Ways of Thinking

Thinking Aesthetically (TA-3 cr.)

(SUNY The Arts or SUNY Humanities)
Thinking Aesthetically courses will develop students’ reflective engagement with the creative process by engaging them in a variety of forms of artistic creativity—developing their ability to identify, understand, and appreciate the processes through which works of art are produced, analyzed, and interpreted. TA courses can be devoted to one of the following:

1. producing forms of artistic creativity (such as painting, acting, poetry writing, dancing, singing, scenic design, music, etc.)
2. analyzing, interpreting, and critically discussing forms of artistic creativity, or
3. combining the production (doing), analysis, interpretation, and critical discussion of forms of artistic creativity.

TA Student Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this course, students:

1. Create art within the form. (Creating) - (Required only if the course focuses on (a) under the TA Description.)
2. Critically analyze the form, content, and style of an art form. (Analyzing)
3. Critically evaluate the form, content, and style of an art form. (Evaluating)
4. Interpret the art form being studied. (Understanding)
5. Critically analyze the historical, contemporary, sociocultural, or theoretical contexts of an art form.(Evaluating) - (Required only if the course focuses on (b) under the TA Description.)

Thinking Foundationally (TF-3 cr.)

(SUNY Humanities or other)
Courses approved for Thinking Foundationally designation must list WAYS 101 as a prerequisite.

Thinking Foundationally courses are designed to uncover and critically (i.e., skeptically and argumentatively) examine foundational assumptions. Foundational assumptions occur in every subject area: i.e., every subject area is grounded in theoretical/foundational assumptions that guide inquiry in that subject area. Thinking Foundationally courses will build upon the basic critical thinking skills introduced and exercised in the WAYS 101 seminars. Students will be required to develop and practice higher-order argumentation skills. Thinking Foundationally courses will require a significant amount of writing in which students demonstrate their ability to understand and explicate arguments, and to anticipate, appreciate, and respond to objections. This might be done in a series of papers arguing on multiple sides of an issue, culminating in a paper which synthesizes the previous work and advocates for a particular position.

TF Student Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Explain a range of foundational approaches used within the relevant subject area and apply those approaches. (Explaining and Applying)
2. Articulate the foundational assumptions used by those approaches. (Understanding)
3. Articulate the necessity, benefits, and drawbacks of making foundational assumptions within a subject area. (Understanding)
4. Identify in writing the strengths and weaknesses of different foundational approaches and argue persuasively for and against the assumptions made by those approaches. (Applying and Evaluating)
5. Compose papers in which they argue first for one foundational perspective and then for an opposing perspective, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each. (Creating)

Thinking Historically (TH-3 cr.)

(SUNY American History or SUNY Western Civilizations or SUNY Other World Civilizations)
Courses approved for Thinking Historically designation must list WAYS 102 as a prerequisiteor corequisite.

Thinking Historically courses explore some of the sources, arguments, and methodologies used to understand the past. Why does the past matter? How do we know what we know about the past? How do we move beyond the idea that how we know things now is the only way we need to know them? Our understanding of the past is constructed from individual stories that are themselves shaped by larger cultural contexts. These courses are designed to help students become critical consumers of historical knowledge to assist their navigation through contemporary concerns that are themselves rooted in history.

TH Student Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Evaluate the uses and limitations of relevant source materials commonly used to understand the past. (Evaluating)
2. Critically engage with evolving scholarly conversations about how we understand and remember the past. (Creating)
3. Explain the role of individual participation in US communities and government. (Understanding)
4. Analyze United States’ society and/or history, including the diversity of individuals and communities that make up the nation. (Analyzing)

Thinking Mathematically (TM-3 cr.)

(SUNY Mathematics)
Thinking Mathematically courses build proficiency with fundamental tools of mathematics, such as arithmetic, algebra, geometry, functions, graphs, and statistics. They teach students precise quantitative logical reasoning and applications of mathematical problem-solving skills in abstract and real-world problems. They engage students in oral and written communication of mathematical ideas.

TM Student Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this course, students:

1. Use the fundamental tools of mathematics, such as arithmetic, algebra, geometry, functions, graphs, and statistics. (Applying)
2. Apply precise, logical quantitative reasoning to mathematical hypotheses and conditions. (Applying)
3. Identify mathematical structure and pattern. (Applying)
4. Engage in mathematical abstractions. (Applying)
5. Communicate effectively with oral and written skills appropriate to the discipline. (Understanding)

Thinking Scientifically: Natural World (1) NW – 4 cr. Includes lab;)

(SUNY Natural Sciences)
Courses that fulfill the Thinking Scientifically: Natural World requirement engage students in the basic methods and goals of the natural sciences with the aim of making them scientifically literate and able to make reasonable and well-founded judgments on matters concerning the natural world.

Thinking Scientifically: Natural World Student Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this course, students:

1. Explain the process of scientific investigation and its strict reliance on empirical evidence. (Understanding)
2. Apply the scientific process to phenomena in the natural world. (Applying)
3. Evaluate scientific claims to make informed and logical judgments about natural science issues. (Evaluating)
4. Discuss the impact of science and scientific discoveries on their lives. (Creating)

Thinking Scientifically: Social World (SW - 3 cr.)

(SUNY Social Sciences)
Courses that fulfill the Thinking Scientifically: Social World requirement engage students in the basic methods and goals of the social sciences with the aim of making them scientifically literate and able to make reasonable and well-founded judgments on matters concerning the social world.

Thinking Scientifically: Social World Student Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this course, students:

1. Assess the quality of qualitative and/or quantitative data. (Evaluating)
2. Evaluate the quality of scientific inferences drawn from data. (Evaluating)
3. Identify essential discipline-specific theories, terminology, and conceptual frameworks from the social sciences. (Applying)
4. Comprehend diverse viewpoints from the social sciences. (Understanding)
5. Apply basic course concepts and methods to answer a simple social science research question. (Applying).