Integrative Course

Intellectual Foundations

Integrated Course (BSC 300)

Overview
Learning Outcomes
Guidelines
Course Proposal Template
Learning Outcomes Guide

Report to the College Senate

of the

Select Committee

on General Education

8 November 2002

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Overview

An upper-level integrative course will provide the culminating experience in the Intellectual Foundations Program, and will be required of all students graduating from Buffalo State. Each will integrate two or more of the cognate areas. Students will build on previously acquired knowledge by applying higher level critical thinking skills including synthesis, evaluation and creative thinking as they relate to multiple cognate areas. All students graduating from Buffalo State college shall complete successfully at least one upper-level integrative course.

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Proposed Learning Outcomes/Objectives

Students will:

1.

apply methods, content, and theories to analyze and solve problems related to the integrated content of this course.

2.

synthesize learning from the Intellectual Foundations program to propose, plan and create an original work.

3.

develop and use criteria drawn from varied approaches to evaluate works, arguments, theories, presentations and/or evidence

4.

Additional student learning outcomes specific to the integrative course content

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Course Guidelines

Integrative courses shall be offered as 300 level courses with a BSC prefix. They may be offered as topics courses, BSC 389. It is anticipated that integrative courses will normally be offered as BSC 389 first, and then submitted for on-going course approval. Integrative courses approved by the IFOC and College Senate Curriculum Committee shall be given catalog numbers ascending from BSC 300, in order of their approval.

1.

Integrative courses shall address a set of questions integrating approaches and insights from two distinct IF cognate areas: Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences

2.

Prerequisites for integrative courses shall be: BSC 100, ENG 102 and the completion of at least 30 additional credits in the IF program

3.

Must be taught by full-time faculty (with few exceptions)

4.

All proposals for integrative courses shall adhere to the course proposal template below

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Course Proposal Template

Prefix, Number and Name of Course: BSC 3xx: Integrative Topics (supply specific title)

Credit Hours: 3

In Class Instructional Hours:

Labs:

Field Work:

Catalog Description:

The culminating experience in Intellectual Foundations. Students practice the critical thinking skills of application, synthesis, and evaluation within the integrated content of this course. (Add specific couse description)

Prerequisites:

BSC 100, ENG 102, and the completion of at least 30 additional hours of the Intellectual Foundations program.

Reasons for Addition:

This course is the culminating experience in Intellectual Foundations program. Course content integrates two or more of the Intellectual Foundations cognate areas (Arts, Humanities, Social Science, and Natural Sciences). Students build on previous knowledge acquired in the Intellectual Foundations program to practice the critical thinking skills of application, synthesis, evaluation and creativity as they relate to at least two distinct cognate content areas.

Student Learning Outcomes & Assessment

Student Learning Outcomes

Students will:

Content Reference

Assessment

1.   apply methods, content, and theories to analyze and solve problems related to the integrated content of this course.

.

.

2.   synthesize learning from the Intellectual Foundations program to propose, plan and create an original work.

.

.

3.   develop and use criteria drawn from varied approaches to evaluate works, arguments, theories, presentations and/or evidence.

.

.

4. (Additional student learning outcomes specific to the integrative course must be added here.)

.

.

Course Content: (Course content outline should be presented in outline format here. It should explicitly indicate approaches from fields in two of the following areas: Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences. Topics and assignments must be aligned with the Student Outcomes in the template presented above.)

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Additional Information on Learning Outcomes for BSC 3xx

The BSC 300 Integrative Course must be designed so that students must integrate content from at least two of the following: arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences.

The outcomes for Foundations of Inquiry (BSC 100) focus primarily upon the more basic levels of knowledge and comprehension with some application and analysis. The upper level integrative course (BSC 300) has a heavier emphasis upon the more complex cognitive processes of application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The following material illustrates the kinds of cognitive processes that are subsumed under each of these terms.

Application: Application refers to the ability to use learned material in new and concrete situations. This may include the application of such things as rules, methods, concepts, principles, laws and theories. Learning outcomes in this area require a higher level of understanding than basic comprehension.

Learning objectives at this level call for students to:

use methods, concepts and theories in new situations

apply concepts and principles to new situations

apply laws and theories to practical situations

solve problems using required skills or knowledge

Analysis: Analysis refers to the ability to break down material into its component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood. This may include the identification of parts, analysis of the relationship between parts, and recognition of the organizational principles involved. Learning outcomes here represent a higher intellectual level than comprehension and application because they require an understanding of both the content and the structural form of the material.

