Learning Area Descriptions

Description:

How can we know the past? Why does it matter? These twin questions anchor historical inquiry courses.

Historical inquiry courses study the past by asking broad questions about human worlds (political, cultural, social, economic, and/or physical). Whether focusing on specific periods or on epoch-crossing themes, these courses analyze the historical contexts that influence human thought and action; shape social institutions; and/or alter cultural practices.

Historical inquiry courses foster students’ awareness of the methods and perspectives for understanding past societies and cultures in historical context. They do so by emphasizing the critical analysis of objects of study produced in the past and scholarship about the past (i.e., the use of primary and secondary sources), and the interrelationships among ideas, institutions, social structures, and events within one or more interpretive frameworks.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will analyze questions about past events, ideas, and human worlds (political, cultural, social, economic, and/or physical).
2. Students will demonstrate historical thinking by contextualizing and analyzing primary sources and evaluating the nature and limits of historical evidence.
3. Students will apply interpretations and methods employed in the given area of historical study.
4. Students will formulate, advance, and properly document historical arguments, drawing on a combination of primary sources, secondary sources, and other research materials appropriate to the given area of historical study.

Description:

Literary and textual inquiry courses raise questions about how meaning is made, focusing especially on one or more modes, such as literary works, film, media, and other forms of textuality. They engage diverse genres and cultural traditions, helping students situate themselves and others as products of and participants in literature (writ large) and culture.

Courses satisfying the literary and textual inquiry requirement are centrally concerned with the textual analysis of primary works. They may consider a variety of interpretive frameworks and attend to one or more collateral areas of investigation, including the study of the process by which texts are created or received; the aesthetic, historical, cultural, experiential, or philosophical contexts in which they are created or received; and their relationships to each other and to other fields of experience and analysis. This area of inquiry brings its perspectives and methods to bear on imaginative and non-imaginative works alike.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will demonstrate their ability to apply at least two interpretive frameworks to objects of literary or textual analysis.
2. Students will demonstrate their ability to analyze objects of literary or textual analysis in one or more mode or style.
3. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which texts are created or received to serve specific ends.
4. Students will demonstrate their ability to interpret and analyze specific texts in relation to one another and/or to other fields of experience within aesthetic, cultural, historical, philosophical, or experiential contexts.

Description:

Natural science inquiry is designed to enhance students’ appreciation of the beauty of science, develop their understanding of the challenges of doing science, and provide a framework for further inquiry. Students will gain experience in the formulation and testing of hypotheses, thus developing an understanding of questions that are fundamental to science, as well as the process by which hypotheses are developed, evaluated, and interpreted. Students will also learn to engage with the ideas of science and participate in discourse related to the role of the natural sciences in the world today.

Based upon the generation and testing of hypotheses, natural science inquiry is restricted to the study of repeatable, measurable, and verifiable phenomena. Within this area, knowledge may be gained either by controlled experiment or diligent observation, depending upon the phenomena being studied. Similarly, some methodologies rely upon quantitative analysis, while others are primarily qualitative. Given the focus on the process by which scientific knowledge is created and evaluated, courses must include a lab component.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of content material within the course discipline in the natural sciences.
2. Students will recognize testable hypotheses, demonstrate the ability to formulate good scientific hypotheses, and understand how to design appropriate tests of hypotheses in a field-specific context.
3. Students will gather data via experiment or systematic observation in a laboratory or field setting; they will analyze, interpret, and contextualize these data using discipline-specific tools.
4. Students will assess the reliability of conclusions drawn from scientific data.

Description:

Social inquiry is the study of human behavior and its determinants. Students will learn to analyze and describe human behavior using theoretical and/or methodological frameworks, including understanding the limitations of such frameworks. Courses in this area may examine phenomena that include the psychological mechanisms giving rise to human behavior; the ecological, institutional, economic, cultural, or political environments that are shaped by and shape human behavior; or the behavior of groups as well as individuals.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of theories and/or patterns of human behavior appropriate to the discipline.
2. Students will demonstrate the ability to use appropriate methods to analyze human behavior.
3. Students will assess the limitations of the theories, explanations, and methods they study.

Description:

The symbolic reasoning area of inquiry focuses on cultivating the logical and procedural thinking skills essential to solving a wide variety of problems. It is characterized by its attention to internal logical consistency and by its wide external applicability. This area emphasizes symbolic problem solving, a process that includes translating problems into terms that are amenable to treatment within a symbolic framework, understanding consistent rules by which the information relevant to the problem may be processed in order to obtain a solution, recognizing important underlying principles that govern the application of these rules, and judging both the appropriateness of known solution methods to a particular problem and the quality or reasonableness of the solution obtained.

