Resources for Faculty

Educational experiences that satisfy the Advanced Writing competency in the major will provide students with sustained practice in increasingly sophisticated writing, in a variety of formats appropriate to the discipline.

Faculty will guide students toward writing effectively in the discipline by providing appropriate evaluation of written documents, including opportunities to incorporate feedback and progress as writers, either through revision or subsequent assignments.

Students' coursework will also convey knowledge of and access to the necessary tools and resources for writing in the discipline.

Students completing educational experiences that satisfy the Advanced Writing competency as part of the requirements for graduation in the major will:

1. demonstrate increasingly sophisticated writing according to the conventions of their academic discipline;

2. be able to communicate clearly in writing, employing fundamental rules of usage, style, and mechanics in the context of their discipline;

3. be able to evaluate critically a variety of written texts, including their own;

4. demonstrate the ability to incorporate critical feedback on their writing, coming to understand that revision and rewriting are an integral part of the writing process.

• Papers and other written assignments

• Several brief papers, so students may incorporate feedback on earlier efforts when crafting subsequent papers

• A longer paper, submitted one or more times in draft form so students may incorporate feedback and revise their texts before submitting a final version 

• Essay exams

• Honors theses

• Lab reports

Tools and resources might include: appropriate computer hardware and software for producing written texts and their various components (tables, graphs, formulas, etc.); manuals of formatting and style according to disciplinary norms (Chicago, MLA, APS, APA, etc.); familiarity with the services of the campus Writing Center; and so on.

Oral discourse provides opportunities for students to develop the oral communication skills they need to participate more effectively in public and academic debates and discussions.

Each academic major will offer opportunities for students to participate in a variety of communication contexts appropriate to the discipline, and to reflect on the principles and theories relevant to specific oral communication activities.

Students completing educational experiences that satisfy the Oral Discourse competency as part of the requirements for graduation in the major will:

1. communicate ideas effectively appropriate to a specific context and according to a specific set of criteria;

2. establish and maintain an appropriate performer/audience relationship in a given oral exercise, and actively engage with listeners/audience;

3. respond to, and where appropriate, incorporate listener’s comments and questions;

4. evaluate, orally or in writing, an oral performance;

5. regularly practice communication skills through questions, discussions, debates and/or presentations (both formal and informal). 

1. Formal Presentations: A formal presentation is one way for students to demonstrate the ability to synthesize and communicate information or logical arguments. Examples of formal presentations include:

   • Individual presentations

   • Team presentations

   • Structured debates

   • Panel or poster sessions

   • Oral examination

2. Informal Speaking Opportunities: Informal speaking opportunities are a way for students to develop interpersonal communication skills, critical listening and assessment skills, as well as explore collaboration, problem solving and conflict resolution techniques. Examples of informal speaking opportunities include:

   • General Group Discussion (TBL or Discussion Sections)

   • Student discussion/debate on a topic within a course

   • Active listening and response

   • Interviewing

   • Interactive in-class debates

3. Oral Performance: These performances enhance communication skills by encouraging students to verbally connect with audiences and, in some cases, other performers. Oral performance requires students to rehearse, articulate and deliver information in an appropriate and clear fashion. Examples of Oral Performance include:

   • A rehearsed theatrical presentation

   • An interpretive reading

   • A stand-up monologue

The following are a few suggestions for how programs could use the learning objectives and example assignments above to include the oral discourse competency in their program. These examples could be adopted alone or in some combination by departments. 

• Require that graduating majors give a presentation or poster session at some point during their senior year to faculty and other students in a regularly scheduled forum 

• Enrich capstone research and writing courses with credit for an oral defense or other presentation

• Use video tools and chats in Blackboard to allow students to organize and develop presentations for structured feedback. Large majors can incorporate these into their introductory courses as foundational skills for later in-person presentational requirements

• Provide the structure and opportunities (either within a course or as a supplemental activity) for students to debate formally, using evidence and reasoning to challenge or defend judgments and decisions that are representative of disciplinary practice

• Add a one credit discussion section to any course in the major to provide a small group setting in which students explore presentation frameworks consistent with disciplinary standards and get an opportunity to practice theories and the vocabulary of the discipline

• Require students to attend departmental colloquia to observe and later model disciplinary styles. A class discussion related to the colloquia could help students evaluate and understand norms for oral presentation in the discipline. Students could then incorporate lessons learned when developing their own oral presentation skills, putting them into practice during a class session

• Employ team based learning in lower level required courses to build student comfort with the communication of ideas in small groups and to their classmates. Presentation models and feedback expectations developed at this level can be incorporated into required oral performances at the upper levels of the major

• Develop a student led brown-bag series for the discussion of research or current events of interest to the discipline

Critical reasoning is the systematic process of analyzing and evaluating data, hypotheses, arguments, or critiques, and is an essential component of any academic major.  

