serve the same function for University College that capstone classes in the individual majors serve for those majors: it will put to use skills students will work on throughout their University College experience, including problem-solving, time management, critical thinking, team building, and the acquisition of academic skills and knowledge essential to a successful college experience.
A major component of the University's capacity to successfully carry out the goals of the QEP is the design and approval of the courses in Humanics that provide a first step toward introducing the concept of Design Thinking and teaching the "soft skills" that will help the students in career preparation. These courses will provide a helpful "proof of concept" of Aoun's theories that will aid us in wider dissemination of the core concepts of the QEP.
As the first step toward wider implementation of the Design Thinking framework, the QEP proposal initially entails creating a three-course sequence for the general education program, through which all students would pass, ideally taking the capstone during the second semester of their second year, where the capstone project would be used to assess skills acquired in the Liberal Studies/General Education Core. In this capstone course, students will work in teams on a specific social problem, harnessing their disparate skills and acquired knowledge to offer a possible solution for the problem. The capstone course sections would be team-taught so students would have access to a variety of professional expertise while they follow the steps of Design Thinking. Groups would report their findings in a written report and an oral presentation at the end of the term. In completing the project, the students will acquire skills in ethical reasoning, civic engagement, and teamwork. They would also be making a positive impact on the larger community to which the University (and therefore each student) belongs.
The purpose of the new course sequence in the initial phase of the QEP is to lead students to an understanding of how the contemporary world developed and to lead them in a process that will culminate in a capstone project focused on a practical application for problem solving: Design Thinking. The approach will be: here's how we got to the problems of the contemporary world—and here's how to work toward a solution for one of those problems. From an access and equity standpoint, our "Learning that Works" QEP begs the question why students at Stanford and other elite institutions should be the primary groups who have the opportunity to engage in Design Thinking experiences. As completers of "Learning that Works," Kentucky State University students will live the mission of the University by bringing their best thinking to the complex problems that face and will continue to face our region. They will emerge as valued leaders in the community.
Humanics 101, 201, 301 is designed to be a sequence of three courses that introduce the development of human literacy, cultural agility, critical reasoning and creativity to support the broader goals of the QEP. Since all students will be required to take this sequence as part of their University College experience, these courses will be the first step in acquiring the employability skills that is the focus of the QEP. The courses are arranged to create an intellectual narrative beginning with close study of the industrial world and how thinkers and practitioners solved problems through the development of multiple creative literacies. The second course in the sequence analyzes the technological world and the post-technological world with an emphasis on cultural agility and critical thinking as students design and complete a project on a topic related to an aspect of our world with varied layers of history, interpretation, cultural resonances, and problem-solving opportunities. The third course is the Humanics capstone, which provides students opportunities to work in teams from across the disciplines to identify, articulate and solve a real world problem in an experiential learning setting. All three courses emphasize students' ability to direct their own learning, recognize reasoning and action patterns across time and cultures, and evaluate how the then has informed the now of human cultures and experiences.