PROGRAM EDUCATION

Program Outcomes

Communication Competence

Learners will become effective communicators and critics of communication in the written, oral, and visual contexts of their discipline.

The assignments that I have selected are some that display evidence showing that I have completed all of the program outcomes. The program outcomes are very similar to my core skills, however they are more specific to your intended major. As for me, I am going for my Associates in Science, as a requirement for this program, I need to show that I know how to demonstrate communication competence, cultural competence, creative problem solving, information and media literacy, scientific literacy, and mathematical literacy. As a student who is enrolled in the AS program, I need to display my understanding for these outcomes, and be able to demonstrate each of them before graduation.

During my second semester at SPCC, I took ENG-112 which was Writing/Research in the Disciplines. This class taught me how to conduct research and make proposals. The assignment I have chosen is my final paper for ENG-112, which was a proposal paper. I was a bit confused at first when I started this assignment, I didn't know what I wanted to propose in terms of any issues. So it made me think really hard to come up with an idea, and the idea was for SPCC to have a gym on campus. I had two SMART goals for this assignment, I wanted to work on my research techniques and my second SMART goal was to be able to incorporate my research into my writing.

For this assignment, I was able to accomplish my first SMART goal which was to work on my research techniques. I needed to discover new ways of researching my topic. One of the things I did was ask fellow peers what they thought of the idea. I also asked a few other students on campus. I also went to Central Piedmont Community College because they provide a gym on campus. I took a few pictures of the gym to give an example of what our gym could look like, unfortunately, I lost the picture so I could not incorporate it into my paper. I also researched why a gym on campus would be beneficial to students as well as faculty. For my second smart goal, I wanted to be able to incorporate my research into my writing. And I successfully did this with this assignment, I was able to show that I did research on this assignment, and I was able to express my findings through my writing.

This assignment really helped me discover new ways to gather research. I got out of my comfort zone a little bit with this assignment by going around and talking to other students about this as well as going to CPCC to gather information. I incorporated these newly developed research techniques to do research for other assignments later on in my academic career and I was also able to incorporate my findings in each of those assignments. This class really did help me with those two things.

Cultural Competence

Learners will recognize and adapt to various cultures, ideas, and practices within their discipline.

While I am in my last semester here at SPCC, I am taking SOC-220 which is my social problems class. We had an assignment this semester that referred to cultural misunderstandings. And basically, I had to discuss an incident of cultural misunderstandings and compare it to a similar event and propose a solution. My first SMART goal was to grasp a better understanding of other cultures and my second SMART goal was to view the world from their perspective, and figure out what they go through as a person especially in their culture.

The artifact I chose is a cultural misunderstanding that happened a few months ago. My work recently hired a woman who is a Muslim. and she wears a Hijab. She was told she couldn't wear it because it didn't follow our dress code policy. But after the situation was discussed further, she was allowed to wear it due to religious reasons. The situation was not handled properly and it taught me a lot about how to handle these types of situations. This assignment shed some new light on what people go through.

I had a chance to sit down and talk with her. She has faced so much adversity, and a lot of it is because of the religion she chooses to practice. This assignment allowed me to learn a lot about her culture and the many problems they face. And what their world looks like. It was very eye-opening, and I hope to use these skills as I move forward into the medical field where I will be faced with many people, from many different cultures. And these people will either be patients or colleagues and it is great to have the ability to view the world from their perspective, so you know how to handle certain situations.

Creative Problem Solving

Learners will apply appropriate techniques to solving problems within their discipline.

In SOC-220 or Social Problems, I learned about how to apply sociological perspectives and theories to issues within our society today. I took this class during my 2016 fall semester, which was my last semester. I really enjoyed the way my instructor taught this class, who was Mr. Smith. I have had him before for SOC-210 during my fall semester of 2015. The artifact that I have chosen to represent my creative problem-solving skills is an assignment that I did for SOC-220. The assignment was a white paper assignment which is basically a proposal. This assignment required me to find a social issue that interested me, describe the problem and give some background information. And then I needed to provide my methods of research, which I learned throughout the course, and lastly, I needed to provide my solution the problem. My first SMART goal was to be able to conduct thorough research using sociological perspectives/methods and my second SMART goal was to gather enough information to provide a detailed and achievable solution.

