English 990 Course Objectives

  1. To understand the ways readers read and writers write in and beyond the college, across a range of tasks.

  2. To understand reading and writing as knowledge-making processes, and to develop a metacognitive understanding of the processes of reading and writing.

  3. To introduce students to the rhetorical situations of reading and writing, and to understand that good writing is dependent on the situation, readers, and uses for which it is created.

  4. To engage in reading and writing as a way to make sense of the world, and to experience literacy as problem solving, reasoning, and reflecting.

  5. To develop enjoyment, satisfaction, and confidence in reading and writing.


Much like our College uses a mission statement and action verbs such as learning and collaboration to describe expectations students can anticipate, I use objectives to keep the students focused on what, how, why they are learning reading and writing processes. For example, when doing a Nuggets Power Point the learner must use critical thinking to decide which objective(s) they used in their project. Their answer(s) must be explained and supported. When a student can identify the rationale that is used, they are using a much deeper form of critical thinking. This type of consistent deep thinking is what they will need to use to succeed in the workplace. Several quotes articulate my thoughts well:


  • We are Academically Adrift. As the title of the book indicates, “teaching critical thinking is a matter of principle rather than practice…students are only minimally improving in their critical thinking and reasoning, ”Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa

  • “An unprecedented study that followed several thousand undergraduates through four years of college found that large numbers didn’t learn the critical thinking , complex reasoning and written communication skills that are widely assumed to be at the core of a college education”… Study: Many College Students Not Learning to Think Critically By Sara Rimer, The Hechinger Report, Columbia University, January 18,2011

  • “Brain and educational research suggest that critical thinking or higher order thinking is an essential driver for learning and growth. Indeed, critical thinking is to knowing as listening is to hearing (Snyder and Snyder, 2008). Truly and deeply learning the content of any discipline or profession can only occur via conscious and deliberate engagement with the content. Implementing Critical Thinking with Signature Assignments Thomas W. Zane PhD Spring 2013

Teaching Archives

Archive 1

SLCC's Learning Outcomes for Students
Developmental Reading Mission and Learning Outcomes:
Our mission is to guide students to reading competencies that will ensure successful performance in introductory level college classes. In addition, the objectives of this course match Salt Lake Community College‘s institution wide outcomes in the following ways:

SLCC Learning Outcome 2: Students will communicate effectively.

SLCC Learning Outcome 4: Students will think critically

SLCC Learning Outcome 5 :Students will develop the knowledge and skills to be a community engaged learner and scholar.

SLCC Learning Outcome 6 :Students will develop the knowledge and skills to work with others in a professional and constructive manner.


Reading 990 Learning Outcomes:
  • Students will apply strategies for understanding unfamiliar words and demonstrate a college level vocabulary.
  • Students will identify topics, main ideas, details, and patterns of organization in college reading.
  • Students will demonstrate comprehension of college level reading selections.
  • Students will demonstrate critical thinking in reading college level materials.
  • Students will apply effective note taking strategies to a college level text.
  • Students will write a reflective response to a reading assignment.
  • Students will apply metacognitive (monitoring) strategies for reading and learning.
  • Students  will identify and articulate the assets, needs, and complexities of social issues faced by local and global communities.

I use SLCC learning outcomes to design and incorporate objectives in my courses.