Curricular Goals

Course Goals

Learning Activities

1.     Students will read college-level texts.

Not an explicit goal of PsTL 1211 but necessary precondition for progress toward the cognitive goals of the course.

On the first day of the course the importance of reading the text before class and reviewing it after class is discussed.  Students are given a study question outline for the text and it is explained that the study questions are the best guide to what will be tested on in this course. 

2.     Students will understand lecture material.

Yes.  Implicit goal for PsTL 1211.

Deal with the theoretical causes of the social problem being studied or with current public policy issues.  Both topics are controversial so each lecture is followed by general class discussion designed to determine what the lecture meant to the students and to encourage their critical evaluation of the theories and public policy proposals.  Small group discussion of major public policies also occurs several times a semester.

3.     Students will participate in classroom discussions.

Yes.

Purposes of class discussion and the basic procedures are discussed on the first day of class.  Large group and small group discussions are both used extensively to involve students in the study of social problems.

4.     Students will write a variety of documents.

Yes.

Students are required to write the following;  a) their sociological autobiography, b) several short papers advocating or opposing specific social policies such as affirmative action, and c) a book review of a current book dealing with a social problem.

5.     Students will understand quantitative problems.

Not on explicit goal for PsTL 1211 but quantitative data in tables, charts, and graphs are analyzed and evaluated.

Students are given examples of how to lie with statistics and then presented data concerning our economy and its condition and asked to evaluate it.  Quantitative data on other social problems is also presented and evaluated.

6.     Students will be able to use a computer.

Students will use the computer to complete assignments, gather information, and write papers

Students will use hardware and software of their choice.  Coaching and mini-lectures to guide them. Also referrals to PsTL and U of M labs for assistance beyond class.

7.     Students are willing to receive information and respond to it.

Students will seek information on topics of interest to them and share that information with the class on a regular basis in class and on quizzes.

Students will conduct a number of assignments throughout the course

8.     Students develop values, organize them into systems, and apply those systems to their private and public lives.

N/A

N/A

9.     Other.

To be able to recognize and distinguish statements of facts, statements of theory, and statements of value to become more aware of their own cultural values.

Students are given social science definitions of values, facts, and theory with numerous illustrations, and given several exercises with help them to develop this skill.

Curricular Goals

Course Goals

Learning Activities

10.     Appreciate the discipline as a valuable area of knowledge.

Yes.  This is a major goal of PsTL 1211, to distinguish social science from other ways of knowing.

Students are taught that all human societies recognize several sources of knowledge.  It is pointed out that all human knowledge systems share some important goals such as the pursuit of excellence and the provision for growth and development and that all human knowledge systems are imperfect because each rests upon assumption about reality that cannot be proven.   Students also are encouraged to examine the concept academic discipline and to see that knowledge systems do differ as to how they acquire and validate information.

11.     Identify and describe issues or problems in the discipline.

Yes.  In PsTL 1211 students are exposed to the three major theoretical orientations of sociology.

1) Lectures on how each of the theoretical orientations explain the causes of the social problems studied.  2) Class discussions of the lectures.  3) Written exercises to recognize the explanations given by each paradigm.

12.     Analyze and reflect upon issues or problems in the discipline.

Students will find information from a variety of sources related to an issue in the discipline & and be required to reflect on it

As students read more deeply about a topic, controversies in the field of social problems are revealed.  These controversies are explored in their papers and in class discussions.

13.     Solve issues or problems in the discipline.

Students will describe possible solutions to social problems associated with all social science

Exploring and evaluating solutions to problems is part of their papers.

14.     Think creatively.

Students will organize and write and speak about disparate information in new ways

In the process of writing their papers and daily interactions with their classmates, students will create new knowledge in social problems

15.     Other.

None.

Curricular Goals

Course Goals

Learning Activities

16.     Awareness and respect for diversity in terms of content.

Yes.  Teaching students about cultural diversity of society and the global society is a major objective of PsTL 1211.

1) Students read and view videos about some of the micro cultures of society.  2) Students conduct interviews of  “culturally different people” and write about process.

17.     Awareness and respect for diversity in terms of process.

Yes.

1) Students are encouraged to discover that culture determines how individuals process problems and other data.  2) Students during examination of other knowledge systems encountered and examine the proposition that poetry provides as valid a means of understanding a social problem as social science.

18.     Other.

None.

Curricular Goals

Course Goals

Learning Activities

19.     Class participation.

Yes.

Class participation is defined to include preparation for class, note taking and participation in oral class discussion.  On the first day of class the purpose of class discussion in PsTL 1211 and the rules of procedure to be used are discussed since class discussions often deal with controversial issues, it is necessary to remind ourselves during some discussions of these purposes and procedures.

20.     Use of learning resources.

Collect and apply information from a variety of sources mentioned above

Use the INTERNET and Lumina to locate information on a topic; e-mail, films, lectures, guest speakers.

21.     Task completion.

Not a specific goal for PsTL 1211, just an expectation that all tasks will be completed by date set in syllabus unless there is a valid reason.

N/A

22.     Appropriate interaction with peers, faculty, and staff on academic issues.

Not a specific goal for PsTL 1211 but appropriate behaviors are encouraged and rewarded.

N/A

23.     Understand themselves better as learners.

Through feedback students will increase their abilities to assess their knowledge form both professor, ugta and classmates

Pre-test post-test format and practice quizzes require mastery and give students feedback to focus their study toward that goal; weekly written feedback on assignments.

24.     Evaluate their own strengths, limitations, and interests.

By completing a variety of tasks, students acquire more self knowledge about their competencies as students of social problems; they also evaluate each other and give individual feedback.

Course activities include test taking, writing and oral presentation giving students a variety of means to demonstrate competence

25.     Set attainable academic and career goals.

N/A

N/A

26.     Time management.

N/A

N/A

27.     Test taking.

Students will demonstrate the ability to perform on multiple choice tests and essays

Various strategies for test preparation are reviewed and types of test questions discussed.  Students are given low stress opportunities to practice skills.

28.     Library skills.

Students will locate information in the library

Students conduct library searches in and out of the classroom and on internet with guidance from the faculty, ugta and referrals to others.

29.     Condensing and summarizing.

N/A

N/A

30.     Techniques for organizing knowledge.

N/A

N/A

31.     Familiarity with different learning strategies.

N/A

N/A

32.     Awareness of personal learning styles.

N/A

N/A

33.     Other.

None.