Going into this assignment, I was very confident that I would do a good job. I had picked a social issue that I was very passionate about and that made it very easy for me. The topic I chose was childhood obesity. My research for this assignment was based on the social factors that lead to the increase in obesity within adolescents. This assignment really helped me with my first SMART goal. I had to develop many different ways to conduct my research based on the sociological methods of research. Which I was able to do, which allowed me to accomplish my first SMART goal. And as I was finishing up on this assignment, and after I discussed the different methods of research I would use and what the issue was, it allowed me to come up with a very detailed solution. I was able to complete my second SMART goal.

I really enjoyed this sociology course. I like to look at issues through a sociological perspective to be able to have a better understanding of these social issues as well as why they happen. I gained very valuable problem-solving skills while doing this assignment. Becuase I had to research the different was to conduct research in order to propose a solution to the issue. And these are skills that I will carry with me into my career as a Physical Therapist. A Physical Therapist is supposed to be able to observe patients and give them a diagnosis in regards to what they need to do in order to heal properly. It will also help me later on in my academic career when I am faced with other problems that require me to use problem-solving skills.

Information and Media Literacy

Learners will demonstrate use of appropriate technology to locate, interpret, and make informed judgments about information and media within their discipline.

During my fourth semester at SPCC, I took BIO-112 which was General Biology II. This class involved basic biology as well as well as what an organism was. I have always been a fan of science. I find science to be very interesting. I like to know the process it takes for life to happen on a cellular level. For my artifact, I chose a paper that I wrote on cystic fibrosis. The paper had to be 5-7 pages long and in APA format. The paper itself went into depth about cystic fibrosis, such as what it was, its symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatments. The research needed to be thorough. My first SMART goal was to be able to use the appropriate research methods and styles for this class. My second SMART goal was to understand how things work biologically and understand things through a scientific view.

I really learned a lot in this class, and given that I took BIO-111 my third semester, I was well prepared for BIO-112. This assignment really helped me work on both of my SMART goals. I was able to become more effective with my research methods, because when you do research, you need to be precise, especially for science because you need to make sure that your information is credible. I was able to complete my second SMART goal as well. While doing this assignment, I was able to understand how some gets cystic fibrosis as well as the symptoms that you should watch out for. And I was able to understand what cystic fibrosis does to the human body through my research. This class in general really helped me with my SMART goals.

This class was very enjoyable for me. I really learned a lot and what was really beneficial was taking both general biologies I and II in the same school year. I was able to retain a lot of the information and was very well prepared for the second class. I will use these skills in the future as I move on in my academic career. Science is something that I have always had an interest in and I am glad to have obtained the skills that I have. They will help me when I am a Physical Therapist, to think scientifically when it comes to their injury and what they need to do to treat it, and with proper research in the process of becoming a Physical Therapist, I will be well prepared to do so.

Scientific Literacy

Learners will demonstrate scientific literacy by explaining the process of scientific reasoning and applying scientific principles inside and outside of the laboratory or field setting

