Student Learning Goals

Below are the departmental learning goals mapped to College-wide goals for student learning.

Basic Concepts. The students should be able to:

• Understand ways that the social world and the natural world function as well as how they influence and are influenced by environmental issues. (I.a, I.c)
• Understand the utility of an interdisciplinary perspective for studying interrelationships between humans and their environment and the issues that result from these interrelationships. (I.c, II.b)
• Appreciate the complexity and importance of environmental issues across time and space. Specifically, students should be able to appreciate contemporary, historical, and future environmental issues as well as the interrelationships of local, regional, national, international and global environmental issues. (II.a, II.b)
• Understand various intended and unintended consequences of human responses to environmental issues. (I.a, II.a, II.b)
• Appreciate environmental issues and personal responsibilities as a member of a community, which includes the Skidmore campus community and beyond. (III.a, III.b)
• Examine how personal and community values, ethical dimensions, and social justice relate to environmental problems. (I.b, II.e, III.a)

Skills and application. The students should be able to:

• Work in collaborative and interdisciplinary contexts to address environmental concerns. (III.c)
• Generate a precise, nuanced thesis or research question, group and sequence ideas logically, and write effectively for a variety of audiences (e.g., op-ed pieces, service learning reports, class research projects, lab assignments). (II.c)
• Select, interpret, and create appropriate images, visual media, and data visualizations to aid in their analyses and oral and written communications.  (II.c)
• Prepare and deliver a clear, cohesive and effective message and/or presentation, which is well-organized, has a logical flow and includes appropriate supporting materials.(II.c, III.c)
• Identify, use, and manage appropriate technologies (e.g., GIS, statistics, MATLAB, Excel) to acquire and analyze data and/or information and to communicate their results, findings, and/or conclusions. (II.b, II.c)
• Critically evaluate and create information, and situate it in the appropriate information landscape or context, acknowledging sources and using information with integrity. (II.a, IV.a)
• Apply knowledge and skills to develop informed actions regarding environmental issues. (III.d, IV.a)