CCC Learning Goals

Global Connections

We live in a world in which globalization is reshaping politics and economics as well as social and cultural relations. Global Connections courses expose students to those questions of difference that have evolved over time, between peoples and social systems across the global community, as well as the interdependence that underscores the very nature of such studies. Global Connections courses, including some study abroad experiences, provide students with the necessary tools to identify and explore different cultural perspectives and the interrelationships between and across cultures. Global Connections courses provide students with the requisite knowledge to understand and analyze problems, policies and issues from their interdependent points of view.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will use concepts and tools of inquiry to examine the beliefs, history, social experiences, social structures, artistic or literary expressions, and/or traditions of one or more cultures or societies located outside the United States.

OR

2. Students will use appropriate tools of inquiry to understand the interdependent nature of the global system and the consequences this interdependence has for political, economic and social problems.

Environmental Connections

Our civilization is profoundly influenced by the opportunities and constraints presented by our natural environment. We depend on natural resources for our survival as well as for the continued functioning of our society, and the future health of our natural environment depends on our individual and collective actions. Through courses satisfying the Environmental Connections requirement, students confront this complex relationship from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. These courses help students understand their personal connection to the environment through analysis of environmental systems, cultural narratives (past and present) that shape our relationship with the environment, or societal mechanisms through which we collectively interact with the environment. Emphasis is placed on developing an informed and responsible perspective regarding human interactions with the environment.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will analyze, evaluate, and synthesize complex interrelationships between humans and the natural world.

2. Students will evaluate critically their personal connections to the natural world in one of the following ways: reasoning about ethical issues, directly experiencing the natural world, connecting to their community, or relating individual choices to larger societal goals.

3. Students will apply knowledge of the physical, cultural, or social connections between humans and the natural world, according to their interests and disciplinary preferences, in at least one of the following ways:

Diversity in the United States

hese courses have as their central concern various approaches to gender, sexual orientation, class, race, religion, or ethnicity, and explore these approaches as they have evolved and responded to the changing cultural landscape of the United States; they may explore the ways in which these issues were, in part, formulated not only by the historical movements of peoples from other parts to the world, but also by those indigenous peoples already present. All diversity courses will develop in students the ability to analyze and evaluate complex interrelationships between people and social structures, especially as they have evolved in this country.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will acquire contextualized knowledge about some aspect of complex group interactions in the United States.

2. Students will use concepts and tools of inquiry from at least one discipline to analyze issues related to the diversity of cultural experience in the United States.

3. Students will reflect critically on the ways in which diversity (broadly understood) within the United States shapes the experience of citizens and persons residing in the U.S.

Laboratory Science

Science is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural worlds through observation and experimentation. The scientific method refers to bodies of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, and integrating and revising previous models of understanding. A scientific method consists of the collection of data through observation and experimentation, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses. Courses that fulfill the lab science requirement focus on scientific content and principles in a disciplinary or interdisciplinary field within the natural sciences. Lab courses engage students in the methods of contemporary natural science by providing substantial and direct experience in doing science, including data collection and analysis of experimental results

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will develop a unified understanding of scientific theory and practice in modern natural science.

2. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the development of science as an intellectual pursuit and of the ways in which scientific ideas are formulated, modified, and come to be accepted.

3. Students will demonstrate skill in the application of scientific techniques and methods, including the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, and communication of results.

Quantitative Reasoning

Basic quantitative literacy is essential for a liberally educated student. Every Bucknell graduate will regularly encounter quantitative evidence and will be faced with evaluative claims and prescriptive arguments based on that evidence. For many students, quantitative evidence and arguments will be an essential part of their disciplinary program and, later, a part of their professional work. For all students, such evidence and argument will be a key feature of their involvement in the realms of politics, health, economics, and many more.

Quantitative Reasoning courses should educate students to: formulate questions and propositions for quantitative analysis; employ appropriate techniques (such as algorithms, formal logic, or deduction) for building mathematical or statistical models; interpret and evaluate the results of mathematical or statistical models; and assess the limits of mathematical and statistical analysis.

Learning Outcomes:

1a. Students will demonstrate college-level knowledge of a body of mathematical and/or statistical techniques suitable for modeling and analyzing real world questions/situations, and will gain some experience in such modeling, including experience in building, describing, testing, analyzing, and making predictions from such models.

OR

1b. Based on a focused course experience, students will apply basic mathematical and/or statistical techniques at a college level of sophistication in the analysis and modeling of real-world questions or problems, including experience in building, describing, testing, analyzing, and making predictions from such models.

AND

2. Students will formulate questions and propositions for quantitative analysis, translate the question into a form appropriate for the chosen quantitative model, and interpret and evaluate the results of the model in ways meaningful to the problem at hand. Students will demonstrate the ability to assess the validity and limitations of quantitative models and an understanding of the role of the assumptions made in the construction of these models.

Natural Science and Mathematics Learning Goals

Science is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural worlds through observation and experimentation. Mathematics uses quantitative reasoning, logical arguments, and proofs to develop quantitative understandings of the world. Mathematics is also an important component in an ever increasing number of fields. For a student to be minimally prepared to deal with the ever-increasing body of scientific and technical knowledge, it is necessary to have an appreciation of what science is, how science is done, and the mathematical tools used in scientific endeavors. Successfully addressing the challenges of the 21st century will require the insights of multiple disciplines within and beyond science and mathematics.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of scientific and/or mathematical content and principles in a disciplinary field.

