PROGRAM OUTCOMES
COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE
"Learners will become effective communicators in their discipline."
For my communication competence, I have chosen my artifact to be my report essay from ENG-112. This report was to inform the reader about how vital blood is in our bodies. In the piece, I discuss how people don't consider their impact on the body's blood production. Our health is the critical factor in our body systems, and if we don't take care of it, specific problems can arise. For example, a diet full of sugar leads to diabetes, and alcoholism leads to repressed blood cell production. I go over what it does to our bodies and, essentially, our blood in each issue. I chose to discuss this topic in my essay because of my interest in being in the medical field. I was passionate at the time about health and the blood system within our bodies. At that time, I wanted to pursue phlebotomy, but as I grew maturer, I knew I wanted to be in the Emergency Room. Writing and investigating this topic produced more knowledge about the human body and how simple things connect to our health as a whole. This paper was stressful for me because my writing skills didn't wholly reassure me with writing at the time. Going through all the outlines and performing the exercises my Professor laid out in the class plan helped me formulate the essay. My first rough draft of the paper was awful and had a lot of errors within it. Reading back on this report essay, I could see there were still errors left. At the time, I thought I did a fantastic job of writing it, but looking back now and criticizing it, I had made many mistakes. This only goes to show that my skills are ever-evolving and that I am constantly refining them.
Goals:
My first goal was to advance in my writing skills and to be able to write a full research paper. I struggled with finding topics and sticking with them during my English experience in high school. Doing this assignment allowed me to learn about different writing styles and the different types of essays. I thought I already had good writing skills, but after going through with this essay, it taught me that everything I knew wasn't right. I had struggled with finding sources that pertained to my topic and almost gave up. Looking at my essay now, you can see I could cite five good sources from a database. This took much research and reading articles on how to cite correctly.
Another problem I struggled with was developing my essay so that it would flow together very effortlessly. Though I encountered those problems, receiving help from my Professor and persevering helped me finish! Looking back at this paper, I am highly delighted with my point and even happier now because I can identify the mistakes.
My other goal was to have my essays flow together or have the information pertain to the topic. That was repeatedly a problem with me in high school because I would always branch out from what the primary idea required to be and write about other things. I tended to note everything but necessary, and I remember having information that wasn't even associated with my topic. In this paper, when I was discussing hypertension in paragraph two, I went straight into it without having the introduction flow into my crucial point. Before preparing the essay, we had to have several drafts and outlines. This supported me a lot because outlines are essentially the backbone of what you are trying to get across. The structure of this essay might not have been the best, but I am satisfied I made improvements.
Thinking back on how much I struggled with specific areas in writing my essays, I am exceedingly pleased I obtained the experience of improving myself. The goals were achieved, but this is an area where just because you meet your goals doesn't mean you should stop improving them. The English language is constantly evolving, and everything we expect we know about grammar might not represent precise information five years from now. Altogether, I feel like I did a great job on this paper, and it's tremendous that now I am capable of learning from my previous grammatical mistakes.
CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING
"Learners will apply appropriate techniques to solving problems within their discipline."
For my creative problem-solving outcome, I chose a problem from one of my MAT-271 tests. I decided to solve this problem because it's a part of our ordinary lives. Wealth distribution is inevitably an issue here in the U.S., and the gap between the rich and the poor only gets wider. The problem highlighted the issue of the U.S. wealth-income distribution, and we had to construct a graph and then formulate the projected growth. For my chart, I used Excel to create a line graph that highlighted the income distribution from 1970-2010. This problem allowed me to put my thinking cap on and virtually get into all the information to support my graph. I had to come up with a projected guess for the ensuing years, and that was how the gap between classes would only widen.
Goals:​
My initial goal with this assignment was to construct a graph with software instead of a hand. Ordinarily, when I do charts, I like noting it out because then I can correct mistakes and identify what I am essentially doing. The downside to this is it gets disorganized and might look un-perfect enough. I was extremely hesitant to use Excel, but my professor recommended it for this problem. I put my fears away and ended up forming the line graph through Excel. It required me a bit of time getting used to how it works and typing my numbers in. I am delighted to say I have achieved my goal and currently use Excel for anything number-related!
