Program Outcomes

Communication Competence

Learners will become effective communicators in their discipline.

For My Communication Competence Artifact, I chose a report essay from my Spring 2022 Eng-111 Class with Donna Hildreth. In my report paper, I decided to talk about The Internet, and its upsides and downsides. In the end, the

downsides carry a lot of weight compared to the bright side, and Internet usage is excellent only when you don't experience these downsides. My purpose in writing this paper was to communicate with the reader about an issue very prevalent in our world today, and to give the reader some insight into the dark side of the web, to show the reader that not everything is all sunshine.

My first goal through this assignment was to demonstrate a level of expertise on my topic of the internet and to sound knowledgeable to the reader. I was struggling with this assignment at the beginning because I started out with unorganized information and my paper sounded a little all over the place. Eventually, I sought out help and was able to organize my information better and sound more professional. This is the first time I was able to tell myself that it's okay to ask for help with school, and so I used the Academic Center for almost every paper I've written after that.

My second goal is to show enthusiasm for my topic through my research. Doing my research contributes to the authenticity of my expertise, and shows a level of passion for the work I am doing and the topic I'm writing about. When I think about this, I think to myself that really doing my research and coming up with a lot of sources, and reading a lot of articles definitely seems like a lot now, but when I become well-versed in my area of discipline, I will have had to have read numerous articles and possibly even written a few papers. Even though this assignment doesn't fall under my discipline, It has still taught and prepared me, especially going into English 112 to be enthusiastic about your topic.

Article

Creative Problem Solving

Learners will apply appropriate techniques to solving problems within their discipline.

The artifact I chose for Problem Solving is an Internationalization assignment from My Fall 2022 BIO-111 class with Mr. Davros. In this assignment, we read an article about CRISPR (Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) in correlation to mosquitoes. CRISPR is an optimized gene-editing tool that can be used to alter gene sequences. We

read an article about using CRISPR to create a mutant mosquito that would not be able to pass on infectious disease (since mosquitoes are the cause of many infectious and even fatal diseases). We answered many questions about what was going on and the relevance of the article today. I would regard this article as an important scientific discovery and a big step towards further advancing our lab technology.

My first goal with this assignment was to show an understanding of the topic we were exploring in this article (CRISPR). The article was a little difficult to follow, as most scientific articles are, but as you move through the article and start to understand it a little bit better, it's much easier to get through. The article discussed CRISPR, a gene-editing tool, and how it was used on a cluster of mosquitoes to remove their ability to pass on diseases and that group was then compared to a normal cluster of mosquitoes to see what differences there were, positive or negative. Even though we were only answering questions about the article, it is still important to grasp an understanding of what you are reading about so you can answer the questions to the best of your ability.

My second goal was to demonstrate an understanding of how problem-solving is displayed in this article. Using CRISPR to inhibit mosquitoes from passing on diseases itself is a big example of problem-solving - mosquitoes are some of the most dangerous insects in the world thanks to this trait. The group that conducted this experiment is the group is a big discovery but also a big example of problem-solving. The group took an issue that we have had with mosquitoes for a very long time, and they tried a test where they removed their ability to pass on disease, and in the process made a scientific breakthrough. This is not only important in its relevance to problem-solving, but it is also an important message to never give up, because you could be faced with a larger-than-life problem, and if you put your mind to it, it can be adjusted or removed or cut down. This is also important in my discipline, because I am pursuing a career down the path of Science, and so it is important to note big discoveries like this, because even though it may not be exactly what I'm planning on pursuing, it is still important in the science field to understand the impact of big discoveries such as this.

Scientific Literacy

"Learners will demonstrate scientific literacy by explaining the process of scientific reasoning and applying scientific principles inside and outside of the laboratory or field setting."

The artifact I have chosen to represent my Scientific Literacy is an eye dissection I completed this Spring 2023 semester of Anatomy and Physiology with Dr. Edward Wolfe. In this assignment, I was required to dissect a cow's eye and take pictures of the many vital components of the eye and label them correctly. Even though I was really grossed out initially. I worked myself

and ended up enjoying being able to investigate the parts of the eye. Even though it wasn’t a human eye, the general locations of all the vital components are relatively the same, and so I found it interesting to see what is in an eye and to think “Wow, this is what my eye looks like too.” Overall, the dissections really bring out my curiosity and eagerness to discover in myself.

My first goal was to be able to label all the components of the eye that were specified. This wasn’t that difficult, but it required me to read the instructions multiple times because I conducted this dissection remotely at my own home. I started making some cuts and I didn’t start in the right place, but in the end, I was able to figure out the cuts I was to make and all the pictures I took are labeled as what part of the eye they are. I’m not sure if all of them are correct, but I kept a diagram and the instructions close while I did it so I’m confident in my anatomy. As I said, I really ended up enjoying this dissection because it is interesting to be able to observe with your own eyes what something looks like and how it works. The smell of formaldehyde is almost crippling, however.

My second goal with this assignment is to take a step back and apply this to my future and my career – Although I plan on pursuing a career in the pharmaceutical industry, it is still important to learn things from an anatomy class or any other science class that may not be geared towards what I want to do. However, it is still important to have an understanding of these things because you never know when they may come in handy. I’m not aware of everything to come in the career I wish to pursue, and maybe my work in my anatomy class will come in handy, maybe this dissection will come in handy one day.

Mathematical Literacy

"Learners will demonstrate mathematical literacy through solving problems, communicating concepts, reasoning mathematically, and applying mathematical or statistical methods, using multiple representations where applicable."

The Artifact I have chosen for Mathematical Literacy is a Globalized Project I did in my MAT-172 Precalculus Trigonometry class of Fall 2022 with Dr. Monique Taylor. In this project, we recorded some temperatures from a location of our choosing in

the month of August and calculated the average temperature in a month per year and turned this into a regression graph and stat plot. This graph, in turn, can be used to predict future temperatures for that area. Overall I enjoyed putting together this project and I think that I seemed to provide a level of expertise on what we were doing in our project. I got a great grade on the assignment, and I think it is the best math work/project I have to represent my mathematical abilities.

My first goal with the artifact was to show my cohesive thoughts and the logic behind the numbers. This project at the time in my precalc class was a great way to provide a real-life application to regression graphs and to teach us about how to use our calculator for regression graphs. So this project was really a way to be able to tinker with our calculators after inputting the data to see what all types of curves would look like, and the end equation is what, say, Scientists would use to try and predict future temperatures within a certain range. Overall I believe my information was very well put together and it was a great opportunity to look at a real-world application to help with learning more about regression graphs and graphing them, and to think that that is what Scientists do on the daily for a living. That is not the plan I have in mind for myself, but this is another area of the rest of the Science field and it is still important to take a look and maybe hold on to some of that math in a situation that I come across meteorology or some other career involving math so that I can appear more knowledgeable and as more of an expert in my career.

My second goal is to take a look at what I may be doing in math, and decide if I need help with my work, whether that's tutoring or anything else. Math is typically a difficult subject, and it doesn't help when I teacher uses a certain site that seems like it's out to get you. My teacher used Pearson. I would always do great on the homework and I thought I had it all together, and when I would take a test I was deeply humbled. I tried to handle it all on my own, but I had my own issues popping up at the most inconvenient of times, and everything mixed in together really overwhelmed me. So, in the future, if I am starting to fall behind or get lost in the material, I am going to make it a point to myself to seek out help.