Communication Competence
Learners will become effective communicators in their discipline.
For my first program outcome artifact, I have chosen a paper from my English 112 Writing/Research in the Disciplines (ENG-112) course that I took in the fall of 2017. The paper itself is the Discipline Specific Report, where we had to chose a topic within our discipline, research it, and discuss it. Despite being written three years ago and my writing skills having improved dramatically since having written this paper, I still feel that this is the best showcase of my skills in communicating within one of my chosen disciplines despite the many areas in which I would improve upon it if writing this paper today.
My first goal was to effectively communicate with those within the library science field and show that I understood the terminology associated with it. To do this, I had to first research terms within the library science field and familiarize myself with them. This was important to my paper due to having to conduct research related to my discipline to complete the assignment. If I was unfamiliar with the terminology within my discipline, then how would I be able to effectively communicate with those within it? After researching terminology and coming to an understanding of it, I began utilizing it within my paper, defining the terms right after using them for the first time as well, showing that I did have an understanding of what I was talking about, as well as making sure that anyone that was not within my discipline who was possibly reading my work would understand what I was talking about as well. Along with having to familiarize myself with the terminology, I also had to make sure I was writing in a professional manner. This was more of a struggle for me, seeing as I have always had a difficult time putting my thoughts into words and making sure it was coherent. To accomplish this, I first created an outline of my paper, writing the beginning sentences of each paragraph, filling the rest of the paper in from there and keeping a close eye on my wording, making sure to remain as professional as I could at the time, as well as any errors, making sure to correct myself as I went. After this, I had a peer proof read my paper to make sure I remained professional throughout, as well as to make sure my paper was coherent. In taking these steps, I feel that I successfully accomplished my goal in effectively communicating with those within my discipline, even if there is still room for improvement in this paper based upon my writing skills now.
My second goal was to conduct research related to my discipline related to my proposed topic and communicate my findings effectively. This was difficult, seeing as when I went to conduct research on NC Live on my topic of choice, there was not a whole lot of research that had been done on it. To accomplish this goal, I had to carefully look through each source I came across related to the topic, making sure that it would meet the requirements of the assignment, as well as be a useable source for talking about my topic. After making the final selections for my sources, I then had to make sure I could relay what I had researched in a professional manner while communicating what I had found during my research. My professionalism has improved since writing this paper, but I feel that I accomplished this part of my goal as well. I took what research I had found and successfully relayed it to my audience, making the information easily understandable to an audience that was not within my discipline, as well as an audience within my discipline, showing my understanding of the topic I was discussing in a manner that showed I was capable of communicating to those within and those not within my discipline in a professional manner and that was easily understandable to both audiences.
This assignment not only challenged my ability to speak in a professional manner and taught me to speak to those within my chosen discipline, but it also challenged my ability to conduct research on a topic within my discipline, as well as familiarize myself with terminology within that field. The topic itself was very difficult to research, seeing as there was little research available to me on the topic. Despite these difficulties, I was able to successfully conduct the research and relay my findings to those within my discipline while using the appropriate terminology, showing that even though I had very little to work with and had no knowledge of the terminology within the field prior to this assignment, I am able to overcome these types of challenges and accomplish the goals I set for myself.
Creative Problem Solving
Learners will apply appropriate techniques to solving problems within their discipline.
The artifact that I have chosen for this program outcome is a paper I wrote in my English 112 Writing/Research in the Disciplines (ENG-112) course in the fall of 2017. The assignment was to create a possible solution for a real-world problem that was within our discipline and create a proposal on the possible solutions. Since my discipline is in the library science field, I chose a problem that I had first hand experience with, that being very minimal traffic flow to the library at Monroe High School. Having worked as an assistant in the library during my final semester for class credits, this was one of the largest issues I had noticed during my time there, so, I decided to use this experience to try and come up with a solution.
My first goal when writing this paper was to identify the problem and come up with solutions that were realistic. To do this, I first looked back on my own experiences with working in the library and identifying the problem that I wished to discuss and find a solution for. What I remembered was that not only was traffic flow very minimal to the library, but the computers were also very slow as well, it taking much longer to pull up a word document on the desktop computers in the library than on the school issued Chromebooks. After identifying the possible cause of the low traffic to the library, I then began conducting research, going to NCLive to find resources that would possibly give me ideas as to how to solve this problem. Through my research, I came up with two solutions, those being to either receive donations from an outside organization, or to purchase directly from a company. After finding my solutions, I then began looking into these two solutions to see just how they could possibly be implemented.
