Courses I am currently enrolled in:

• Intro to Sociology (SOC 150): This class fits under the Core theme of social and global awareness as it examines human interaction in a societal context. The main focus of this course is to have an understanding of the ‘sociological imagination’ and asks the question of how society has a direct impact on the lives of individuals. I prepare for the class by reading the chapters we are covering and participate by listening, taking notes during class time, and working in groups for certain activities. 
• GUST First Year Seminar (FYS 110): This course fits in the core theme of critical thinking as we focus on problem solving and action plans. In this course we take a close look at the transition from highschool to college and how we can productively set academic goals and become comfortable in this new environment. In preparation for this class I complete the assignments so I can be informed during class discussions and participate by listening to and contributing during these discussions along with completing the end of class reflections. 
• Lifespan and Development (PSY 250): Like intro to sociology, this course also fits under the theme of social and global awareness. This course takes a look at developmental theory and how to understand and apply research findings. For this class I prepare by reading the textbook chapter we are covering in class and participate by actively taking notes, answering the discussion questions, and participating in group work. 
• Creative Writing Poetry (WRT 211): This course falls under the Creative Arts Experience in the core curriculum. For this class we are given the opportunity to learn expression in a creative way by crafting poems from a variety of prompts and methods. In order to prepare for this class I complete the homework so I am able to participate in the in-class discussions. I also participate in class by reading and analyzing different poems. 
• Intro to Environmental Issues (ENV 104): This course fits under the core theme of environmental awareness. This course takes a close look at how humans are a part of nature and how the environment around us plays a role in our lives. We also examine humans’ role in the environment and our positive and negative impacts on the world around us. To prepare for class I complete the out of class reading assignments so I am ready for the weekly quizzes and also work on projects such as the seasonality project we are currently doing. 

Connections:

While reading through the Core Curriculum Handbook, I was able to see a lot of connections to the classes I am taking. The first thing I noticed is that most of my classes fall under the core themes such as Intro to Environmental Issues with the environmental awareness theme and Intro to Sociology along with Lifespan and Development which relate to the social and global awareness theme. Under the critical thinking theme I also noticed that one of the goals is to teach students how to deal with complex issues we will face in future courses, which relates back to the growth mindset we’ve been discussing in this class. Under the core curriculum objectives section I noted that one of the goals is to grow students’ ability to communicate through creative expression, which is what we are learning to do in my poetry class. Finally, under the methodologies section I found that between all of my classes, there is really a combination of all methods such as lecturing, independent learning, and experiential learning for example.