Required Outcomes for this Goal 

(list below)

Relevant Course/Institutional Components (refer specifically to course syllabus)

Specific Assessment Method for Outcome

1.  Demonstrate the ability to understand, interpret, and produce both oral and written communication in a foreign language (German).

Understand: class primarily taught in German. Students engage in discussions, dialogues, presentations; must respond to instructor and to other students in German.  Students must understand readings from textbook and other sources in German.

Interpret: Students will respond to content and thematic questions (example:  ch. 1, p. 14). 

Produce: Students speak German in class as well as produce written discourse;  example: discussion of reading p. 24, ch. 1; writing ex. p. 37, ch. 2.

Reading:  students must answer questions on each reading passage and discuss topics in German; students will take daily quizzes in which they must detail the ideas from the readings.  In addition, there will be reading sections with comprehension and comparison questions on each exam.   

Tracking/Reporting:  number of students scoring 70 percent or above on quizzes; number of students scoring 70 percent or above on the reading sections of exams.

Listening comprehension:  students will have listening exercises on every exam.  

Tracking/Reporting:  number of students scoring 70 percent or above on listening sections.

Written skills: Several composition assignments (example:  retell stories in own words in German, p. 24).  Compositions will be assessed in the categories of content, function, accuracy.

Tracking/Reporting:  Number of students scoring 70 percent or above on compositions.

2.  Demonstrate an understanding of the relationships among the products, perspectives, and practices of the (German) culture studied.

Examples: Discussion of the family, p. 87-88, ch. 4. How American family life differs from German family life. German and U.S. school systems. Discussion of “guest workers” and Turkish residents. Discussion of aliens in Germany. Discussion of the way Germans regard work.

Short quizzes.

Tracking/Reporting: Mean score of class on selected quizzes.

In small groups students will discuss the difficulties presented by different cultures within the same environment. (Lekture, p. 271-72)

Tracking/Reporting:  Discussion will be graded using a rubric which includes categories of pronunciation, grammar, substance of arguments, cultural knowledge and preparation.  Mean score from selected items (culture, content) on rubric will be reported.

Required Outcomes for this Goal 

(list below)

Relevant Course/Institutional Components (refer specifically to course syllabus)

Specific Assessment Method for Outcome

3.  Develop insight into the nature of (German) language and culture.

Students will read and discuss in German fairy tales from the Grimm brothers and will note the difference in usage between “Sie” and “du” in the language and the cultural implications of using each one.

Students will write short essays on cultural topics, e.g., dating and dealing with strangers, in which the nature of language and culture is taken into account.   Compositions will be assessed using a rubric with the categories of content (cultural focus), function, accuracy (language usage). 

Tracking/Reporting:  Number of students who score 70 percent or above on compositions will be reported (using above rubric).

General Education Criteria

Relevant Course Components (refer specifically to course syllabus)

1. Teach a disciplinary mode of inquiry and provide students with practice in applying inquiry, critical thinking, problem solving

German 201 students use knowledge gained through study to communicate, investigate and discuss artifacts and aspects of German culture. Ex. Students will learn about work and free time in German society (ch. 1, p. 10-11; ch. music (ch. 5, p. 107), German unification (ch. 3, p. 53), and racial problems (ch. 7, p. 145)

2. Provide examples of how disciplinary knowledge changes through creative applications of the chosen mode of inquiry

Students study the feelings Germans have had for foreign workers since World War II and the thoughts of a divided Germany (ch. 3 and 7) and can apply their learning to the current situation in the U.S. after the attacks on the World Trade Center. 

3. Consider questions of ethical values

Students use the subjunctive to express ideas on a multicultural society (Lekture, p. 144) and how people should act toward each other.

General Education Criteria

Relevant Course Components (refer specifically to course syllabus)

4. Explore past, current, and future implications of disciplinary knowledge

Students study the history of education in Germany, its relationship to the State and the social implications of a declining German population. This knowledge can be applied in discussions of the ‘baby-boomer” decline in the U.S. Students can compare the development of education in the U.S. and in Germany and consider how both systems will develop in the future.

5. Encourage consideration of course content from diverse perspectives

Students examine the effects of a divided nation and express their feelings toward the emotional impact of such a division, e.g. West Germany/East Germany, North and South. Students also learn about cultural differences in dating, acquiring friends, dealing with family members (ch. 4, p. 82, ch.3, p. 56).

6. Provide opportunities for students to increase information literacy through contemporary techniques of gathering, manipulating, and analyzing information and data

Students write their compositions and their projects on a computer using German word processing, and gather and analyze information from the Web and from library sources, before writing them (9/29, 11/8) 

General Education Criteria

Relevant Course Components (refer specifically to course syllabus)

7. Require at least one substantive written paper, oral report, or course journal and also require students to articulate information or ideas in their own words on tests and exams

Students produce several short essays (9/11, 9/29,11/8) and one long essay (12/6) and deliver short narratives (9/29). They also participate in short situational dialogues (10/13, 11/8). Students speak German in class every day, and answer short essay questions on every exam. 

8. Foster awareness of the common elements among disciplines and the interconnectedness of disciplines

Students learn, speak, and write about diverse aspects of the history and life of German people through the medium of another language. A foreign language course involves elements of history, geography, literature, business, and economics, sociology, education, political science, art, music, etc. Students discuss how the division of Germany after WWII has shaped the political and social climate in contemporary Germany and how the unification has resulted in a new political ideology (ch. 3 and Lekture, p. 53-55).

9. Provide a rationale as to why knowledge of this discipline is important to the development of an educated citizen

Competence in more than one language enables people to look beyond their customary borders, and act with greater awareness of self, other cultures, and their own relationship to those cultures. Drawing on the cultural and historical knowledge gained through this course, an educated citizen leader will consider world historical events from a different point of view. For example in ch. 5, students will examine the topic of racism from a German point of view.