My second goal was to find ways that my solutions could be realistically implemented, as well as identify the flaws within those solutions, seeing as they were not perfect. I first talked about the less realistic solution, that being to receive donations from an outside organization. I found through my research that some organizations donated or sold reduced priced supplies as well as technology to certain institutions, such as nonprofits, as long as they meet certain requirements. The reason why this solution is the least realistic is because some schools do not meet the requirements of some of these organizations, such as being located within a certain area. My more realistic solution was to purchase from a company directly, such as Microsoft. This solution is the most realistic due to some of these companies offering discounts to schools and students, this lowering the price of purchasing. The problem with this solution, however, would be if purchasing a large amount of desktop computers would be within the school’s budget, my research showing that newer desktop models can cost between $350.00 to over $2,200.00, this not including the costs of shipping and installation. Despite the flaws within both solutions, I was still able to find ways that they could possibly be implemented and what would be required for either solution to be implemented.
While it is not perfect, seeing a few flawed areas in which I could have done better within my proposal, I still think that this is a good example of my creative problem-solving skills. Through identifying the problem, conducting research, and proposing solutions that were both realistic and could possibly be implemented, I demonstrated my ability to identify a problem and come up with solutions for said problem. Even though this paper was written three years ago, my research and writing skills having improved drastically since then and upon reviewing this paper for my reflection knowing that if written today I could drastically improve my proposal as well as solutions, I still feel that this is a good example of my problem-solving skills and how I can come up with solutions and propose them in a way that could possibly be applied in the real world.
Understanding the Arts and the Human Experience
Learners will demonstrate an understanding of arts and humanities in historical and cultural contexts.
The artifact that I have chosen for this program outcome is a persuasive essay that I wrote for my Art History II course (ART-115) in the spring of 2020. The purpose of the essay was to chose a piece of art from one of the chapters we were studying at the time, develop a thesis based around the piece, and then persuade the viewer through research that your thesis is plausible. The thesis that I came up with was that I believed that the piece Witches’ Sabbath by the artist Hans Baldung Grien was not meant to make people fearful of witches, but was created from a place of interest in stories written about witches and magic up until the High Renaissance, there being imagery within the piece to suggest this theory, as well as how the place he lived in influenced the type of art he created and the imagery used within his art, the area he lived in being known as the center of humanism at the time. The piece itself depicts multiple witches of different ages engaging in a ritual, two gathered around a tall pot that has something flowing from it, most likely either magic or some sort of potion, and into the sky, leading the viewer’s eyes up to a witch riding backwards on a goat, there also being another interesting witch in the painting, the eldest of them all, this one running up to the two seated around the pot, carrying a platter and cloth as she runs up from the background. The reason I selected this piece for this essay was because of how interesting the composition as well as the depiction of the subject was to me, this piece being the one to draw me back the most out of all of the pieces we could have chosen to write about in the chapter we were selecting from. So, with my piece and thesis chosen, I then set out to conduct research.
My first goal was to thoroughly research how witchcraft and witches were viewed as by society during the time in which the piece was created, as well as define what exactly was considered witchcraft back then and see how much this view has changed over time. I did this to help viewers understand what exactly it was people were scared of back then, as well as to show why I thought that the piece I was discussing was not meant to scare people further than they already were. To accomplish this, I went to NC Live to research witches and witchcraft during the sixteenth century, when this piece was created, as well as to research the artist and the piece as well. During my research, I learned a lot about what was originally considered to be witchcraft in sixteenth century Europe, as well as what could make someone accuse someone else of being a witch back then. I was not too surprised by what I found, seeing as I had already learned about the witch trials in the seventeenth century in my spare time out of interest, but I was surprised to learn how the fear of witches and witchcraft slowly grew as time went on, the fear slowly building up to what we all know about the witch trials that occurred in Salem, becoming more widespread as time went on, rather than initially starting out at that level. After defining what exactly was considered witchcraft and how that evolved as the fear of witches rose and eventually led to the witch trials, I then set out to show how my thesis was plausible through Baldung’s upbringing and surroundings, as well as through what is depicted within the piece itself.
