Listed below are selected learning outcomes in the areas of critical
thinking and writing that Western Washington
University is actively integrating into its curriculum. Each learning
outcome is listed with its definition, along with a description
of how Professor Geisler's Shakespeare course meets each of these
student learning outcome goals.
| Learning Outcomes |
Definition |
Course Outcomes |
| Identification |
Accurately identifies and interprets
evidence. |
English 214 is focused on critical
thinking in the form of literary and cultural criticism.
In their examinations, students are required to recognize
different kinds of verse and prose. They acquire a facility
with Shakespeare's dramatic language. For example, students
are given numerous opportunities to evaluate how Shakespeare's
use of varied syntax communicates the emotion and thinking
of his characters. In their examinations and writing assignments,
they must also demonstrate that they can interpret Shakespeare's
use of imagery, figurative language, and rhetoric.
Additionally, students learn how to analyze and interpret
stage and film productions of Shakespeare. They come to appreciate
the importance of such details as gesture, lighting, blocking,
cinematography, color, movement, scenery, casting, and costumes.
Finally, students must make their own judgments concerning
the themes and ideologies presented in the plays. They are
asked to identify, analyze, and evaluate the resonate and
often contested cultural values that Shakespeare investigated
in such depth.
|
| Alternative Consideration |
Considers major alternative points
of view. |
In their writing portfolios students
must confront and evaluate contrasting interpretations and adaptations
of Shakespeare's work.
On the one hand, they are encouraged to develop an awareness
of the historical and cultural variety of interpretations
of Shakespeare. For example, students must confront and consider
the fact that Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, beginning
in Shakespeare's day, was most often dressed in a red wig
and beard, purposely aligning him with Judas. Moreover, Christian
audiences in the seventeenth century reacted to Shylock derisively,
finding abundant delight and humor in his punishment. In their
essay writing, students are asked to consider how post-holocaust
portrayals of Shylock offer alternative points of view.
On the other hand, the class is organized in such a way that
requires students to negotiate a variety of interpretations
in one place and time. For example, students respond to the
recent explosion of Shakespeare on film, which encourages
them to consider their personal investment in the plays, because
many of these productions are targeted at their generation. |
| Accurate Conclusions |
Draws warranted, judicious, non-fallacious
conclusions. |
Because so many different points
of view on Shakespeare exist, some students are initially attracted
to the mistaken notion that any interpretation must be valid.
As they progress in the course, students gain the ability to
contextualize their insights within the dramatic structure of
the plays and the trajectory of character development. The course
is set up to compare and contrast Shakespeare's comic and tragic
development of similar themes and values. For example, they
are asked to consider how a daughter's rejection of her father's
authority creates a sense of cultural crisis in A Midsummer
Night's Dream and King Lear. Students must show that
they understand how each play negotiates the crisis differently,
ending as each does with comic and tragic resolutions respectively.
Also, students must draw warranted conclusions based on a plausible
reading of the characters' development throughout the play. |
| Justification |
Justifies key results and procedures,
and explains assumptions and reasons. |
In two writing portfolios students
develop their own justifications for specific productions of
Shakespeare. In their film critiques they must show how a particular
film adaptation is successful or not successful. Accordingly,
they provide an account of their own assumptions and interpretation
of the play, which they use as a basis for judging the film
adaptation. In the play presentation portfolios, students create
their own imaginative vision for a Shakespeare scene, and they
must account for the style of presentation, editing, scenery,
costumes, and gestures they chose to adopt. |
Source: Adapted from the California Academic Press's Holistic
Critical Thinking Scoring Rubric available at: http://www.calpress.com/rubric.html
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 asked to compose in
a variety of settings, including in-class responses, drafting
alone and in groups, peer editing, collaborative essays, portfolios,
in-class examinations, and polished individual essays. Students
study rhetoric in Shakespeare in order to appreciate the significance
of having a clear purpose and a strong sense of audience. |
| Critical Analysis |
Develops, examines,
situates, and communicates a reasoned perspective clearly to
others. |
In their examinations
and writing portfolios students must present clear evaluations
and persuasive interpretations of Shakespeare's plays. In all
their writing assignments, students are asked to take into account
Shakespeare's use of dramatic language and genre conventions.
The collaborative writing assignments, in particular, require
them to confront varied opinions and imaginative visions within
student groups and then to work together to craft a clear interpretation
that draws on the creative debate generated by their discussions. |
| Composing Processes |
Understands writing as
a recursive process that involves drafting, re-thinking, editing,
reconceptualizing. |
In the process of writing
each portfolio, students consult with group members in person
and via email, draft, peer edit, participate in office conferences
with the instructor, revise, edit, and polish their work before
turning it in for a grade. |
| Convention Knowledge |
Uses appropriate conventions for
documentation and for surface features such as syntax, grammar,
usage, punctuation, and spelling. |
In the final version of each writing
assignment, students must present a focused thesis, original
insights, persuasive arguments, appropriate textual and visual
evidence, as well as appropriate organization, grammar, and
spelling. |
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
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