The faculty members teaching these courses will provide the students with appropriate feedback on their work and the students will be granted a second opportunity, if needed, to improve their performance on the assignment. The selection of textbooks and the formulation of tests and assignments in psychology, sociology, and anthropology focus on relevant application of knowledge to every day life. Class discussions generally center on these applications since it is the most effective way of maintaining students interest and helping them to remember what they are discussing. Additionally, there are specific tools used to reinforce the application of knowledge to current issues. One such tool is an interactive CD-ROM used in the General Psychology class.
Students complete assignments from the CD-ROM and they are graded accordingly.
Expanded grasp of cultural diversity Again, textbooks, films, and other ancillary materials for these classes are chosen according to how well they cover diversity issues. Given the disciplines of psychology, sociology, and anthropology, the content itself must also deal with diversity. It is assumed that students will leave these courses knowing more about cultural diversity and its impact on the globe than they did before taking these classes. One way to measure this assumption is to give students test consisting of items about diversity and its meaning, and then retest them at the end of the semester to see if performance in the second test demonstrates an increase in knowledge. Although both tests will be graded, scores will be used strictly for the purpose of assessing the accomplishment of this goal and will not be used in the computation of the students' course grade.