Courses in this area aim to develop in students the skills to obtain valid solutions using one or more symbolic systems, the ingenuity to translate new problems into appropriate terms for such systems, and the persistence to carry a solution method through to completion. The focus of a symbolic reasoning course should be on understanding the symbolic system and how it can be used to develop problem-solving tools rather than on the tools themselves.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will translate problems for analysis within a formalized symbolic system.
2. Students will recognize the rules that govern a formalized symbolic system and to apply those rules to obtain valid solutions.
3. Students will judge the reasonableness and limitations of solutions obtained within a formalized symbolic system.

Description:

The visual and performing arts inquiry area considers questions about the forms, traditions, meanings, and historical contexts of works in the visual and performing arts and explores issues of method and process in these works.

Courses satisfying this requirement are centrally concerned with the roles of creation and interpretation in the study of the arts. They develop in students an enhanced understanding of the arts, fostering intellectual appreciation of works of visual and performance art by involving students in the process of creating, embracing, exploring, cultivating, collaborating (when appropriate) and/or analyzing art works through a makers-mindset. These courses are suffused with the notion that the arts are a powerful and profound influence on human perception and understanding.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will create works, individually or collaboratively, that demonstrate a basic knowledge of the vocabulary, concepts, and skills relevant to the area of study.
2. Students will engage in critique and review of their artistic creations.
3. Students will engage in the creative process needed to make their aesthetic choices and to embrace their cultural agency.
4. Students will be able to analyze and interpret visual and/or performance artworks with a consideration of the cultural and historical contexts and diverse experiences and perspectives at the core of creative innovation.

Description:

Writing-intensive courses are distinguished by the intentionality of the course design; they recognize and employ writing as a technology of thought. They are not simply courses that require a certain amount of writing; rather, they focus on enhancing the ability of students to communicate effectively as a core learning goal. They use writing as a primary means of understanding, exploring, distilling, analyzing, synthesizing, interpreting, and reflecting on what is being taught and learned. They draw on a range of pedagogies to develop writing capacities for a variety of learners at all levels. Students will employ writing effectively across the curriculum to communicate their understanding and analysis of course content while also developing original insights and ideas.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will produce written work that reflects disciplinary conventions and attention to audience and situation.
2. Students will produce written work with a clear perspective and, where appropriate, forward claims supported by evidence, and cite sources responsibly.
3. Students will produce written work undergoing an iterative process, where content evolves (creation, drafting, and revision) and improves based on feedback from the faculty member.
4. Students will compose written work with clarity, cohesion, concision, and minimal error.

Description:

It is essential that students develop the ability to engage in meaningful communication beyond the written word in formats that require attention to audience and critical exchange. Courses in this area will include a pedagogical focus on developing verbal and/or non-verbal communication skills and techniques through oral or embodied communication. Students will develop an understanding of the interdependence between thought and expression; purpose and audience; and content and form. Students will engage in effective communication that is informed, integrative, and iterative. The goal of this focus area is to build students’ confidence and emotional intelligence by developing their ability to present ideas and/or information; to listen and respond to an audience; and to ask questions.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will develop and deliver a clear and organized message drawing on supporting materials as appropriate to the message and the field.
2. Students will respectfully engage with and respond to audience using appropriate vocal, verbal, or nonverbal techniques.
3. Students will adapt communication approach and content choice to specific contexts, situations, audiences, and interactions (actual or hypothetical).
4. Students will use live and/or non-written multimedia communication.

Description:

Quantitative data literacy (QDL) is a competency in working with data using quantitative methods. Beyond organization and analysis of this data, application is an essential component of QDL. Individuals with strong QDL skills can develop and execute appropriate quantitative approaches to problems coming from a variety of contexts. Furthermore, they can interrogate and communicate arguments supported by quantitative evidence in a variety of formats (using words, tables, graphs, mathematical equations, etc., as appropriate).

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will represent information and formulate questions in forms amenable to quantitative analysis, recognizing multiple approaches to communicating quantitative information.
2. Students will apply relevant quantitative approaches to solve problems and analyze data.
3. Students will evaluate assumptions, limitations, biases in, and/or ethical implications of particular analytical frameworks and/or study designs.
4. Students will formulate results, draw appropriate conclusions, and communicate findings using relevant quantitative evidence.

Description:

The power, equity, identity, and culture (PEIC) component of the general education curriculum strives to prepare students to understand, analyze, and contribute to a diverse, complex, and interconnected world. It engages students in a discussion about diversity and power imbalances either in the past or present among various cultural perspectives, within the U.S. or abroad. Students learn about inequities in particular societies and eras as well as efforts that aim to reduce them, and the challenges and opportunities diversity brings. Additionally, this component of the general education curriculum encourages students to engage with questions about how attitudes, experiences, and/or beliefs are shaped by context and cultural identity.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Students will analyze the origins and dynamics of structural inequities and power imbalances in specific societal contexts.
2. Students will analyze how attitudes, experiences, and/or beliefs are shaped both by context and/or cultural identity.
3. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the effects of inequities and power imbalances on a society, and the historical or current efforts, successful and unsuccessful, used to reduce such effects.