My second goal was to prove how this piece was not created to elicit fear, but was merely created from interest in the topic of witches and witchcraft due to the place he lived in and his patrons. The way I did this was by researching the artist, as well as examining the piece thoroughly and drawing conclusions based on my research and observations. By doing this, I learned that the artist, Baldung, had a humanist upbringing and lived and worked in what was known as the center of the teachings of humanism, which is the teachings that put importance on humans, rather than the divine, meaning that the majority of his patrons held the same humanist beliefs that he did. Finding this out was important to my thesis, seeing as it proves that he was merely interested in the stories of witches and witchcraft, rather than being afraid of and believing in them. Another important aspect of this was the cauldron that the witches in the piece are gathered it around, it looking more like a Greek amphora, which is a type of tall jar, rather than the pot-bellied cauldrons that are generally associated with witches, showing that he had more than likely read Greek stories about witches and witchcraft in the past. I also found out that some of his other works contain important figures from Greek mythology, such as Hercules. By researching the artist and analyzing the piece, I showed how my thesis was plausible through what the artist believed in, his early works, the place he resided in, as well as what he chose to depict within his art.
Despite there being little research on the artist as well as the piece, I feel that I was successful in presenting my thesis and then presenting evidence to persuade my audience. By conducting research and defining what witches and witchcraft were in sixteenth century Europe, I was able to show what witches were thought to be by the majority of people, making it easier to show that the art piece was created from a place of interest rather than fear. This, combined with research into the artist himself and through analyzing and conducting research on the piece, showed how Baldung drew inspiration from the stories and folklore surrounding witches and witchcraft from different cultures. Both of these combined shows that I am able to look at a topic and see multiple outcomes and perspectives from it, as well as explore how something like a piece of art can have an effect on society’s views of a topic. Despite the widespread fear during this time, Hans Baldung Grien was merely interested in the topic, rather than attempting to spread the fear even further.
Social Scientific Literacy
Learners will demonstrate an understanding of social science methodologies in order to explain the consequences of human actions.
The artifact that I have selected for this program outcome is an essay that I wrote in my Introduction to Sociology (SOC-210) course in the fall of 2018. The essay itself is called the Observation Essay and the goal was to choose one of two essay prompts. The first prompt was to sit somewhere where lots of people gather and observe them and their various behaviors. The second prompt, the one I chose, was to go to a children’s clothing store and a children’s toy store and observe how the store is laid out to unconsciously teach children how to act as the gender that society expects them to be from the day they are born. Since I chose the Gender Socialization essay, I immediately began thinking of places I could go to fulfill the requirements of the assignment, landing on the perfect store to visit.
My first goal was to chose the store that I would visit to conduct my observations. When I initially read the assignment criteria, I knew that it would be near impossible for me to visit two stores, seeing as I could not drive, and could not find a way to get to the stores except on a weekend. So, to solve this problem, I thought of stores that combined the criteria of being a children’s clothing and toy store, the list being very small, but promising. From there, I chose one of the two stores, those being Walmart and Target, and going to my instructor to make sure that it would be okay to visit just one store that combined the criteria together. After getting permission, I then made plans and set out to my destination, Target, to begin my observations.
The next goal for this assignment was to take my findings and show just how gender socialization works in a store setting. After conducting a lengthy observation and taking plenty of notes so that I would not forget what it was I had seen during my time in the store, I had just one more challenge to overcome, which was relaying my findings. This was slightly more difficult, seeing as there were a few areas in the store in which I had observed gender socialization taking place, even if it was not apparent at first, and I wanted to be able to convey what I had seen and relate it to the stereotypes and norms that society has. To do this, I first talked about what I had seen, how despite not being plainly labeled, the sections were indeed still gendered, mainly in color palettes as well as what types of imagery was on the clothing or being depicted in the toys. I then related these findings to how previous generations were raised to fit a mold based on what gender they were assigned as at birth, how their children passed these on to their children through buying them clothes and toys that are associated with either boys or girls, just because of things as simple as what color they are, as well as talking about how certain terms are gendered and used to put others down, such as telling a young girl to act more “ladylike” or telling a young boy to “man up” when children act in a way that is seen as not fitting with their assigned gender. Through relating my observations in the store to things that we have all encountered in our daily lives in places such as school or work, and even in the media we consume, I was able to show that despite not having a label, the sections intended for children in Target at the time of writing this paper were in fact, still unintentionally gendered.
