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UNIVERSITY LEARNING OBJECTIVES WORKSHEET

LA400 Senior Integrative Seminar

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I. Communication and Problem Solving

Skill Example of specific assignment or


Met
Met
Partially

Not Met
activity

Use the X I have learned to use the expressive arts as a


expressive mode of self-expression and inquiry. When I
arts as a took Ceramics 1, I learned a new way to
mode of express myself through art and learned more
inquiry or about what it is that I personally enjoy. In
expression this class we learned many different
techniques for forming the ceramic pieces,
and for decorating them. In this class I
learned that I am more of a decorator than a
maker. Through the different techniques for
forming our pots or coffee mugs I often found
myself frustrated when the clay would not
behave in the way that I desired. When it
came time to decorate, I discovered that the
different glazes and carving techniques
tended to come easier to me. I believe that I
also enjoyed the decorating more because it
allowed me to make my piece unique; the
whole class was working on cups that day,
but only mine had this specific design. I have
found this true in my personal life as well
where I would much rather spend hours
decorating a cake than I would baking it and
doing the dishes after. In this way, not only
did I learn a new skill of basic ceramics, but I
also learned about myself and my
preferences for creative expression.

Demonstrate X During my time as the President of Phi Theta


leadership, Kappa, national honor society for two-year
negotiation, colleges, I learned a lot about leadership and
relational, and the challenges it entails. During the two
consensus years that I held the position I was
skills responsible for electronic communications via
email and social media, conducting meetings,
recruitment sessions, induction ceremonies,
monitoring local and national achievement
requirements, organizing campus events, and
intervening in the occasional squabble.
Probably the most important thing that I
learned about leadership during this time is
how much I do not know about leadership.
Just like the old adage that you finally
understand everything when you accept you
know nothing. I did learn a lot during this
time, and I think more than anything I have
begun to develop my personal leadership
style. I prefer to function as a facilitator and
organizer of the group and our shared ideas
rather than a strict figure head with the rest
of the group working towards my goals. One
of my primary goals as a leader is to make
sure that everyone in the group sees
themselves as an equal member regardless
of the tenacity with which they speak. I now
have a great appreciation for the power of
online survey systems like SurveyMonkey for
making sure that every voice is heard. I
understand that people who are over worked
are more likely to make mistakes and cause
conflict with other members, and that people
will work much harder for a project they
chose than one they were assigned. I believe
that the true mark of a good leader is
someone who is always observing the group
members, learning from them and willing to
adapt to their changing needs. While I do
believe that I have more leadership
experience than a lot of people my age, I
believe that good leadership is based on
lifetime learning and will therefore strive to
continue strengthening this skill in the years
to come.

Use X During my education I have learned about


technological and utilized many different technologies and
skills to services. One of the most important of these
access skills is the ability to do thorough research
information, identifying and using credible sources. I have
organize been taught since the beginning to analyze
knowledge, the source of information and identify any
and possible biases or other red flags before using
communicate their information. It has become a habit to go
straight to the online database EBSCO
provided by the university library to begin
finding good information for my research
projects. Many of the research projects that I
do require me to compile information from a
minimum of five or more sources. I have
developed my own strategy for organizing the
useful pieces of information from each source
as I go through the use of outlines and color
coding.

Group projects often require the use of


different technologies and strategies to
communicate effectively with all the group
members. I have learned that group text
messages are the fastest form of
communication, and there is a mute feature
in my phone for when the constant buzzing
gets to be overwhelming. I rarely used
google documents before coming to Seton
Hill but now use them almost daily to
collaborate in real time with the others
working on that project. Recent quarantine
measures have required us to adapt in new
ways including using conferencing features in
canvas, google hangouts, and go to meeting
that I had not used previously.

As with leadership, I believe that the ability to


use technology is one that will constantly
evolve over my lifetime as different
technologies come and go out of style. I
believe that the most important skill to be
had here is a willingness to learn and adapt
to the changing times.

Propose new X In the second half of Organic Chemistry we


solutions to looked at a popular chemical method and its
current issues impact on the environment. We found that
one of the chemical reactants that was being
used was dangerous to both the people
working with it and the physical environment.
***Chromium Through my research I identified a possible
alt proposal alternative method that could be used to
achieve the same reaction without the
harmful substance in the popular method. I
used these findings and compared them with
Catholic Social Teaching Principles to make
an argument for why the alternative method
should be used in place of the popular
method.

Express X In Biochemistry I did a presentation on


arguments or Parkinson’s Disease focusing on causes and
main points treatments of the disease. The biochemistry
clearly, in of Parkinson’s Disease is still under a lot of
written and investigation and there are as many if not
oral more unanswered questions then there are
communicatio definitive answers. After combing through a
n plethora of information I was able to identify
the components that I found the most
relevant to the class discussion and organize
them into a paper and presentation format. I
***Parkinsons was able to teach the class about the known
powerpoint and suspected genes that cause Parkinson’s
Disease, the hypothesized etiology, current
treatments, and ongoing research projects.

