Katrina Cruz
South Piedmont Community College Associates in Art Capstone ePortfolio
Program Outcomes
Social Scientific Literacy
"The learner will demonstrate an understanding of social science methodologies in order to explain the consequences of human actions.
The student will be able to communicate effectively within the context of their chosen major."
II selected my general psychology final paper from the first semester of my sophomore year to demonstrate my social and scientific literacy. For this assignment, you were to choose five concepts that we had covered throughout the semester, apply them to yourself, and then use the concepts to assess your experiences and yourself. I chose this because I think it shows how I've learned to incorporate what we've studied in psychology class into my perspective on life, myself, and other people. And my first goal was to find out how a person's upbringing may influence them as an adult. I talk about my own upbringing and my parents' parenting style in this essay. I can demonstrate my ability to understand how a person's early years might influence their future by using my own experience as an example and analyzing how it has affected me as I've aged. My second goal was to expand my knowledge of the various areas of psychology covered in this essay. Every one of the five ideas I selected comes from a very different module and covers a very different area of psychology. This demonstrates my basic knowledge and my ability to discuss more than one subject of psychology. While I still firmly believe that I should become a marine biologist, I had also considered becoming a school guidance counselor. It is highly recommended that you study psychology for this position. In fact, this course has caused me to lean more toward being a guidance counselor than a marine biologist. I thought it helped me to better grasp how important a child's growth is and how it impacts them in all facets of their lives. I used the final paper from my music appreciation class during my second semester of junior year, which discussed why I believe the piano to be the most influential instrument in history, as an artifact to illustrate my grasp of the arts and the human experience. I chose this work because I believe it demonstrates how the class helped me understand how to evaluate music and recognize its contributions to society. In this assignment, I examined how the piano evolved over time, how people discovered new uses for it, and how it continues to be used in music now. I also studied and wrote about the ways in which it impacted both the music industry and our culture. My first goal was to be able to analyze art more deeply. I wanted to be able to listen to music, not just hear it. I think my paper demonstrates that I was able to do that because I discuss how artists are using the piano and how they are learning new techniques over time. I also examine individual artists and how they use the piano in their unique works. My second goal was to gain additional knowledge regarding the process by which novel trends emerge in the art industry. I feel like I’ve discussed this in my paper because I went from era to era and showed how they took things from older generations and used them, but also came up with new things to make it more modern. And make it more interesting. Although I will most likely not be utilizing the skills that I have learned in my career as a marine biologist, I do think it’s very important to understand the history of music and to understand art at a deeper level because it’s all around us 24/7 every day, and it shows us not only history but how we have developed as a society.
Understanding the Arts of the Human Experience
"Learners will demonstrate an understanding of arts and humanities in historical and cultural contexts."
I used the final paper from my music appreciation class during my second semester of junior year, which discussed why I believe the piano to be the most influential instrument in history, as an artifact to illustrate my grasp of the arts and the human experience. I chose this work because I believe it demonstrates how the class helped me understand how to evaluate music and recognize its contributions to society. In this assignment, I examined how the piano evolved over time, how people discovered new uses for it, and how it continues to be used in music now. I also studied and wrote about the ways in which it impacted both the music industry and our culture. My first goal was to be able to analyze art more deeply. I wanted to be able to listen to music, not just hear it. I think my paper demonstrates that I was able to do that because I discuss how artists are using the piano and how they are learning new techniques over time. I also examine individual artists and how they use the piano in their unique works. My second goal was to gain additional knowledge regarding the process by which novel trends emerge in the art industry. I feel like I’ve discussed this in my paper because I went from era to era and showed how they took things from older generations and used them, but also came up with new things to make it more modern. And make it more interesting. Although I will most likely not be utilizing the skills that I have learned in my career as a marine biologist, I do think it’s very important to understand the history of music and to understand art at a deeper level because it’s all around us 24/7 every day, and it shows us not only history but how we have developed as a society.
Communication Competence
"Learners will become effective communicators in their discipline."
I selected a paper I wrote on Ebola during the second semester of my senior year 2024 for my English 112 writing and research in a discipline class as my communication competence program outcome. We had to choose a topic for this task that was both relevant to our discipline and worldwide. Since biology is the discipline that is closest to marine biology, I decided to write on Ebola for the project. I covered the disease's history, outbreaks, and treatment options. I chose this assignment since it taught me how to function in your field of study. Learning how to write in the format required by my discipline was my first goal. I'm not too familiar with APA style, which is commonly used for science studies. However, I've learned how to prepare my papers in the APA style and how it differs from the MLA format thanks to this project. Acquiring knowledge on how to pique people's interest in my field was my second goal. Since Ebola has been a hot issue lately, a lot of people have already heard of the illness. In order to capture the interest of my audience, I used the public's response to this condition from 2014 to 2018, when it was a major issue in the US, and I compared it to COVID, which has recently afflicted the entire world. This program's outcome, in my opinion, will be very beneficial to me since, although marine biology is a separate field within biology at my four-year college, understanding how to reach that audience will be crucial to my career going forwa
Creative Problem Solving
"Learners will apply appropriate techniques to solving problems within their discipline."
For my creative problem-solving program outcome I selected my persuasive speech from the second semester of my junior year of 2023's COM 231 public speaking course. We were free to choose any topic we chose for this assignment, but we must convince the audience of its merits or demerits. I had to convince my audience of my reasons for thinking that the death penalty needed to be abolished for this assignment. I chose this assignment for my program outcome because it is one of the first assignments I've had where I was permitted to voice my opinions in addition to informing my audience. My initial objective was to learn how to modify my writing so that it is more persuasive than informational for the reader. You begin by identifying the problem, go on to the solution, and then picture the situation both with and without your answer. This technique really helped me understand how to make your audience Observe your perspective. My second goal was to learn how to persuade people. I had to learn how to pick my words carefully and when to speak with impact to engage my audience in my persuasive speech. I also had to choose a topic that can be highly contentious, so it's critical to approach the issue with a wealth of evidence that can be verified and refuted to show them that there is more to the story than just babble. I believe that this project has really benefited me since it has given me knowledge about a skill that will be crucial in the future. Since I have only completed one persuasive assignment, it was intriguing to learn how this style of writing differs from others.