Philosophy and Objectives
Wor-Wic strives to combine the advantages of a general education core with opportunities to pursue a variety of occupational and technical programs. The curricula for the associate degree are designed to broaden and deepen the student's education by helping the student meet the following objectives:
- Writing -- Express ideas effectively through written text.
Content:
- Select appropriate topics.
- Identify a clear purpose and audience.
- Use sound reasoning to support a central claim.
- Use specific evidence.
- Integrate and correctly document reliable sources.
Organization:
- Organize content logically.
- Maintain focus.
- Demonstrate coherence.
- Adhere to the structural conventions of an individual discipline.
Style and Expression:
- Demonstrate clarity and precision in language choices.
- Adhere to specific academic conventions, including tone, point of view and diction.
- Control a variety of sentence structures.
Grammar/Punctuation/Mechanics (GPM):
- Demonstrate writing that is substantially free of errors in grammar, punctuation and mechanics.
- Eliminate all GPM errors that do not impede comprehension or distract the reader.
- Speaking -- Demonstrate a command of oral communication that is accurate, ethical and audience-centered.
Accurate and Ethical
- Organize the oral communication in a manner that is logical and fluid within the context of the discipline.
- Support a main idea with information that is credible, reliable, relevant, specific and sufficient.
- Fully integrate, explicitly acknowledge and orally document outside sources.
Audience-Centered
- Employ a tone and language that are appropriate for the assignment and setting.
- Select a topic that reflects careful consideration of audience and assignment guidelines.
- Deliver a speech in a manner that engages the audience (e.g., use of voice, eye contact, gestures, posture and energy are effective).
- Provide presentation aids (if used) that are vivid and relevant and that enhance and/or clarify rather than substitute for core content.
- Reading -- Analyze and/or evaluate texts within and across disciplines.
- Identify key textual features (e.g., headings, captions and illustrations).
- Identify explicit and derive implicit meanings.
- Examine textual and contextual relationships.
- Summarize, generalize and/or predict from the text.
- Critical Thinking -- Apply critical analysis and reasoning skills to evaluate evidence and draw conclusions.
- Interpret information to investigate arguments, claims and beliefs and a point of view.
- Use evidence to support a position (perspective/thesis/hypothesis).
- Identify and analyze alternative outcomes to a problem or case.
- Determine a solution(s) to a problem.
- Information Literacy -- Access, evaluate and appropriately use information and technology to accomplish tasks and communicate ideas.
- Acquire: Use multiple forms of media to identify, gather and synthesize information from a variety of sources.
- Assess: Critically determine the credibility, accuracy and utility of source information.
- Use: Effectively employ technological tools and vocabulary to manage projects and/or solve problems.
- Cite: Responsibly use information according to legal and ethical standards.
- Create: Incorporate information and technology into the design and development of quality products that successfully communicate ideas.
- Quantitative Reasoning -- Use and apply quantitative concepts and methods to calculate and interpret numerical problems.
- Interpret: Explain information presented in numerical forms.
- Represent: Convert relevant information into various numerical forms.
- Calculate: Solve numerical problems.
- Apply/Analyze: Make judgments and draw appropriate conclusions based on numerical information.
- Scientific Reasoning -- Apply the process of scientific inquiry and analysis.
- Predict: Apply current scientific theories and models as unifying principles to comprehend natural phenomena and make predictions.
- Interpret: Infer meaning from statistical data and graphical data presentations.
- Distinguish: Recognize the current and historical interdependence of applied research, basic research and technology.
- Formulate: Develop hypotheses, identify relevant variables and design experiments to test hypotheses.
- Evaluate: Assess the credibility, use and misuse of scientific and mathematical information related to scientific and public policy issues.
- Diversity -- Identify the influences of a variety of cultural contexts on social interactions and demonstrate civic engagement with the college and local community.
- Explore: Describe how cultural diversity impacts human relations and its influence on historical events.
- Engage: Increase inter- and intrapersonal skills through partici-pation in:
- A variety of academic, social and cultural events at the college and in the community; and
- Community-based activities through service-learning programs.
- Awareness: Compare and contrast differences in another person’s beliefs, habits and behavior related to self.
- Ethics -- Recognize ethical issues in a variety of settings and consider the consequences of alternative actions.
- Assess personal core beliefs and their influence on personal decision-making.
- Evaluate different ethical perspectives and their potential implications.
- Apply ethical theories to the resolution of ethical dilemmas or social and professional issues.