Transfer In multiple science classes and psych classes


knowledge we have talked about ethical research
and values principles. Microbiology we talked about the
into sound spread of diseases. Physics lab we had to
decision- design our own experiments. Cell lab we
making were working with living tissues. On the news
they are talking about designing clinical trials;
I am constantly in discussions with people
who do not understand who research works
and am able to explain to them the steps that
need to be taken to ensure that we are
following ethical guidelines and the clinical
trial results will be usable (valid and …?)

II. Historical, Cultural, and Global Awareness

Skill Example of specific assignment or activity


Met
Partially

Not Met

Communicate X During my time at Seton Hill I have taken two


in a second introductory Spanish classes. In addition,
language at before I came to Seton Hill, I had the
the opportunity to take Costa Rica Politics which
introductory included a travel abroad component in Costa
college level Rica for 10 days. This gave me the opportunity
to speak Spanish with native speakers, and
also to learn local colloquiums like “pura vida”
and how engrained they are in the culture.
During the trip we spent five of the ten days at
a Spanish language school full of other
students from all around the world. You were
not permitted to speak any other languages on
school grounds to maintain the immersive
experience. While I am nowhere near fluent, I
know enough to get by while traveling or when
encountering Spanish speaking people in my
everyday life.

Analyze the X Through my education I have learned about


impact of various aspects of our historical and current
history, political structures in different classes. Each
geography, class has helped to give me a different piece of
and socio- the puzzle and allow me to form a more
cultural comprehensive picture of the events through
dynamics on my own critical lens. One of the first and most
global important things that I learned in college
interactions history class was that the lessons taught to us
from a variety as kids were rarely accurate portrayals of
of disciplinary history, instead watered-down versions of
perspectives events designed to paint happy pictures of us
as the good guys in every interaction. As they
say, the winning side writes the history books.
This has left me skeptical of any one account
and taught me the value of integrating info
from multiple sources to form my own ideas
and picture of events.

I now have a greater understanding of the


complexities and fragility of our international
relations. Western Cultures, US Government
and Politics, Intro to Sociology, Intro to Ethics,
Faith, Religion and Society, Costa Rica Politics,
Spanish Language, Intro to Social Welfare and
various science courses have all come together
to help me appreciate global interactions past
and present.

Analyze X In Faith, Religion and Society and Theology:


current and Spirituality we learned about the Catholic faith
historical as well as the other Abrahamic faiths and the
events values and teachings of each. Before these
through the classes I thought that I had a decent grasp on
lens of what these faiths entailed, but after beginning
spirituality these studies I realized that I had much to
and faith learn. I was able to better understand the role
that religion and its teachings have played in
different events throughout history. This also
helped give me the tools to critically evaluate
whether past and present political and religious
actors were actually working in the name of
their faith or using a twisted version of it to suit
their needs.

Assess X In Intro to Social Welfare we discussed the


privilege and various forces that have come together to
oppression shape our current social welfare system here in
from the the United States. This included a heavy focus
perspective of on the development of social welfare in Europe
culture, race, which was the biggest influence for our system
class, and here. Topics from Sociology also integrated
gender into these conversations regarding how social
devisions developed and why they are so
difficult to combat today.

** For Intro to Social Welfare I did a research


Healthcare project analyzing our current health care
reform system and its weaknesses in caring for
disadvantaged populations. I used information
from various studies in the United States in
combination with data from other countries to
make an argument for the implementation of a
universal health care system as a means to
combat the racism and other socio-economic
forces that provide barriers to adequate health
care for all of our citizens.

III. Multiple Modes of Inquiry

Skill Example of specific assignment or activity


Met
Partially

Not Met
Generate and X In Physics Lab we spent each session collecting
analyze and analyzing different data sets related to our
numerical and topic that week. We used SparkVue software in
scientific data combination with various measurement
instruments to collect raw data related to
gravity, force of impact, magnetism, electricity
and other topics. The raw data that was
collected was assembled and analyzed using
Excel Spreadsheets and techniques learned in
Statistics to get a better picture of the forces
around us.

Locate and X For the class Western Cultures 2 I researched


analyze the history and significance of the Statue of
expressive Liberty and did a power point presentation for
media to gain our class. During this project I learned a lot
information or about the Statue of Liberty and the inspiration
comprehend behind the project. I was surprised to learn
the that its creators were both applauding
significance of America’s progress and simultaneously
an issue or an remarking on the progress that was still
event needed both here and in France. The statue
was not welcomed by all and even viewed
critically both the former slaves that it was
supposed to be celebrating. Additionally, there
are many symbolic elements worked into the
***Statue of
statues design that speak to the objectives of
liberty
the designer.

Organize and Body modification project for PTK. We chose a


manage topic people found interesting, did the
resources in a research, put together posters and handouts,
creative way negotiated a display in the library for maximum
to achieve visibility…. Or zombie video
impact

Find, O chem lab practicals we were required to


evaluate, and write our own lab procedures prior to coming to
apply class. We had to review past procedures,
information including what to do if something goes wrong
and how to fix it. I came to lab with my plan
and I messed up, but I was able to diagnose the
problem and knew how to fix it.

