Business Instructor
My Learning Outcomes
Research shows that a big part of success in today's world is reliant on particular personal and academic characteristics including knowledge of human cultures and the physical & natural world; certain intellectual and practical skills; personal and social responsibilities; and integrative learning. Below are demonstrations of my current level of
mastery of these skills.
Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical & Natural World
Outcomes: Area 1
I feel my knowledge of human cultures and the physical & natural world is best displayed in my role as an agriculturalist. For our farm and ranch to be successful, we must have a solid foundational knowledge of all elements of the sciences. Understanding our climate and the nature of our soil greatly impact our decisions of what commodities to raise.
Additionally, we must also keep track of the shifting cultures of the world. Since food and culture are closely linked, people's changing dietary preferences greatly impact what and how we grow their food. For more details on this, please click the following link.
Evidence: To the right are a stack of pictures of our farm and ranch. Enjoy!
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Intellectual & Practice Skills
Outcomes: Area 2
There are 5 elements to this learning outcome: Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking, Written and Oral Communication, and Problem Solving
For me, I believe my best demonstration of critical thinking, creative thinking, and problem-solving was in our integration of solar power to run the sprinklers on our farm. We chose to do this because our electricity costs were the highest expense that our farm experienced each year. We like to challenge ourselves to find ways to turn our greatest expenses into income. So we got creative and realized that we could put up solar fields that would produce more electricity than what we consume. As such, we have produced about 20% more electricity than we consume in electricity each year.
It took a lot of critical thinking to research this project and find out what laws we needed to navigate. Additionally, we had to be very creative in deciding where to put the fields and how best to connect them to the grid. In all, this project has been highly successful due to my application of critical and creative thinking as well as problem solving.
Evidence: To the right is a picture of my family in front of one of our solar fields.
My best demonstration of written and oral communication was in my proposal and subsequent presentation to the International Associate of Practical and Professional Ethics of my research on how competition influences people's ethical decision-making.
Evidence: You can see the video of my presentation to the right.
Personal & Social Responsibility
Outcomes: Area 3
There are two areas of this learning outcome: Civic Engagement and foundation & Skills for Life-Long Learning.
I feel both of these areas are demonstrated in my goal to become involved with politics. This desire stems from my deeply held convictions that democracy, especially republics, only work when they are led by experienced practitioners. I feel my background in business, education, and agriculture gives me a micro-level understanding of what it takes to make our country run.
Evidence: the right is a picture of me sitting in the office of Representative Lauren Bobert, waiting to visit with her in September of 2021. I have also included a picture of me on top of the Farm Bureau office building in Washington DC.
Integrative Learning
Outcomes: Area 4
The fourth area of my learning outcomes relates to a students' ability to synthesize their learning across general and specialized studies.
My best demonstration of this is in my teaching practices. I often will connect the current topic that I am discussing with other areas of their education. For example, when I teach BUS120: Computer Applications, I often talk about the ethical implications of computing on a world-wide-web. I bring in how the different political structures of different countries (i.e. democracy vs communism) impact our perspectives on who has rights to intellectual property such as software. I also discuss the historical factors that led to the common terms we use when discussing computers, terms like file, folder, desktop, and the like. I feel this deepens students' education and demonstrates integrative learning through synthesis across general and specialized studies.
Evidence: I did not have a picture of myself teaching at Adams State, so I substituted a picture of my homeschooling my son.
