User:Vtaylor/Technology Supported Learning/Basic Skills Needs

Basic Skills Needs Survey

The Development and Readiness Education (DARE) Taskforce is conducting a survey of instructional faculty to determine student and faculty needs in basic skills teaching and learning. The questions address the following areas: writing, reading, critical thinking, quantitative reasoning and mathematics, using research and data, and academic success skills. Based on the results of this survey, we will design targeted professional development activities across the disciplines.

6. Writing
 * Developing a thesis statement
 * Responding to writing prompts
 * Organizing ideas clearly
 * Integrating sources into writing
 * Using correct grammar

7. Reading
 * Comprehending content
 * Identifying key themes
 * Annotating to mark important ideas and respond to the reading
 * Analyzing content
 * Applying effective reading strategies (i.e. skimming, predicting and scanning)

8. Critical Thinking
 * Analyzing arguments
 * Developing hypotheses
 * Exploring alternatives
 * Evaluating evidence
 * Valuing different perspectives

9. Quantitative Reasoning and Mathematics
 * Identifying and analyzing relevant mathematical data and concepts
 * Applying relevant mathematics to different content areas
 * Presenting quantitative results verbally and graphically
 * Interpreting quantitative results and their limitations to address a specific question
 * Identifying and reporting any additional quantitative measures that should be explored

10. Using Research and Data
 * Using library resources to locate information
 * Accurately citing sources
 * Synthesizing data from multiple formats
 * Understanding what plagiarism is and how to avoid it
 * Evaluating the quality of research and sources

11. Academic Success Skills
 * Managing time
 * Developing motivation and confidence to achieve
 * Using in-class skills (active listening, lecture note-taking, participation, test-taking, etc)
 * Using out-of-class skills (textbook reading, text note-taking, study techniques, etc)
 * Preventing procrastination in order to get work done