In PSY-241, also known as Developmental Psychology, I was given a research paper to complete. I wrote this research paper on the theory of cognitive development, which was developed by Jean Piaget. In my paper, I broke down Piaget's four stages of cognitive development, to explain what each stage was, and what was required in order to move on to the next stage. Piaget's work with cognitive development was truly revolutionary and it is one of my favorite theories to discuss. I chose this paper as my artifact because it gave me the opportunity to discuss what I learned about cognitive development through research, and explain what it is, as well as what each stage consists of. For this research paper, I was required to use APA format which included citations, an approved topic, my research needed to be thorough and my paper needed to show that it was, and my paper needed to be 10-12 pages long. While writing this paper, I took advantage of the school databases where I obtained a large amount of information that helped me complete this paper. I found multiple case studies and articles that went into depth with each of the four stages and that was really beneficial for me. When discussing Scientific Literacy as a learning outcome, I had two SMART goals that I wanted to accomplish. The first SMART goal was to be able to analyze information and get my own interpretation of what happened so I have a better understanding. The second SMART goal was to look at things from a psychological perspective, I wanted to be able to truly understand why people act the way they do.

I felt slightly confident when I began this assignment. The only thing that intimidated me was the page length. I have never had to write a paper that exceeded 10 pages, so it was very scary at first. But as I began my research, it became easier and easier to meet page length, my paper was 10 and 1/4 pages long, excluding the title page and references page. Altogether, my paper was a little over 13 pages long. With my first SMART goal in mind, I need to analyze what I was reading, so I could give my own perspective on cognitive development, to show that I truly understood what it was. And I feel like I was able to accomplish that with this assignment. With all of the research I had to do, I was able to fully analyze what cognitive development was, as well as being able to interpret four stages that it was broken down into. And when the paper was done, I can proudly say that I was able to accomplish my second SMART goal. I have gathered a better understanding of psychology, and I also have a better understanding of why people do the things that they do because I am able to interpret things psychologically.

This paper was difficult at first, my only barrier was the page length. But I was able to conduct good research and find multiple sources that aided in the completion of this paper. It was really difficult to not exceed to page limit, I had to condense a bit of information to ensure that I didn't go over 12 pages, which I feel I easily could have done which is shocking because I thought I was going to barely meet page length which would have been 10 pages. I am very proud of this assignment and my ability to conduct research and be able to analyze and interpret the information. I am also proud to have gained a better understanding of psychology, by being able to view the world from a psychological perspective. The skills I obtained from this assignment will carry on with me as I venture further into my education and I am very fortunate for that.

Mathematical Literacy

Learners will demonstrate mathematical literacy through solving problems, communicating concepts, reasoning mathematically, and applying mathematical or statistical methods, using multiple representations where applicable.

MAT-171, which was my Precalculus class. Math has always been the one subject I have always struggled with, I just can't seem to grasp the information. My two SMART goals for my math classes were to take better notes in class, and really focus on the formulas needed to solve the many problems I had, and the second SMART goal was to develop a study plan that would help me become better at solving problems, and overall, do better in my math classes. In MAT-171, I was really able to focus on these goals. I had a great instructor who taught the material how I liked to be taught, and taking notes was very easy in that class due to the lectures being so simple and easily understood. I was provided examples that would help me practice the problems over and over again until I got them right. When I got home, I kept doing the same thing, I would find sample problems online and just keep practicing until I was able to figure out most of the problems that I was faced with.

The artifact that I am using is a make assignment that I had to do because my instructor was out. She sent out a google doc, and we were supposed to answer the problems and give it to her the next class. There were three types of problems that I had issues with all semester. And these problems consisted of using the application of the radical rule, imaginary number rule, and the exponential rule. I used my notes in order to help me figure out how to use these different formulas which helped me accomplish my first SMART goal. And I developed a study method where I would provide myself sample problems, or find sample problems online and solve them over and over again until I was able to understand the formulas better. By doing this, I had developed a really good way to study and I was able to accomplish my second SMART goal.

This was the first time I took MAT-171, and unfortunately, I received a 68 in the class which is a D. I was forced to retake the class because I needed to get a C or higher for it to transfer over. This class really helped me develop better note taking skills and study skills that I used in all of my other classes, and they got even better when I took the class a second time. I have never had to retake a class in my entire academic career, and it really allowed me to become a better student by really sharpening my two SMART goals. I will use these skills to help me in all of my future classes as on my journey to becoming a Physical Therapist.