Listed below are selected learning outcomes in the areas of writing,
critical thinking, and information
seeking that Western Washington University is actively integrating
into its curriculum. Curricular transformation within the Journalism
190 course was designed with these goals in mind. Each learning
outcome is listed with its definition, along with a description
of how the project met each of these student learning outcome goals.
Writing
| Learning Outcomes |
Definition |
Course Outcomes |
| Rhetorical Knowledge |
Focuses on a clear rhetorical purpose
and responds appropriately to the needs of varied audiences
and situations. |
Students are presented with writing
opportunities in the form of free writes, short answer essay
questions on exams, online discussion, and other written responses
to assertions made by media scholars in videos, and a final
essay project. |
| Critical Analysis |
Develops, examines,
situates, and communicates a reasoned perspective clearly to
others. |
The in-class, first-day
writing assignment asks students to tell what the impact of
media is on society, culture and self-governance. This provides
an opportunity to assess critical analysis, both to the professor
and other students.
Students must respond to short-answer questions that ask
them to identify and analyze media messages, portrayals, concepts,
and theories.
Free-writing situations, in small-group, online discussion
and in analyses and impromptu responses to class material
(such as videos or readings) give students opportunities to
communicate reasoned perspectives in a lucid manner. |
| Composing Processes |
Understands writing
as a recursive process that involves drafting, re-thinking,
editing, reconceptualizing. |
The final essay,
which asks students to evaluate ideas and arguments presented
during the entire quarter, requires that they draft, rethink
and reconceptualize, and edit as they craft their papers.
The requirement of brevity in the short written assignments
facilitates composing processes; in order for a student to
get a point across to the audience clearly and succinctly,
rethinking and redrafting a response is most often required.
|
| Convention Knowledge |
Uses appropriate conventions for
documentation and for surface features such as syntax, grammar,
usage, punctuation, and spelling. |
The final essay must embody rhetorical
knowledge, critical analysis, composing processes, and, to a
lesser degree, students' knowledge of basic conventions such
as grammar, spelling, etc. |
Source: Adapted from Western Washington University's
Learning Outcomes for Writing II, available at http://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/cii/resources/writing/writing_rubric.html
Critical Thinking
| Learning Outcomes |
Definition |
Course Outcomes |
| Identification |
Accurately identifies and interprets
evidence. |
Journalism 190 is focused on
critical thinking in the form of what is called media literacy.
J190 uses some traditional objective testing (matching of
concepts and their definitions, etc.) and heavy reliance on
the various means of writing outlined above in the Writing
section. Through assignments, videos and lectures, students
develop a framework in which to evaluate the structure, interests,
motivations and content of mass media.
Students are also given numerous opportunity to evaluate
the impact of mass media on society, culture and the political
process, specifically focusing on whether media provide citizens
with all relevant information so that they can govern themselves
effectively. |
| Alternative Consideration |
Considers major alternative points
of view. |
Students are required to demonstrate
critical responses weekly in online discussions and then to
respond to the responses of their peers. An example of an online
discussion prompt is:
"The video, Illusions of
News, asserted that the selling of political candidates in a
manner similar to selling products is now the norm in American
(and other) cultures. In your view, tell whether this growing
practice is as harmful as Bill Moyers, Ben Bagdikian, Todd Gitlin
and the crew would have us believe. If so, why? If not, why?"
|
| Accurate Conclusions |
Draws warranted, judicious, non-fallacious
conclusions. |
J190 is organized in a way that
requires students to do more analysis and deeper evaluation
as the
course develops. Through exposure to concepts, research, and
facts regarding the detrimental aspects of mass media influence,
students are given the tools and ample opportunity to make
their own judgements and conclusions about media and the problems
of mass communication. |
| Justification |
Justifies key results and procedures,
and explains assumptions and reasons. |
A final essay project requires
that students evaluate the state of mass media, justify their
views, and/or offer solutions to problems they see. Usually
over 90% of these essays discuss media in a way that indicates
students now possess an unwillingness to accept media messages
at face value; In these responses, students voice their reasons
for wanting improvement of media structure and content.
During the last week of the quarter prior to exam week, students
in the course are given a self-assessment that asks them to
examine how their thinking has or hasn't changed about mass
media as a result of the course. |
Source: Adapted from the California Academic
Press's Holistic Critical Thinking Scoring Rubric (http://www.insightassessment.com/HCTSR.html)
Information Seeking
| Learning Outcomes |
Definition |
Course Outcomes |
| Identifying Need |
Recognizes when information is needed and formulates
clear questions based on the information needed. |
Because of the strong emphasis on concepts and
critical thinking in Journalism 190 the course inherently requires
information-seeking learning outcomes. Students must be able
to recognize and analyze media sources; decide how and where
to search, and to search effectively and quickly. Because of
the interwoven nature of all the learning outcomes, however,
specific, separate assignments dedicated to such goals will
not be given. |
| Search Strategies |
Matches information needs to information
resources and organizes an effective search strategy. |
Students learn to question how
media are structured and how they affect society, culture
and self-governing by examining a wide range of sources, including
online sites such as Center
for Living Democracy, Project
Censored, and Adbusters. |
| Effective Searching |
Interprets citations and the internet equivalents
and knows how to efficiently retrieve cited items. |
For the course, students are required to retrieve
and explore a wide range of information, specifically sources
that reflect theories of the effect of mass communication on
people's attitudes and behaviors that come to be viewed as "normal."
|
| Evaluating |
Seeks various sources of evidence to provide
support for a research question or conclusion. |
Students are urged to expand their information
exploration, all the while being aware that fewer than nine
corporations control most mass media in America. As this reality
takes shape, the course begins to focus on what the effects
are on the society and its culture. This critical evaluative
element in assessing information takes information-seeking to
a higher level. |
Source: Adapted from the Association of College
and Research Libraries Selected Information Literacy Outcomes (http://www.ala.org/acrl/outcome.html)
|
