Students who have completed all requirements for the Great Conversations Honors Program will have demonstrated a level of high proficiency in each of the following desired student learning outcomes:
1. Written Communication - Given a specific issue, question or problem, Honors students will be able to express themselves clearly and eloquently through written works. Their effective use of language will allow them to communicate their solutions to given prompts, appropriately referencing relevant information from primary and secondary sources to support their conclusions.
2. Oral Communication - Within a community or organization, Honors students will use effective verbal communication in order to facilitate discussion, mediate disagreements, achieve consensus and solve problems. Effective verbal communication includes the ability to listen and consider the views of others while working together to formulate solutions.
3. Synthesis and Information Literacy - When presented with an interdisciplinary issue or concern, Honors students will be able to analyze and synthesize a broad range of materials, including primary sources, in order to identify an effective solution. This process necessarily includes a familiarity with problem-solving techniques from a broad range of disciplines, and a thorough understanding of information technology by which relevant facts and ideas can be identified and utilized.
4. Critical Thinking - Honors students will demonstrate the ability to use logic and critical thinking when confronted with a problem or question. Effective critical thinking includes identification of relevant questions, an understanding of current views on the relevant topics, an authentic and sincere engagement with contrary views, and the creation of a synthesis that is the result of logic and analysis.
5. Application and Engagement - Honors students will apply their expertise and analyses of important issues to the larger community through engagement with real-world problem solving. Students will go beyond academic problem solving to identify analogous external situations that will benefit from their work, and then describe and execute an application of their studies to that situation.