Description:

First-year seminars offer a hands-on introduction to academic inquiry with small classes, a diverse array of topics, and close contact with faculty. A wide variety of seminars will be offered each year, drawn from across the University. Each entering student will take an FYS 100 course during the fall of their first year. Readmitted students must complete the first year seminar requirement within one year of their readmission, but no later than the end of their sophomore year. First year seminars serve as an introduction to academic inquiry and the modes of expression that lie at the heart of a liberal arts education. They foster habits of mind fundamental to students’ intellectual and academic development, including critical reading and thinking; sharing ideas and research through discussion; and the ability to write and think clearly and effectively. Integrating explorations of specific questions and topics with the development of skills, seminars aim to foster intellectual curiosity and students’ ability to act on it.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Written Communication: Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively through a variety of written work that utilizes a process to help them develop the basics of academic writing, an initial understanding of disciplinary conventions, and an analysis of appropriate evidence.
2. Oral Communication: Students will demonstrate effective formal and informal oral communication skills within the classroom setting.
3. Critical Thinking: Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills through the ability to evaluate, interpret, and analyze a variety of sources and other forms of expression.
4. Information Literacy: Students will be able to effectively access, evaluate, and make ethical use of appropriate sources of information for different scholarly purposes.

Description:

Knowledge of second language has become increasingly important as globalization has placed greater demands upon the world’s citizens to understand the national and cultural perspectives of others. Facility with a second language is therefore critical for students, because it exposes them to other cultures, in ancient or contemporary guises, that they may encounter after graduation. For these reasons, students are expected to demonstrate functional ability in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in a modern second language; in reading and writing in a classical language; or communicating through American Sign Language. These abilities are evaluated either at admission or in introductory and intermediate courses.

Learning Outcomes:

1. In addition to English, students will demonstrate proficiency at the intermediate level in a second language (e.g., Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian, Latin, Arabic, Greek, Italian, German, Japanese, Portuguese, American Sign Language, etc.).

Note: Proficiency at the intermediate level is defined as the ability to read, write, speak, and understand speech at an ’intermediate-low’ level on the scale of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). The intermediate-low level corresponds to the upper range of A2/lower range of B1 on the Common European Frame of Reference (CEFR).

Description:

In keeping with the University’s objective of fostering knowledge and personal well-being, every undergraduate student will complete a three-part wellness series prior to graduation. Before arriving on campus, first year and transfer students will complete both Alcohol Edu and Haven, an online alcohol prevention and education program. Once on campus, students will complete WELL 100: Introduction to College Life in their first semester. Students are also required to complete one WELL 101 health education special topics course. Classes are geared towards topics that will promote their own academic success and personal health.

As part of the University’s on-going commitment to sexual misconduct education and prevention, all second-year students are also required to complete Every Choice, an online bystander training program (WELL 102) focusing on sexual misconduct prevention education. The course provides students with awareness, education, and skills practice to assist them with engaging in proactive behaviors to intervene in situations of sexual misconduct. Upon completion, students will be equipped with basic bystander skills that will allow them to identify multiple options for intervention and assist them with identifying obstacles that would prevent action. The course will also inform students about sexual misconduct resources on and off campus. The course must be completed in the first six weeks of the semester.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Adjustment: Students will be acquainted with the University and its resources to help students thrive.
2. Community: Students will establish friend and affinity groups, and become a part of the University.
3. Transformation: Students will become thoughtful, engaged, and successful college students.

Integrative learning is the ultimate goal of a liberal arts education. UR’s Integrative Learning Pilot consists of optional courses that intentionally encourage students to be reflective, self-aware learners capable of self-directed growth. Students practice integrative learning through the application of prior knowledge and skills to understand new situations and solve new problems. Research on metacognition in higher education has pointed to the power of self-awareness as a tool for deep learning in the moment, and habits of mind that build life-long learning. The ability to reflect and integrate learning across courses, over time, and between campus and community life is, according to the American Association of Colleges & Universities, “one of the most important goals and challenges for higher education.”

Students have the option to participate in the Integrative Learning Pilot, by choosing IL-designated courses that focus on metacognition, reflective writing, and knowledge transfer (defined below). This area is intended to be fully implemented as an optional part of the curriculum in future semesters.

• Meta-Cognition – A mental process that recognizes the process and products of intellectual growth in order to build self-awareness as a learner.
• Reflection – The act of examining a performance in order to explain its significance and consequences; a form of writing that requires close observation and evidence-based evaluation.
• Knowledge Transfer – The  transposition of knowledge to new situations, the integration of academic knowledge across disciplines, and the ability to apply learning to address real-world problems and make connections with experiential-based work.