Learning objectives at this level call for students to:

recognize unstated assumptions

recognize logical fallacies in reasoning

distinguish between facts and inferences

evaluate the relevancy of data

analyze the organizational structure of a work (art, music, writing)

recognize patterns

identify components and their organization

recognize hidden meanings

recognize creative structures and processes

Synthesis: Synthesis refers to the ability to put parts together to form a whole. This may involve the production of a unique communication (theme or speech), a plan of operations (research proposal), or a set of abstract relations (scheme for classifying information). Learning outcomes in this area stress creative behaviors, with major emphasis on the formulation of new patterns or structures.

Learning objectives at this level call for students to:

write a well organized theme

give a well organized speech

write a creative short story (or poem)

propose a plan for an experiment

integrate learning from different areas into a plan for solving a problem.

formulate a new scheme for classifying objects (or events, or ideas)

use old ideas to create new ones

generalize from given facts

relate knowledge from several areas

predict, draw conclusions

employ analogic thinking

Evaluation: Evaluation is concerned with the ability to judge the value of material (statement, novel, poem, research report) for a given purpose. The judgements are to be based on definite criteria. These may be internal criteria (organization) or exernal criteria (relevance to the purpose) and the student may determine the criteria or be given them. Learning outcomes for this area are highest in the cognitive hierarchy because they contain elements of all the other categories, plus conscious value judgments based on clearly defined criteria.

Learning objectives at this level call for students to:

judge the logical consistency of written material

judge the adequacy with which conclusions are supported by data

judge the value of a work (art, music, writing) by the use of internal criteria

judge the value of a work (art, music, writing) by the use of external standards of excellence

assess value of theories, presentations

make choices based on reasoned argument

verify value of evidence

recognize subjectivity

Taken from: Bloom's Taxonomy: Douglas Koritz, January, 2002

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Students will:
1.	apply methods, content, and theories to analyze and solve problems related to the integrated content of this course.
2.	synthesize learning from the Intellectual Foundations program to propose, plan and create an original work.
3.	develop and use criteria drawn from varied approaches to evaluate works, arguments, theories, presentations and/or evidence
4.	Additional student learning outcomes specific to the integrative course content

Integrative courses shall be offered as 300 level courses with a BSC prefix. They may be offered as topics courses, BSC 389. It is anticipated that integrative courses will normally be offered as BSC 389 first, and then submitted for on-going course approval. Integrative courses approved by the IFOC and College Senate Curriculum Committee shall be given catalog numbers ascending from BSC 300, in order of their approval.
1.	Integrative courses shall address a set of questions integrating approaches and insights from two distinct IF cognate areas: Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences
2.	Prerequisites for integrative courses shall be: BSC 100, ENG 102 and the completion of at least 30 additional credits in the IF program
3.	Must be taught by full-time faculty (with few exceptions)
4.	All proposals for integrative courses shall adhere to the course proposal template below

Prefix, Number and Name of Course: BSC 3xx: Integrative Topics (supply specific title)
Credit Hours: 3
In Class Instructional Hours:		Labs:	Field Work:
Catalog Description:	The culminating experience in Intellectual Foundations. Students practice the critical thinking skills of application, synthesis, and evaluation within the integrated content of this course. (Add specific couse description)
*Prerequisites:*	BSC 100, ENG 102, and the completion of at least 30 additional hours of the Intellectual Foundations program.
Reasons for Addition:	This course is the culminating experience in Intellectual Foundations program. Course content integrates two or more of the Intellectual Foundations cognate areas (Arts, Humanities, Social Science, and Natural Sciences). Students build on previous knowledge acquired in the Intellectual Foundations program to practice the critical thinking skills of application, synthesis, evaluation and creativity as they relate to at least two distinct cognate content areas.

Student Learning Outcomes Students will:	Content Reference	Assessment
1. apply methods, content, and theories to analyze and solve problems related to the integrated content of this course.	.	.
2. synthesize learning from the Intellectual Foundations program to propose, plan and create an original work.	.	.
3. develop and use criteria drawn from varied approaches to evaluate works, arguments, theories, presentations and/or evidence.	.	.
4. (Additional student learning outcomes specific to the integrative course must be added here.)	.	.
Course Content: (Course content outline should be presented in outline format here. It should explicitly indicate approaches from fields in two of the following areas: Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences. Topics and assignments must be aligned with the Student Outcomes in the template presented above.)