2011-12 CATALOG - Cascadia Community College

Instructional Programs AND Policies
DISTRIBUTION Learning Outcomes
General education at Cascadia is the cornerstone of learning a set of skills that will enable students to access, process, construct,
and express knowledge across cultures. Completing the general education core at Cascadia will require a willingness to take risks,
an interest in growing and adopting new, more refined points of view, and an awareness of a global context for ideas and facts.
Classes provide learning experiences in which students take responsibility for encountering and mastering new knowledge and
practices and growing into active, lifelong learners who are prepared for whatever challenges come next.
The General Education Core
Foundations for College Success
College Success introduces students to Cascadia’s learning
model, helps them to take ownership of their education and sets
them up for academic success. All Cascadia students who
complete Foundations for College Success have a minimum of 3
credits of guided practice in achieving the following outcomes.
Learn: Learners will demonstrate that they can find and use a
variety of academic resources (including eLearning and library
resources) at Cascadia. They will demonstrate ownership of
their education and develop an academic plan.
Think: Learners will demonstrate basic information literacy
skills and knowledge of particular ways of knowing and
reasoning in the different academic disciplines.
Communicate: Learners will demonstrate flexibility in
recognizing and expressing concepts in disciplinary appropriate
formats and they will be able to explain how they arrived at
their conclusions.
Interact: Learners will demonstrate the ability to effectively
collaborate in group activities.
Communicating and Thinking Critically
Every degree at Cascadia is grounded in a set of core courses
that emphasize communicating and critical thinking. In the
composition sequence of the General Education Core
Distribution, learners have a chance to become aware of the
ways that culture informs, enriches, and at times limits learning
and growth. Students practice argument, problem solving,
analysis, and synthesis while they encounter and try out points
of view from across the globe and reflect on their own points of
view. All Cascadia students who complete the composition
sequence have a minimum of 10 credits of guided practice in
achieving the following outcomes.
Learn: Learners will become familiar with writing and reading
processes and develop a personal process that helps them create
successful texts; demonstrate a willingness to take risks and to
deepen knowledge about self, others, and the world as it relates
to writing and its process; learn to construct meaning from
expanding and conflicting information; and meet deadlines and
seek help when necessary.
Think: Learners will use a variety of conceptual and theoretical
lenses and reflect on how these lenses provide alternative views
of the experience and points of view of self, individuals, and
groups; critically reflect on their own attitudes, values, behavior,
and assumptions as well as those presented to them; and
translate content between contexts with an awareness of the
impact of different points of view and mediums.
Communicate: Learners will gather information and draft and
publish texts that demonstrate inquiry into critical and creative
thinking and an awareness of criteria for clear, original
communication; communicate interpretations of data and
claims and articulate rationales for making decisions about
responsible action in the context of community issues and
problems; and use technology and methods of discourse as
learning tools.
Interact: Learners will share ideas, experiences, and selfassessment
processes and listen to those of others; engage in
collaborative peer review processes that will reflect their
understanding of their experiences, composition practice, and
self-assessment; and recognize conflict as a necessary part of
discourse and respect individual ways of arriving at answers
while critically analyzing models and ways of thinking.
Quantitative or Symbolic Reasoning
The ability to quantitatively and symbolically reason is critical
in an ever-increasing complex society. Learners will problem
solve and critically think using multiple approaches to draw
conclusions while communicating their results and interacting
with others. All Cascadia students who complete Quantitative
or Symbolic Reasoning have a minimum of 5 credits of guided
practice in achieving the following outcomes.
Learn: Learners will apply problem solving and mathematical
modeling to real situations and take responsibility for accessing
and using a variety of sources in learning about mathematics.
Think: Learners will analyze and interpret data or evidence to
correctly solve problems through the construction of clear, wellsupported
arguments that lead to valid conclusions supported
by appropriate symbolic reasoning and mathematical models.
Communicate: Learners will interpret complex problems and
illustrate solutions using mathematical symbols and formulas
that justify mathematical conclusions expressed in written or
oral form.
Interact: Learners will navigate different approaches, resources,
and technologies to successfully problem solve while respecting
multiple approaches to solutions when interacting with other
students.
22 Catalog 2011-12 Cascadia Community College