Assignment:
Read the Ottawa University Learning Outcomes for Liberal Arts Studies (LAS) and the descriptions of the four Liberal Arts Breadth Areas provided in the assignment materials. Review the article by Cronon for a review of the meaning of becoming a liberally educated person.
Create a 4-5 page self-assessment that addresses your achievement of the knowledge, skills, and values of the learning outcomes of Ottawa's liberal arts studies. Reflect on your understanding of a liberal arts education and on your learning in each breadth area referring to specific courses and/or life experiences that have contributed to your learning and growth in that particular area. You also need to reflect on the content of the Proficiency Exam as it relates to the LAS learning outcomes, and reflect on your score on the exam and its meaning for breadth area learning. Conclude your essay with a brief reflection on how you will enhance your knowledge of the breadth areas in the future. Use the questions in the Liberal Arts Self-Assessment document to guide your reflections on the learning outcomes.
Liberal Arts Learning Outcomes
Intellectual Growth Outcomes
Knowledge
1. Breadth. The student will articulate and discuss the goals, purposes and methods used to understand the world in scientific, aesthetic, cultural, historical, ethical, and religious ways
2. Integration. The student will identify the similarities and differences among these ways of knowing/experiencing the world and will explore the relationships among them.
Skills
1. Communication. The student will demonstrate his/her ability to engage in effective oral communication and to write clearly and coherently in a variety of forms.
2. Critical Thinking. The student will analyze complex issues and arguments (e.g., identify assumptions, premises, and conclusions) in various intellectual contexts (scientific, technical, ethical, aesthetic, social, global, etc.) and will evaluate the validity and soundness of such arguments.
3. Problem Solving. The student will gather relevant information and ideas and apply appropriate principles, concepts, and theories to solve significant social and intellectual problems in diverse communities.
Values
1. Ethical Values. The student will recognize ethical dilemmas and identify the values that inform various responses to such dilemmas. The student will also recognize and evaluate the differences in value judgments based on culture, religion, and historical perspective.
2. Aesthetic Values. The student will recognize the nature of aesthetic judgments and the values that inform them, and will evaluate the differences in such responses.
Personal Growth Outcomes
The student will articulate his/her current sense of personal identity in relation to such factors as work, faith, values, community, and ideas, and will reflect on the development of this identity and his/her goals for further growth.