2. Students will develop skills that enhance their ability to think critically about scientific, technological, and/or mathematical issues.

Social Sciences Learning Goals

Courses in Social and Behavioral analysis examine how and why: (a) people organize and interact as social beings; and/or (b) the complex relationships between people and their environments develop.

Courses with an emphasis on social analysis view human behavior in terms of patterns of choices and/or patterns of interaction. Such courses examine the ways that people behave in the face of social sanctions, institutional incentives and constraints, and social structures or systems. In addition, these courses examine the ways in which social practices, composed of understandings, emotions, and actions, shape and are shaped by social institutions and structures.

Courses with a behavioral analysis emphasis focus on how endogenous factors and/or the physical and social environment influence the way humans and nonhumans behave as they adapt to their environment, learn new information, and react to it.

Learning Outcomes:

1a. Students will understand and examine the ways in which individuals interact with, and are shaped by, social groups, institutions, and social structures and how these social constructions shape history, space, values, culture, and behavior.

OR

1b. Students will understand how behavior is shaped by biological and environmental history and the choices made throughout life.

AND

2. Students will apply principles of social and/or behavioral analysis drawn from various theoretical frameworks to critically interpret behavior and/or social issues.

Arts and Humanities Learning Goals

Textual Analysis and Interpretation

Texts are cultural productions that tell us about what it means to be human. By learning to analyze and discuss complex texts, such as novels, essays, archaeological artifacts, and so on, we become part of a long historical attempt to understand the ways humans make meaning.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will interpret texts with awareness of the texts’ basic orientation in the world (historical, philosophical, religious, linguistic, etc.).

2. Students will construct arguments and evaluate canons using the evidence and tools of critical analysis appropriate to the object of inquiry.

3. Students will develop an appreciation of the fundamental ambiguities and complexities involved in all human attempts to answer questions about knowledge, values, and life.

OR

Arts Literacy and Practice

The arts are a necessary and fundamental medium through which people communicate, understand, and respond to the complexity and richness of the human experience. By learning to interpret, discuss, create or perform artistic works in such disciplines as creative writing, dance, film, music, theatre, and the visual arts we develop an understanding and appreciation of how the arts serve the intrinsic human need for symbolic meaning and imaginative expression in our lives.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will appreciate, evaluate, and articulate the aesthetic and formal elements of a work of art.

OR

2. Students will comprehend and interpret works of art within historical and cultural contexts.

Foreign Language Learning Goals

The ability to understand, speak, read, and write a language other than English is increasingly important for students preparing for life and work in the global community. Through disciplined study, students are challenged to grapple with the underlying structures and grammatical principles of language; they thus become more competent as communicators in both their native and second languages. Additionally, students also become more capable of understanding the complex role that language plays in constructing identities, cultures, and meaning across a range of languages and communities.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will study language as a complex multifunctional phenomenon – as a system for communicating thought and information and as an essential element of human thought processes, perceptions, and self-expression – that allows them to understand different peoples and their communities.

2. Students will examine the world, their own culture, and their own language through the lens of a foreign language and culture.

Foundation Seminar Learning Goals

Foundation seminars introduce first-year students to the learning community in which they are expected to participate actively while at Bucknell. Through a wide variety of activities, students come to value and to emulate the characteristics of an engaged learner. In particular, they take responsibility for their own learning and understand how specific activities are related to the learning goals of a course. They take an active role in evaluating their own learning, and if necessary, seek assistance in order to achieve the learning goals. They can apply and transfer knowledge across disciplines and can make connections at various levels. They are aware that learning is a social act that requires collaboration and self-awareness as well as being receptive to constructive criticism and alternative ideas or solutions.

Students improve their ability to analyze, evaluate, and interpret materials they encounter to synthesize and communicate the results of their studies, and to create works of their own. This process fosters critical thinking skills complemented by the creative dimensions of imagination and insight. Through exposure to different perspectives, students come to realize the limitations of a single viewpoint, while learning to construct persuasive arguments based on close analysis of multiple viewpoints.

Learning Outcomes:

1.Students will develop writing, reading, speaking, listening, and information literacy skills necessary for collegiate-level academic work.

2.Students will develop capacities for independent academic work and become more accountable for their own learning.

Integrated Perspectives Learning Goals

The Integrated Perspectives courses are designed to help address the goals of integrative learning, critical thinking and synthesis of ideas across disciplines. This course builds upon the intellectual groundwork established in Foundation Seminars and draws upon students' academic experiences from their first semesters. The course encourages students and faculty to approach complex issues requiring integration and synthesis of a range of knowledge, perspectives and methods acquired through study and practice across multiple disciplines and diverse educational experiences. The course encourages an early awareness of the connections that exist between different ways of thinking by crossing borders that separate disciplines, and deepens this awareness as students move through the curriculum, examining relations among diverse works, across cultures and centuries.

Learning Outcome:

1. Students will recognize, construct, and evaluate connections among different intellectual methods, ways of learning, and bodies of knowledge.