and ethical challenges in today’s world.

Students who complete this course will:

1. Analyze issues on local and global scales.
2. Examine the local and global interrelationships of one or more issues.
3. Evaluate the consequences of decision-making on local and global scales.

 

Social and Cultural

Students will investigate ways in which individuals shape, and are shaped by, the societies and cultures within which they live. Courses will consider the ethical questions and shared cultural values that shape societal norms and behaviors, the independent and collective or collaborative artistic expression of those values, and/or the role of social and cultural institutions in developing and sustaining norms, values, and beliefs.

Students who complete this course will:

1. Examine diverse values that form civically-engaged informed members of society.
2. Analyze the development of self in relation to others in society.
3. Evaluate solutions to real-world socio-cultural problems.

 

Systems

Students will examine systems, whether naturally occurring or created by humans, by breaking them down into their component parts or processes and seeing how these parts interact. Courses will consider the evolution and dynamics of a particular system or systems and the application of system-level thinking.

Students who complete this course will:

1. Compare the study of individual components to the analysis of entire systems.
2. Analyze how systems evolve.
3. Evaluate how system-level thinking informs decision-making. (For example: public policy, political landscapes, economic structures, cultural phenomena, etc.)

 

International Experience

Students will leave the USA to immerse themselves in different cultural experiences that build their knowledge of an academic discipline in a new local context to broaden their cultural competencies and understanding of global complexities.

Students who complete this course will:

1. Articulate the relationship between ideas, experiences, and place.
2. Develop tools to engage with diverse people in the local cultures.
3. Explore other peoples' values and clarify their own.