Outcome 1 Final Example

TECH*290 OUTCOME 1
Name
Date

Program Outcome 1 -- Demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills.
Guiding Characteristics:
Make appropriate use of the English language in the presentation of technology related information and topics
Effectively communicate your grasp of technology related topics
Identify how the presentation was appropriately adapted to the audience
Demonstrate organized and concise written communication skills
Your Plan:
Learning Statements:
Having served in the military for 12 years, I've developed written skills in a very focused technical sense. These skills are an important part of my analytical forecasting role, but are also critical to everyday communication, taking the form of e-mails, reports, evaluations, standard operating procedures, and instructions. Completing ENG 101 through Excelsior college, allowed me to expand my written ability to encompass more academic writing skills. This better equips me to handle a multitude of writing requirements because the course taught me how to organize an academic paper, properly document sources, and use various writing techniques to achieve my communication goals.

The fundamental skills taught in the class while useful, were already known to me. Developing a thesis, organizing body paragraphs, and the closing statements of an essay are standard fare in most high school classes today. In contrast, what I gleaned from source documentation was incredibly valuable. It taught me to scrutinize where cited data comes from, weighing credibility and judging accuracy. These skills are quickly becoming important in an increasingly "wikipediaized" world. Both APA and MLA documentation formats were acceptable for the different types of essays.

During the course, I attempted to maximize my invested time. The goal was to hone written skills in each of the different types of rhetorical essay styles that the course covered, to include definition, argumentation, and comparison and contrast. My grade in the course provided in Tab C-1 shows that I met the course requirements for mastery; however, I attempted to take it a step further. During the 15 week class, one argumentation essay was to be chosen from a variety of topics. Persuasive in nature, you could argue for or against a particular topic. Rather than choose an easy topic that people expected, I chose to play "devil's advocate" and argue a topic that was difficult and counter to conventional intuition. I wanted to convince an academic audience (the instructor) of my take on foreign language and its place in our precollege educational system. Based on her comments during the course, I achieved this to a greater degree than I thought possible. While not a total convert, she acceded to points I had made in the paper, which is included in Tab C-2.

The course final was a research paper. I tied technology into my final by weighing the pros and cons of genetic modification in human beings, attached in Tab C-3. The final was an excellent culmination of the skills taught in ENG 101. What I learned throughout the course reinforced a firm command of written language, and will serve as a solid foundation for growth as I continue my education and assume greater responsibility throughout my Naval career.

Upon completion of a two week long intense "hands on" course, I certified as a Journeyman Instructor, copy attached in Tab C-4. The course and experience have taught me how to write course guides, develop learning objectives, evaluate student progress, create critiques, and counsel students on ways to overcome learning related problems. It improved my public speaking ability, allowing for more effective communication and retention. It also reinforced several days of computer based training that were a prerequisite to securing a seat in the class.

Perhaps the most useful segment of the course was the period of time allocated each morning to teaching peers. Initially, the course allowed students to choose topics they were comfortable with. It progressively got more difficult as students were made to instruct unfamiliar topics. The course videotaped students during their presentations so that they could see any habits they may have while teaching that could be distracters. Teaching every day to a classroom full of instructors, and getting their feedback, was immensely valuable. The course daily tested instructor etiquette and reinforced techniques to measure student comprehension and information retention. This resulted in strong verbal and written communications skills as well as the ability to evaluate how well that communication was received.

The combination of strong oratory abilities with written instruction made for an immediately useful skill set. Upon graduation I applied those skills on a frequent and regular basis. Since graduation I have taught over 2700 hours of documented classroom instruction to approximately 230 students on various topics to include advanced refractive prediction systems, first term success workshops, personal financial management, introduction to naval systems, platforms, and sensors, and tactical environmental considerations for SWCC navigators.

The success of the education I provided can be measured by the competency and skill of my students. I have included student critiques for consideration found in Tab C-5. While a popular teacher does not necessarily mean instruction hit all of the target objectives, the critiques illustrate that I properly apply the methodology taught while certifying as a Journeyman instructor.

I have served as a meteorological and oceanographic (METOC) professional for the past eight years. An important part of my METOC job has been delivering timely and accurate recommendations via regular briefs to commanders at all levels of warfare. These are typically senior Commanders, or Admirals, with full schedules and a lot of demands on their time. Often they have only a few seconds to consider my recommendations. They must weigh operational impacts and a slew of other variables, then make command decisions that determine courses of action. Sometimes that is a single unit. Other times the scope of impact is on a theatre level. Regardless of the size of impact, these actionable recommendations are a core tenant of the METOC community, and are arguably our primary focus. Selling these recommendations and supporting the customer requires strong verbal skills developed by consistent use.

The contents of METOC briefs vary based on what the customer requires. Typically I brief presentations that consist of infrared satellite pictures, 5-7 day weather impacts, wave ocean models, and sometimes radar, acoustic, and ordinance performance ranges. The example included in Tab C-6 has been reduced from the standard brief for classification purposes. These briefs occur on a daily, weekly, or as required basis. The preparation needed is extensive. It typically requires a team of trained technicians to compile hours of data collection, model computation, and analysis.

Often METOC is allotted only a few slides in a very long brief. It is not uncommon to memorize 10-15 minutes worth of briefing information that is not covered on the slides themselves. This is so any questions pertaining to the information on the slides may be answered quickly and accurately. On that note, an admiral might ask a question that is beyond the scope of the normal brief. Anticipating these questions is the difference between a "rote information dispenser" and a professional advisor. Further, credibility is paramount when briefing senior military leadership. As a forecaster, I can be absolutely certain of an impact to operations, but if I cannot articulate the information to the commander that makes the operational call, then I have failed. I am experienced enough to know that there is always room for growth, regardless of the area in question; but my job performance in this area has always been excellent, as evidenced by awards shown in Tab C-7.

Evidence Used to Support Learning Statements:
Tab C-1 My Academic Planner Excelsior College
Tab C-2 Persuasive Essay
Tab C-3 Research Paper "Genetic Modification in Human Beings"
Tab C-4 NEC 9502 Instructor Certificate via Join Service Transcript
Tab C-5 Recent Student Critiques
Tab C-6 Unclassified Weather Brief for Commander Naval Forces Japan
Tab C-7 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Award.