1

Mapping Case Study: CSU Anywhere

Overview

Mapping artifacts to objectives at different levels can be done in a number of ways, such as using keywords or tags. Below, an example assignment has been mapped to objectives using the lists of objectives—national (LEAP), institutional, college, department, and course (syllabus)—on the following pages.

National InstitutionCollegeDepartmentCourseArtifact Level Goals

1

CSU Anywhere – Outcomes at different levels

AAC&U LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes

  • Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World
  • Through study in the sciences and mathematics, social sciences, humanities, histories, languages, and the arts

Focused by engagement with big questions, both contemporary and enduring

  • Intellectual and Practical Skills, Including
  • Inquiry and analysis
  • Critical and creative thinking
  • Written and oral communication
  • Quantitative literacy
  • Information literacy
  • Teamwork and problem solving

Practiced extensively, across the curriculum, in the context of progressively more challenging problems, projects, and standards for performance

  • Personal and Social Responsibility, Including
  • Civic knowledge and engagement—local and global
  • Intercultural knowledge and competence
  • Ethical reasoning and action
  • Foundations and skills for lifelong learning

Anchored through active involvement with diverse communities and real-world challenges

  • Integrative Learning, Including
  • Synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and specialized studies

Demonstrated through the application of knowledge, skills, and responsibilities to new settings and complex problems

College of Behavioral and Social Sciences – Strategic Goals

  • Maintain and develop innovative and collaborative learning experiences in undergraduate and graduate programs that provide skilled graduates to our service region and to the State of California.
  • Encourage departments to implement workload flexibility while meeting FTES targets.
  • Continue to develop community service and research partnerships that enhance student learning and community involvement.
  • Facilitate innovative approaches toward streamlining student progress toward graduation.
  • Develop strategies to optimize resources and refine the college development/advancement plan.
  • Promote excellence in faculty scholarly work, teaching, service and staff development.
  • Encourage, support, and reward faculty in the college who create effective teaching/learning communities, including those that involve students in faculty research and those that incorporate technology.

Department of Environmental Studies – Student Learning Outcomes

  • Demonstrate a basic scientific literacy tied to core content in scientific disciplines vital to understanding environmental issues. [Consistent with LEAP objective targeting “Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World”]
  • Exhibit advanced capabilities for interpreting and communicating information related to environmental issues in written and oral forms appropriate to both scientific and non-technical audiences. [Consistent with LEAP objective targeting “Intellectual and Practical Skills”]
  • Cultivate skills critical to interpreting scientific concepts for public understanding, including familiarity with the scientific method, information literacy, statistical data analysis, hypothesis formulation and conceptual modeling, research project design and working collaboratively. [Consistent with LEAP objective targeting “Intellectual and Practical Skills”]
  • Be conversant in the theoretical and applied concepts in the humanities and social sciences, and the interdisciplinary connections between these subjects and the natural sciences, in order to understand and solve environmental issues. [Consistent with LEAP objective targeting “Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World”]
  • Recognize the interconnectedness and interdependence of political, economic, and social complexities inherent in environmental problem solving, and demonstrate the ability to apply this interdisciplinary training to environmental problems of local, regional, national, or global significance. [Consistent with LEAP objectives targeting “Integrative Learning”]
  • Understand the role of individuals and participate in the creation of solutions for environmental problems. [Consistent with LEAP objectives targeting “Personal and Social Responsibility”]
  • Participate in engaged inquiry as a means of connecting classroom learning to real-world environmental problem solving and establishing the skills needed for life-long learning. [Consistent with LEAP objectives targeting “Personal and Social Responsibility” and “Integrative Learning”]

1

Environmental Studies 010 – Example Syllabus

1. Course Information

Course Title: Life on a Changing Planet

Course Code: ENVS 010

2. Course Description/Overview

The purpose of this course is to give you the skills and knowledge necessary to critically examine biological and environmental issues. Living systems are in a constant state of change, both as a result of natural processes and human activities. The course materials emphasize the understanding of basic biological concepts and use of the scientific method to evaluate and analyze data and viewpoints that are often conflicting or incomplete, as they can often be in real life.

Students will use life science information and concepts to analyze current environmental issues, research, and policy using a series of relevant case studies developed by university instructors throughout the United States. In class lectures, films, discussions, and role-playing assignments we will investigate, critique, and compare scientific findings with public policy and perceptions.

This course is, at its heart, a biology course. What makes it different is its emphasis on environmental issues. These two subject areas are closely linked, though rarely taught together. By presenting this information together it is my hope that when you encounter biological issues in the future you will not fail to see the ecological ramifications.

General Education Content Objectives and Student Learning Objectives

Content Objectives: This class is a Category B2 General Education course and, as such, students will develop and demonstrate the following objectives:

1)Gain a basic understanding of the structures and processes of living systems;

2)Learn about the scientific method and how the body of scientific knowledge advances;

3)Gain experience with the testable frameworks and the qualitative and quantitative methods scientists use to collect data;

4)Develop tools to critically analyze controversial scientific issues from a life scientist’s perspective;

5)Acquire an understanding of the interrelationships between science, economics, ethics, and policy in environmental decision-making by society;

6)Develop an understanding of how and to what extent human activities are affecting the earth’s living systems.

Student Learning Objectives:

1) Students should be able to use the methods of science and knowledge derived from current scientific inquiry in life or physical science to question existing explanations.

2) Students should be able to demonstrate ways in which science influences and is influenced by complex societies, including political and moral issues.

3) Students should be able to use the methods of science, in which quantitative, analytical reasoning techniques are used.

3. Course Requirements

The exams and assignments are designed to help you learnthe course material and acquire the skills to analyze issues. The written assignments are designed as a mechanism for you to develop skills for evaluating, analyzing, and expressing solutions to environmental issues.

Example: Assignment 1: Calculate Your Carbon Footprint

A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc. Inevitably, in going about our daily lives — commuting, sheltering our families, eating — each of us contributes to the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change. Yet, there are many things each of us, as individuals, can do to reduce our carbon emissions. The choices we make in our homes, our travel, the food we eat, and what we buy and throw away all influence our carbon footprint and can help ensure a stable climate for future generations.

In this assignment, you will visit: and take the online quiz to determine your footprint. Write an executive summary of your findings, with at least 3 suggestions for improving your footprint status (2 pages).

You will also write a mini-report (2-3 pages) about an organization working on climate change issues, with attention to activities, outreach, education, and policy development.

Demo Syllabus, Adapted by R. Cox, 8/3/09