Oral communication skills, which reinforce and reflect thinking and organizational abilities, can be developed through practice and feedback. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Highly developed critical thinking skills are essential in order to confront the challenges of the future. Critical thinking is the ability to examine ideas and issues intelligently, to produce valid inferences from stated premises, and to apply the techniques of analysis and syntheses. Problem solving focuses thinking on a particular issue or concern. Social Interaction Students need to develop effective social interaction skills to utilize their knowledge and accomplish their goals.
Students develop social interaction skills in small group activities and simulations.
A goal of baccalaureate programs is to develop student understanding of and participation in society for the public good. Students become more self-directed and prepared to assume roles in society through experiences in learning, thinking, making judgements, and acting responsibly in various civic contexts. Students have opportunities to understand their roles in determining environmental policies. Values Identification and Responsible Decision Making It is important for students to identify the values and assumptions which inform academic disciplines and human experience. Students learn to identify their own values, to recognize the principles underlying their actions and the actions of others, and to defend their own preferences and actions.