Examples of Course-Level Goals at Georgetown

Engaged students who come to class regularly, participate actively in discussions, and complete all readings and written assignments will improve their ability to:

• Read critically, attentive to how texts reflect their contexts, purposes, and audiences;
• Identify and adapt writing for multiple genres, styles, purposes, and situations;
• Deploy language to shape and communicate meaning with clarity and fluency;
• Research, evaluate, and synthesize evidence in building and supporting effective analyses and arguments;
• Translate the unfamiliar experience to enable both self-examination and other-regarding (generosity, conscientiousness, empathy);
• Interrogate the categories of the problem and the problematic from multiple perspectives (how does the category of “problem” versus “challenge” change depending on which side of it I’m on?)
• Transform problems into opportunities for self-examination.

Engaged students who come to class regularly, participate actively in discussions, and complete all readings and written assignments will improve their ability to:

• appreciate places, peoples and cultures of various eras and world regions as different from themselves, and to understand perspectives different from their own;
• think critically about history, not as a collection of self-evident facts, but as the interpretation, based on evidence, of human experiences, interactions, and relationships as they change over time;
• identify and evaluate primary sources, and use them critically as evidence to build historical interpretations;
• articulate ideas verbally and support them with evidence;
• write critically and thoughtfully: this includes understanding the purpose and practice of proper citation, and the ability to build an argument that integrates evidence and analysis.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• use the theories and statistical tools of developing economics introduced in lectures to analyze economic phenomena and interpret related data;
• understand and extract the important economic information contained in regression tables and econometric papers found in academic journals;
• write an empirical paper to address a research question in your area of interest;
• use statistical software to accomplish data management and econometric analysis;
• perform the following statistical procedures using Stata software:
  • recode existing variables in a dataset and generate new variables   from existing variables in order to shape the dataset for subsequent analyses;
  • produce descriptive statistics including frequency distributions, means, standard deviations, and graphs such as box plots and scatter plots;
  • perform regression analysis, including use of categorical and continuous variables, linear and logistic models, and panel data techniques;
  • recognize the strengths and limitations of data analysis and quantitative research methods in designing and guiding policy.

By the end of the semester, you will be able to:

• Compare and contrast theories about language acquisition;
• Identify individual and social factors that play a role in language learning;
• Analyze speech production data from children and adults;
• Understand and evaluate primary sources in the field of language acquisition;
• Summarize and critique empirical research both orally and in writing;
• Design, carry out, and report a small original research project.

This course is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the form and function of DNA, genomic organization, cytogenetics, principles of simple and complex inheritance, whole genome association, and genomic diversity in disease. Translational and clinical applications will be emphasized throughout the course, utilizing case presentations, problem-based learning, and lectures.

• Construct a 3 generation pedigree
• Describe the basic principles of cytogenetics and what disease conditions result from chromosomal abnormalities
• Understand mechanism for recognition and exploration of familial patterns of disease inheritance, whether classical Mendelian or common disease
• Explain how genetic variation influences biological variation in health and disease
• Describe the contribution of genetic variation to treatment options and outcomes
• Demonstrate genetic/genomic information acquisition skills relevant to diagnoses, prognosis and treatment care plans
• Describe basic principles of discussing genetic risk and diagnoses in the health care setting
• Explain the basic principles of discussing genetic risk and diagnoses in the health care setting
• Explain the basic principles of genetic testing and interpret test results
• Demonstrate awareness of the ethical dimensions related to genetics, genetic testing, and genomics in health care
• Expectations for Class Preparation: Students should complete the assigned readings prior to class. Lectures will provide further illumination of the key concepts. Take home exercises will emphasize application of basic knowledge acquired from readings and lectures and promote test interpretation and analyses. Case presentations will reinforce translational knowledge

At the completion of this course, the student will:

• Demonstrate the ability to incorporate nutrition principles in disease prevention and health promotion by applying them using hypothetical test cases
• Describe the parameters of a nutrition assessment, using anthropmetrics, laboratory data, and physical examinations, clinical, social, religious, and cultural history data affecting food intake
• Promote health maintenance throughout the human life cycle based on personal nutrition knowledge or appropriate professionals, using simulated patient cases with evidence of a theoretical basis
• Describe the different nutrients, listing their food sources, digestion, and metabolism, problems of excesses and deficits and modifications in clinical settings.
• Communicate the efficacy of weight loss strategies with simulations as well as outcomes of eating disorders and hyper-metabolic states based on knowledge of energy metabolism
• Analyze personal nutrient intakes by using software for diet analyses and describe the use of this technology in clinical practice