Core Knowledge and Skills: Essential Tools for Change

The Core Knowledge and Skills area of the curriculum covers a wide range of skills and knowledge, including: critical thinking and argument; critical understanding of social issues and institutions, and developing the tools to understand and impact communities, institutions, and the democratic process. In demonstrating these competencies students will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of culture and cultural influences, history economics, and policy development. The intent of the Core Knowledge and Skills area is to insure that students master the essential academic tools - how to analyze, advocate, critique and evaluate. Of equal importance, the aim is to engage student with the most pressing issues of our times as they are developing these skills.

Students are required to complete 29 competencies in the Core Knowledge and Skills area (displayed below). The Core Knowledge and Skills offers students a mix of required and elective competencies. The competencies are organized in four levels culminating in a Capstone competency. The levels insure that students build toward mastery of the essential academic tools -- how to analyze, advocate, critique, and evaluate - by working with increasingly complex tasks and at higher levels of abstraction and independent thinking. While the competencies in this area define the skills and intellectual tasks that are required, students have a good deal of flexibility and choice in selecting the content they apply to the different competencies.

Competencies in Core Knowledge and Skills with Links to Special Features

 

Level One	Level Two	Level Three	Level Four
Dimensions of Learning  (Critical Learning Seminar)	Quantitative Reasoning	Social Research	Capstone Project
Critical Inquiry (Critical Learning Seminar)	Participation in Gov't	Economic Distribution	Choose 1 for Capstone:
Reading Life Histories	Historical Change	Social Differences	Applied Research Public Advocacy Reflective Social Action Critical Analysis
Media Literacy	Community Portraits	Critical Practice
Understanding Arguments	Making Arguments	Electives - Choose 6 Scientific Awareness Influencing Policy Exploring Community Models of Change Statistics Critical Readings Public & Comm. Action III
Public & Comm Action	Value Conflicts
Electives - Choose 2 Engaging Art Exploring Culture Lang. Other than English	Applied Technology
	Electives - Choose 3 Group Dynamics Organizational Dynamics Reflecting on Art Crafting Art Public & Comm. Action II Lang. Other than English