For my secondary goal, I wanted to come up with an accurate representation of what would happen to the curve. I had to add other values to my graph and see where the chart would go. Along with that, I additionally utilized the Gini coefficient in calculating the growth for 2020. As stated in the word part of the math problem, I was able to predict that the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. I was also capable of determining that absolute equality within the classes couldn't exist and was utterly unrealistic.
Typically speaking, I would say I did a great job reaching both of my goals with this assignment. Producing the graph and calculating the various components within the problem was difficult, but I managed to push through and develop an accurate solution. Looking back, these types of issues are significant because they challenge our brains to consider real-world problems and come up with solutions.
SCIENTIFIC LITERACY
"Learners will demonstrate scientific literacy by explaining the process of scientific resining and applying scientific principles inside and outside of the laboratory or field setting. "
The artifact I chose for Scientific Literacy was a math problem from my maths exam in MAT-271. I selected this because the first page showcased my work, and I was ecstatic about finally solving the problems without help. In problem two of the test, you can see there was a lot of information. Most of it was to support my mathematical answer in the end, but for the most part, it was to make sure my calculations were exact. I don’t do so well in math and tend to mix up numbers that look alike. It required me an hour to solve the problem and provide an accurate answer. I remember demonstrating the situation to my friend, and she mentioned how unnecessary all the supplementary work was. In my eyes, I thought I did reasonably alright because usually, math is a sinking boat with sharks around it for myself.
Goals:
For my prime goal, I wanted to achieve a decent grade on the test. I was aiming for at least a 60% but received close to an 80%. This was a tremendous morale booster because I was struggling with Calculus and spiraling into a deep depression before that. Witnessing how my formidable work paid off for this excellent grade caused me to feel as if I was on top of the world.
My goal was to compute the answer correctly for problems 2 & 3. I accomplished this goal and even performed the steps flawlessly. Looking back on the graded test, I was shocked that those two problems were correct because I expected to mess up slightly, but I didn’t.
I fulfilled my goals but struggled greatly in Calculus and couldn’t receive a transferable grade. This didn’t halt me from attaining my goals and learning about my learning styles. To you, this might seem as if it were a loss, but to me, it was a learning experience and another obstacle I worked through. Next time around, when I attend the class, I will use my prior knowledge and my completed goals to help motivate me to move forward.
MATHEMATICAL LITERACY
"Learners will demonstrate mathematical literacy through solving problems, communication concepts, resining mathematically, and appealing mathematical or statistical methods using multiple representations. "
For my mathematical literacy, I chose my artifact to be a graph problem from one of my assignments in MAT-271. I decided on this problem because it talks about the Lorenz curve, and at the time, I discovered it to remain a fascinating topic in math. With this problem, I wasn't sure how to handle it at first and invested a lot of time trying to figure out how to start deciphering it. I received some assistance from my tutor and referenced similar math problems in the textbook, which aided me in completing it. As you can see in the graph, a line of "perfect equality" and another line is the "Lorenz curve." We had to interpret a specific point on the Lorenz curve for this problem, which was (0.8,0.6). With that, I figured that society owns 60% of the wealth in the Country. This is critical because if society owned 100%, then it would represent a communistic government. With this, I determined that the ideal line meant that everything was equal to wealth, but this never exactly works because it's unrealistic. Completing this assignment taught me a lot about wealth distribution in countries and its attributes to the governments in place.
Goals:
For my first goal, I wanted to learn to interpret graphs with only a point given. At the time, I possessed no knowledge and wasn't sure what to consider when looking at the chart. I decided to place my head in the math textbook and read about the lesson again. All the various definitions of the terms and graph examples aided me in comprehending what to consider for this graph. Along with this, I additionally had my tutor usher me in the proper direction, and she instructed me on how to interpret graphs promptly.
My second goal was to use math in the current world and connect my lesson topics to real-life situations. Before Calculus, we had to solve algebraic equations, and the word problems would be unrealistic, and I wouldn't be able to connect what the lesson was about. Calculus uses math that applies to the real world, and having a problem like this connected the topic to world governments. I was joyful that I could understand how and why we needed to apply these maths.
I accomplished my goals despite struggling and needing help with my assignments. With math, it gets hard sometimes because it's just numbers and calculations. When you can apply it to real situations and interpret it in your preferred learning style, it sticks with your memory better! I can't wait to learn about more mathematical equations that I will need in my future career as a doctor and even as an older sister. I hope to assist my siblings with their math skills when they get to that point!