Throughout the course of this assignment, I was able to take what I had learned about gender socialization and put it into action. Through choosing a store to visit and then observing the sections of the store intended for children, I was able to see how children were socialized to act a certain way and have certain aspirations based off of the types of toys and clothing that were marketed towards them, as well as how this socialization has been passed down through generations and still affects society to this day. Despite there being flaws and knowing that I could conduct my observations and then relay them in a much more effective manner now due to my skills having improved over the past two years since writing this essay, I still think that it is a good example of my skills in the social sciences and I hope to continue to improve those skills well into the future.
Information and Media Literacy
Learners will demonstrate the ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively and responsibly use and share that information for the problem at hand.
In the fall of 2019, I wrote a research paper for my Art History Survey I (ART-114) course. The title of the assignment was A Culture’s Progression through its arts, and the goal of the assignment was to choose a culture, and examine how their art progressed through certain time periods in the history of their art. The decision was rather difficult for me to make, seeing as we had gone over so much art at the point in the course when we were given this assignment. But, after going back through previous chapters, I finally settled on my topic: how the Greek Kouros statues evolved throughout three different periods in Greek art, choosing a Kouros statue from each art period to conduct research on and analyze to show the changes between each period. With my topic now selected, I set out to find as much research as I possibly could to show the evolution of these interesting and beautiful statues.
My first goal was to broaden the types of credible sources I used in my research. Since entering college, my ability to conduct research has improved greatly, I no longer getting the urge to immediately resort to a Google search when given a large assignment that required sources, now immediately going to NC Live. But there was still one source of information for research that I still actively avoided: books. Despite wanting to go into the library science field, and enjoying reading, I had always avoided using books as a source for research for assignments, finding books a lot more difficult to cite as a source than a piece of research found on one of the databases. When I began struggling to find information on my three statues, I knew exactly where I had to turn, even though I really did not want to, that being my textbook for the course. Due to how challenging I found citing my textbook initially, once I refreshed my memory with the help of Purdue OWL’s guide for citing sources and through having my instructor check to make sure I had typed my citation correctly, I felt a great sense of relief, as well as accomplishment. I had overcome something that I had found challenging since I was in high school, and not only had I overcome it, but I had now broadened the horizons for conducting research, not only for this assignment, but for the future as well.
My second goal was to make sure I was relaying the information I found and what I observed in the pieces themselves in a professional manner. To me, sounding professional is very important, it being something that I will need in any occupation I have throughout my life, but it can also be something I still struggle with and actively work on to this day. To do this, I first brushed up on the elements of art, needing these to be able to talk about the pieces themselves in a professional manner that showed my knowledge of art terminology and how to apply said terminology. Then I went and re-read my sources, noting how the pieces were discussed in these sources. From there, I began writing, checking to make sure that I was still speaking in a professional manner in my paper as I went, wanting to show that I understood the topic I was speaking about, was able to use terminology relevant to the topic, and that I could relay the information in a professional manner in which those within the art field, as well as those who were not within the art field, could understand what I was talking about. By doing this, I improved my skills when it comes to speaking in a professional manner, as well as improving the process in which I begin to relay information I have found through research in a professional manner as well.
Through setting and meeting these goals, I think that I have shown my ability to know when information is needed, to be able to conduct research, and then relay my research. By broadening my use of scholarly resources by using a source I generally avoided, I was able to find even more information on my topic, thus keeping myself from limiting my research and missing out on information that was valuable to my paper. After facing that challenge, I was then able to not only find a way to relay my research, but improve my ability to speak in a professional manner about the topic in a way that anyone from any field could understand what I was relaying. By doing these, even though there are improvements that could be made to the paper, I feel that I have successfully illustrated my ability to conduct research, and then relay it to an audience.