Mastery of critical reasoning will allow for lifelong intellectual development as students learn to approach questions and problems in critical, logical, and reflective ways, enabling them to function as engaged citizens.

Information literacy is the ability to gather, evaluate, use, manage, synthesize, create, and present information and data in an ethical manner. Information literate students are able to find information from appropriate sources; evaluate, use and manage information; and appreciate the role of information literacy in learning.

They search for meaning by acquiring information, reflecting on and engaging with it critically, and actively applying it in multiple contexts. Information literacy and critical reasoning go hand in hand and are mutually reinforcing.

Finding and using information ethically and effectively requires the application of critical reasoning skills in a dynamic environment.

Students completing educational experiences that satisfy the Critical Reasoning and Information Literacy competency as part of the requirements for graduation in the major will:

1. formulate complex questions, problems, and hypotheses clearly and precisely, and apply familiar and new concepts in developing solutions and conclusions

2. understand the information environment and information needs in the discipline, including the organization of and access to information, and select the most appropriate strategies, research tools, and resources necessary to address questions and problems in the discipline

3. test hypotheses against relevant criteria and standards and develop well-reasoned arguments to account for the facts

4. demonstrate habits of reflection upon their own and others’ thinking—identifying, analyzing, and evaluating their own and others’ arguments, and challenging conclusions with alternative explanations or points of view

5. demonstrate an advanced understanding of the ethical dimensions of information use, creation, and dissemination in the context of the discipline

All disciplines represented by majors at UAlbany teach, as a matter of course, critical thinking and information literacy skills, but of course do so in diverse ways that accord with the varied methods and goals appropriate to these disciplines.

The examples below are merely a guide to some of the possibilities for addressing each learning objective. Some examples mention a particular discipline, but many of them are transferable to a wide range of disciplines.

Departments are encouraged to develop models that best fit the unique design and objectives of their programs. Ideally, though, all major curricula will provide numerous opportunities for students to demonstrate critical thinking skills repeatedly within a course or across a series of courses.

Students completing educational experiences that satisfy the Critical Reasoning and Information Literacy competency as part of the requirements for graduation in the major will:

Learning Objective 1: Formulate complex questions, problems, and hypotheses clearly and precisely, and apply familiar and new concepts in developing solutions and conclusions.

Activities might include:

• Laboratory assignments where data are collected and interpreted to formulate a conclusion

• Research papers and written assignments that involve collecting information/data and formulating conclusions, hypotheses, explanations, and/or interpretations

• Papers and written assignments that involve critical analyses of texts and written arguments

• Oral presentations/debates/class discussions that involve collecting and presenting information/data and formulating conclusions, hypotheses, explanations, and/or interpretations 

• Oral presentations/debates/class discussions that involve critical analyses of texts and written or oral arguments

• Assignments involving the critical analysis of creative works of art and music

• Assignments involving mathematical proofs, exercises in logic, or analyses of formal arguments or texts

Learning Objective 2: Understand the information environment and information needs in the discipline, including the organization of and access to information, and select the most appropriate strategies, research tools, and resources necessary to address questions and problems in the discipline

In order to meet this objective, students must:

1. Recognize that information is organized to varying degrees and use of that organization is empowering 

2. Determine scope of required information; reevaluate needs throughout the process: research is a recursive process

3. Match information needs and search strategies to appropriate search tools 

Examples:

• A Spanish major knows how to find culturally authentic materials in Spanish: newspapers, images, videos, audio files, etc.

• A political science major can determine which database is the most relevant for conducting background research for a project and can structure a search using key terms that map to her research needs. 

• An English major can conduct research on a work in a number of ways, combining in-depth examination of a text with collaborative discussion and academic research. 

• An education major understands the way knowledge is developed and disseminated in the field and is able to locate appropriate information from a variety of sources to address trends and adapt their teaching to pedagogical and student needs. 

• A biology major understands the way knowledge is developed and disseminated in the field and is able to locate appropriate information from a variety of sources to address current trends.

