In keeping with the University’s mission, the History and Political Science department is dedicated to providing students with a broad range of opportunities in general-education and discipline-specific courses. Our faculty members are committed to quality teaching, mentoring, and research. The History and Political Science department continually strives to provide a reflective, multicultural, and international perspective for students to actively engage in.
Learning outcomes in History (and in History and Social Studies Education) content areas are the skill-sets, competencies, and knowledge students should acquire in their discipline before graduation. The following criteria are for majors and relate to the acquisition and mastery of historical knowledge, thinking, and skills.
I. Historical Knowledge
Understand a wide range of historical information
Explain historical continuity and change
II. Historical Thinking
Recognize the pastness of the past
Emphasize the complex nature of past experiences
Emphasize the complex and problematic nature of the historical record
III. Historical Skills
Develop skills in critical thinking and reading
Develop research skills
Construct historical arguments
History and Social Studies Education Program
With respect to the teacher-training aspect of this program, learning objectives follow those of the Department of Secondary Education, which comprise four clusters of outcomes.
Cluster I: The Learner and Learning
Standard 1 – Learner Development
The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.
Standard 2 – Learning Differences
The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards.
Standard 3 – Learning Environments
The teacher works with others to create environments that support individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self- motivation.
Cluster II: Content
Standard 4 – Content Knowledge
The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches, including history and other social studies subjects such as anthropology, economics, geography, sociology, psychology, and sociology. The teacher also creates learning experiences that make these aspects of the discipline accessible and meaningful for learners to assure mastery of the content.
Standard 5 – Application of Content
The teacher understands how to connect concepts and use differing perspectives to engage learners in critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem solving related to authentic local and global issues.
Cluster III: Instructional Practice
Standard 6 – Assessment
The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher’s and learner’s decision making.
Standard 7 – Planning for Instruction
The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
Standard 8 – Instructional Strategies
The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
Cluster IV: Professional Responsibility
Standard 9 – Professional Learning and Ethical Practice
The teacher engages in ongoing professional learning and uses evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community), and adapts practice to meet the needs of each learner.
Standard 10 – Leadership and Collaboration
The teacher seeks appropriate leadership roles and opportunities to take responsibility for student learning, to collaborate with learners, families, colleagues, other school professionals, and community members to ensure learner growth, and to advance the profession.
Goals:
The Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Political Science began in 2006. The goal of the Political Science program is to provide a quality four-year program that meets accreditation standards and foster critical analysis of human issues through reading, critical evaluation, discussion, and the development of strong writing skills. The program dedicates itself to providing students with a broad range of intellectual and hands-on opportunities in general education and discipline-specific courses. Faculty believes that the discipline of Political Science lay at the heart of the collegiate experience and encourages students to explore the human condition through political perspectives.
Objectives:
Students who complete a B.A. or B.S. in Political Science should be able to
Objectives: Each faculty member should:
B. Relationship to the Overall UVU Mission
The Political Science program takes seriously Utah Valley University’s mission. The program provides students with a variety of skills necessary for professional competency in several public and private fields and fosters a desire for lifelong learning through traditional and innovative pedagogical methods, including engaged learning. Faculty believes that with these skills and attributes, students will be prepared for a constantly changing, increasingly global marketplace of ideas. This begins through General Education Distribution Requirement Social/Behavioral Sciences category courses, and upper division courses specific to the programs.
In lower division courses, the program is principally responsible for the American Institutions requirement for General Education, mandated by the Utah State Legislature. American Institution courses offered by the program include POLS 1000 (American Heritage) and POLS 1100 (American National Government). As a result of the legislatively mandated courses, a large number of UVU students pass through the program courses.
The UVU mission values include learning and scholarship, critical and creative thinking, academic freedom, ethics and integrity, accountability and openness, engaged learning, diversity, and global engagement. The program fosters such goals:
Learning and Scholarship: The faculty members believe strongly that their commitments to scholarship and student-centered learning help students keep pace with changing technology and ideas. Students cannot be encouraged to become engaged in the discipline if their instructors are not. Faculty members regularly engage in discipline-specific research, attend scholarly and pedagogical conferences to improve teaching and networking opportunities, and engage students in learning opportunities such as poll surveys, archival research, and internships. Instructors help students understand the contexts of other times and places, gather a variety of evidence, and debate rationally in the classroom, helping students take part in the most up-to-date discipline-based knowledge.
Faculty also encourage students to engage their colleagues and the local community through learning and scholarship. Political Science is applying for a chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the Political Science national honor society, so that students in Political Science have the opportunity to meet and network with Political Science instructors and students from other colleges and universities. In the meantime, a Political Science Club is filling the void with a series of meetings and discussions on political topics. Such opportunities help students become prepared for graduate school, as well as the rigors of the workplace.
Critical and Creative Thinking: The Political Science program’s courses are designed to challenge regularly students’ critical and creative thinking skills. Students confront and evaluate several forms of information, judge arguments, create realistic solutions to complex problems, and construct fact-based, logical arguments. Students regularly analyze issues of the past and present, such as black and grey markets, campaign literacy, and a variety of public policies, while considering the consequences of such political issues.
Academic Freedom: Faculty members believe that there can be no development of critical thinking and creative skills without academic freedom for faculty and students. The program values a free marketplace of ideas where all students and faculty feel free to question and comment on important discourse. Students debate a plethora of issues, from the effects of policy decisions based on climate change to setting up clean elections in former Soviet states. All students are encouraged to evaluate ideas for their veracity.
Ethics and Integrity: Through coursework and discussion, students confront opportunities to evaluate how political institutions and political behaviors affect national and global societies. For example, in some Political Science courses, students learn about topics such economic aid, political corruption, and money in politics. Instructors encourage students to realize that a lack of political ethics and integrity hurts entire societies immediately and over generations in areas beyond political participation.
Accountability and Openness: The program is committed to accountability and openness. It believes that such values are not only something we share with taxpayers, administrators, and students. Currently, Political Science is actively including students in majors meetings, Facebook updates, and email messages to improve outreach to majors and non-majors. Students are kept apprised of budgets and program limitations, so that they can gain an accurate picture of how the program works to serve them.
Engaged Learning: Faculty members are working hard at developing opportunities for students to learn outside the classroom. Political Science has a well-established internship program that helps students gain experience in the public and private spheres of politics. Students have been able to get hands-on learning as legislative interns in Harry Reid’s U.S. Senate office and the local branch of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, among many others.
Diversity: The Political Science program realizes that students are not a homogeneous interest group. Instructors create safe, respectful learning environments where all arguments are welcome to participate. Most courses either have the formal Global/Intercultural designation or include perspectives from diverse perspectives. Such courses include POLS 356G - Comparative Politics of Central Asia, POLS 359G - American Indian Law and Tribal Government, and POLS 4610 - International Law and Relations.
Global Engagement: It is impossible to have a Political Science program that does not address cultural literacy in American or global areas. American Institution courses give students grounding in issues facing Americans. Political Sciences courses address current issues in International Relations (an emphasis within the Political Science BA/BS degrees) and demands students in other courses, such as American government, understand how America’s government’s actions impact the world.