Interpret X In Cellular Biology myself and a partner were


quantitative given a mock job at a pharmaceutical company
and that required us to look at evidence regarding
qualitative a drug used to treat breast cancer that was to
information to be produced and evaluate whether the
present a continued production of that drug was
logical financially and medically worthwhile or whether
argument the production was a waste of resources. We
based on read and analyzed all of the info provided by
supporting our mock employer and had to differentiate
data between which sources were credible and
which were unintentionaly or willfully biased.
The culmination of the qualitative testimonials
and the quantitative drug trails were used to
come to a decision on continued production.
**Voice thread
Once a decision was reached, we were
responsible for developing a presentation for
our mock employer explaining what we had
found and defend our decision for the proper
course of action.

IV. Self Reflection and Assessment

Skill Example of specific assignment or activity


Met
Met
Partially

Not Met

Demonstrate X In Intro to Ethics we often discussed different


ethical ethical frameworks around difficult social topics
decision- in today’s world. Towards the end of the
making course students voted on the issues we wanted
grounded in to focus on for the last few weeks. One of the
philosophical ones that was chosen was the legalization of
inquiry marijuana for medical and recreational
purposes. We read and listened to multiple
viewpoints on the issue and the evidence they
used to support their claims. After reviewing
these materials, I evaluated all the different
points and came to my own conclusion on the
issue using the ethical decision methods we
had learned about earlier in the course. This
allowed to me come to a decision and support
my claims.
Apply For Faith, Religion and Society I did a research
Catholic project on the current state of women’s rights
social in the workplace with a focus on sexual assault
teaching to and harassment. After collecting and
the analysis presenting the issue for the first half of the
of presentation, I analyzed the issue using the
contemporar nine Catholic Social Teaching Principles
y social highlighting the six most relevant.
issues

**CST sex
harassment

Recognize X In Intro to Sociology we learned all about


the value of different cultures and their beautifully unique
diverse practices. One of the cultures that we were
spiritual and fortunate to learn about in depth was the
religious Indian culture. As part of an extra credit
perspectives opportunity I attended the World Foods Festival
where I helped to box lunches full of authentic
Indian food to sell to members of the campus
community. The event was organized by the
***Photos World Cultures Club, after speaking with them
helping with the food festival I decided to join
myself. I later helped with the Cultures of India
festival and got to go on a field trip to visit two
local temples for Holi celebrations, a
celebration of spring. I was very blessed to
experience this culture through the guidance of
my instructor who grew up in India herself, and
my now best friend who grew up in the Indian
culture although she has spent the majority of
her life in the United States.

Integrate the X When I was the Vice President of the Library


practice of Student Advisory Board at CCAC our academic
charity with advisory suggested doing a charity drive for a
the skill of local charity Mars Home for Youth that
justice provided housing support and education to
under privileged and at-risk youth. We
collected school supplies as indicated by their
website. When we went to deliver the supplies
the staff took us on a short tour of their school
building. We were all struck by the lack of
resources, and the staff struggling to do their
best to provide these kids with a good
education. It was especially appalling knowing
that these poor children were directly across
the highway from a very wealthy school and
could see those kids everyday enjoying
opportunities that they did not have. During
our tour the staff member mentioned that the
kids wanted to start a sports team but did not
have any equipment. When we returned to
campus, I contacted the sports director and
convinced him to donate some of the school’s
old gear so the kids could start their own
hockey team; there was also some baseball
equipment too. While at their facility we also
noticed the rundown state of the building and
lack of cheerful artwork. Our advisor contacted
the art instructor who was able to donate
pieces that the students left behind, even
taking the initiative to help paint a dress onto a
wooded fairy so that painting could go to the
school as well. It was very important to us to
be able to help give these kids some of the
basic things they were lacking, and very much
deserved.

Exercise X In US Government and Politics, I learned about


responsible the structure and inner workings of the United
freedom and States political system. I took this class in the
civic fall of 2015 which I believe really helped me to
engagement understand the complexities of the presidential
based on an primaries and other elections that were in the
informed near future at that time. Prior to taking this
value system class I did not understand the difference
between primaries, caucuses and the general
election. This knowledge allowed me to be
able to participate knowingly in these
processes. In addition, it helped me to better
understand the importance of going to vote
even if you live in a district where your single
vote is unlikely to impact the election, it is still
valuable to send a message to law makers
about what is important to us and that we are
watching them. This is especially important for
my generation who are often overlooked by
politicians because young people do not vote
as often as senior citizens, whose needs and
agenda are prioritized.

I am not a religious person, I identify as


agnostic, so I do not subscribe to anyone else’s
value system other than my own. However, I
have spent a great deal of time contemplating
what those values are. In Theology: Spirituality
we did a series of essays evaluating our own
faith journey including the values that are
important to us as individuals. In addition, in
Senior Seminar I read The Little Prince and
contemplated which of the characters I was
most like based on how my values aligned with
theirs. I especially enjoyed the exercise in
writing my own personal mission statement
where I wrote down all the things that were
important and valued in my life and carefully
organized them to reflect which values were
most important in each aspect of my life. This
mission statement is useful in guiding my
decisions and actions in my everyday life, as
well as in the voting booth.

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