Sample Activities:

• Students might be assigned to compare several key discipline-specific databases (which might include Minerva) and other information organization tools. They must develop effective search strategies and show an ability to select appropriate resources from the search results. As a part of the assignment, students reflect on the different results obtained through these searches and those that they find via Google or Wikipedia.

• Students keep a research journal while working on a research paper or project. In the journal, they note their search strategies, the tools and search terms used, the types of results obtained, and the process of selecting the best ones. Throughout, they note what was and wasn’t effective, the points at which they reevaluated their needs, and the adjustments they made. They also reflect on the process as a whole and what they learned from it.

• Chemistry and physics students are often asked to determine chemical and physical properties of substances and materials in laboratory assignments. Students usually need to compare their findings with known, accepted values. Students could be asked to compare traditional reference sources like the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics and Lange’s Handbook of Chemistry to web-based resources found via Chemistry Online Learning Resources and Physics Online Learning Resources. Students should be able to determine if the web-based resources are as reliable as the traditional sources.

• Biology, chemistry, physics, or atmospheric sciences students investigate the differences between the primary and secondary literature. Student selects an article of interest from a science news source like the NY Times (Science Section), Discover, Scientific American, or Chemical & Engineering News that contains citations or links to the original journal articles. Students compare the news item to the original journal article for purpose, audience, content, and accuracy.

• Students are assigned to watch a scene from a feature film depicting a historical event. Students identify the historical figures in the scene and find biographical information about them. Additionally, if the scene includes characters discussing or mentioning primary sources, students identify and locate them (In some cases, students will be able to find digital versions of the primary sources. In other cases, students might be able to identify which archives contain the original document). The film “Lincoln” by Steven Spielberg is a good example for this. Also, a related exercise could be to demonstrate which characters in the scene are historical figures and which ones are just fictional characters created for the film.

Learning Objective 3: Test hypotheses against relevant criteria and standards and develop well-reasoned arguments to account for the facts

Activities might include:

• Laboratory assignments where data are collected and interpreted to formulate a conclusion

• Research papers and written assignments that involve collecting information/data and formulating conclusions, hypotheses, explanations, and/or interpretations

• Papers and written assignments that involve critical analyses of texts and written arguments

• Oral presentations/debates/class discussions that involve collecting and presenting information/data and formulating conclusions, hypotheses, explanations, and/or interpretations 

• Oral presentations/debates/class discussions that involve critical analyses of texts and written or oral arguments

• Assignments involving the critical analysis of creative works of art and music

• Assignments involving mathematical proofs, exercises in logic, or analyses of formal arguments or texts

Learning Objective 4: Demonstrate habits of reflection upon their own and others’ thinking—identifying, analyzing, and evaluating their own and others’ arguments, and challenging conclusions with alternative explanations or points of view

Activities might include:

• Research papers and written assignments that involve collecting information/data and formulating conclusions, hypotheses, explanations, and/or interpretations

• Papers and written assignments that involve critical analyses of texts and written arguments

• Oral presentations/debates/class discussions that involve collecting and presenting information/data and formulating conclusions, hypotheses, explanations, and/or interpretations 

• Oral presentations/debates/class discussions that involve critical analyses of texts and written or oral arguments

• Assignments involving the critical analysis of creative works of art and music

• Assignments involving mathematical proofs, exercises in logic, or analyses of formal arguments or texts

• Exams (essay or multiple choice) in which supplied information must be interpreted and organized to arrive at solutions to problems

Learning Objective 5: Demonstrate an advanced understanding of the ethical dimensions of information use, creation, and dissemination in the context of the discipline

In order to meet this objective, students must:

1. Differentiate between the production of original information and remixing or re-purposing resources 

2.  Apply principles and laws of copyright and Creative Commons or other licensing as appropriate to the creation of original or repurposed information 

3. Follow appropriate ethical standards in sharing information 

Examples:

• A computer science, chemistry, physics, or engineering student understands the importance of the ethical use of intellectual property such as patents and their importance to the modern technological industries. He/she will be able to investigate information about patents: types of patents (software, chemical, device, etc.), their major features, and the process of obtaining the patent as an individual or a member of an organization

• A music major understands the issues connected to licensing an original or remixed composition and is able to follow through to obtain that licensing

Sample Activities:

• Students are assigned to select one work that they have created during the course and to investigate copyright and Creative Commons or other licensing options (specific to the discipline) for the work. They decide which option they would select if they were to make the work public and provide a justification for that selection. To address a portion of Learning Objective 4, students might then go ahead and determine how and where to share this work.