Teaching Social Sciences Courses

Syllabus Content

GE course syllabi need to contain specific language about the General Education Area to help familiarize students with the GE aspects of the specific GE Area, your course, and how these courses fit within their whole program. Therefore, you need to include the rationale for the Knowledge of the Disciplines requirements, the rationale for your specific course to be approved as a Social Sciences course, and the Social Sciences Student Learning Outcomes in your course syllabus.

Knowledge of the Disciplines Rationale Expand dropdown
"Since each discipline offers a different perspective for understanding the world, understanding anything well requires some understanding of all of them. Students employ critical thinking skills to develop questions of inquiry that reflect an understanding of different disciplinary perspectives."
Specific Course Rationale Expand dropdown
To find the rationale for your course's inclusion in Knowledge of the Disciplines - Social Sciences go to the catalog, select the course you're teaching, scroll down to the heading "Rationale for Knowledge of the Disciplines" and copy and paste the rationale.
Student Learning Outcomes Expand dropdown
"In Social Sciences courses, students will:
1. Use the social science methods or concepts to examine power relationships by considering the complexity within societies/cultures/economies or variation among societies/cultures/economies.
2. Apply social science methods or concepts to address questions in the Social Science.
3. Reflect on how your learning in the class has deepened your understanding of how a particular aspect of society/culture/economy works.
4. Evaluate a claim about the social world using at least one method or concepts in the Social Science to make informed decisions about social/political/economic issues."

Assessment Resources

Completing Assessment of GE Courses every semester is vital to ensuring that EMU's GE Courses are successful and that students meet the Learning Outcomes through intentional learning. Assessment is meant to facilitate evaluation of student success in reaching the intended learning outcomes of each General Education area. GE has created Assessment Rubrics for each GE Area. Students are rated as exceeding the target learning outcome, meeting the target learning outcome, or falling below the target learning outcome. Below is the Social Sciences Assessment Rubric which will be included in the gradebook of your Social Sciences course Canvas shell upon request.

The first Student Learning Outcome states that students will use the social science methods or concepts to examine power relationships by considering the complexity within societies/cultures/economies or variation among societies/cultures/economies.

Exceeds Target: Describe the kind of power relationships examined in the discipline and explain how it may affect the complexity within or variation among societies/cultures/economies using Social Science methods or concepts.

Target: Recognize power relationships in a discipline can affect the complexity within or variation among societies/cultures/economies but has some confusion on why it is so.

Below Target: Fail to recognize power relationship and assumes humans are similar over time and space.

The second Student Learning Outcome states that students will apply social science methods or concepts to address a question in the Social Science.

Exceeds Target: Show a basic understanding of social science methods or concepts and applies them to basic questions characteristic of a particular social science.

Target: Show a beginning understanding of social science methods or concepts but may show some confusions about which are to be applied to particular questions.

Below Target: Fail to recognize or understand Social Science or concepts and cannot apply them to address a proposed question about a social issue.

The third Student Learning Outcome states that students will reflect on how your learning in the class has deepend your understanding of how a particular aspect of society/culture/economy works.

Exceeds Target: Identify a relevant example and explain how it connects to a broader understanding of a societal/cultural/economic issue.

Target: Identify a relevant example but has difficulty explaining how it alters an understanding.

Below Target: Fail to identify a relevant example or explain how it changes an understanding.

The fourth Student Learning Outcome states that students will evaluate a claim about the social world using at least one method or concept in the Social Science to make informed decisions about social/political/economic issues.

Exceeds Target: Use a social science concept or method to provide clarity to a claim about a social/political/economic issue and as a result, advance one's understanding about the issue.

Target: Attempt to apply a relevant social science concept or method to a social/political/economic issue but struggles to evaluate the quality of the claim or make any informed decision.

Below Target: Fail to evaluate a claim of a social/political/economic issue using a relevant social science concept or method and hence cannot make any informed decision or conclusion about a social issue.

Please contact Dr. You Li, Head of the Social Sciences Working Group for the General Education Sub-Committee on Assessment, at [email protected] to have the Assessment Rubric included in the gradebook feature of your Canvas shells for your Social Science courses or with any additional questions regarding teaching a GE Social Science course.

Social Sciences Learning Community - Coming Soon!

As an EMU instructor teaching a GE course, you will be invited to join an intentional Learning Community to meet other EMU instructors teaching in the same GE Area. These learning communities will allow instructors to develop, share, and facilitate student learning together. Look for the Social Sciences Learning Community in your Canvas Dashboard to get more information.