Augustana's Academic Skills
As the undergraduate liberal arts and sciences faculty of the University of Alberta, Augustana embodies the same values and goals it teaches to its students: how to be innovative, well-rounded, and multidisciplinary learners who value and engage in their community.
With this in mind, we equip our students with the transferable skills needed to succeed in their careers in any field in the 21st century: critical thinking, research, communication, and collaboration.
You might be wondering how we foster these skills among our students. Great question!
Our students develop critical thinking, research, and communication skills through the courses in their major, while the collaborator skill is a key focus of our Project-Based Core.
Thinkers
As Critical Thinkers, Augustana students can
- read, view, listen, and reflect carefully and extensively
- consider ethics
- engage in issues from a variety of perspectives, cultures, or traditions, acknowledging different ways of knowing
- approach problems using evidence, reasoning, and creativity
Thinkers reflect and reason through complex ideas and discoveries that move our world forward.
Researchers
As Researchers, Augustana students can
- design and execute projects from conception to fruition
- analyze and synthesize data, concepts, and ideas
- assert their own perspective on a topic through argument, presentation, or interpretation
- use information literacy skills to assemble and evaluate the most suitable materials
Researchers find and assemble ideas that enable us to explore new possibilities.
Communicators
As Communicators, Augustana students can- clearly convey ideas, creative work, and research in an artistic or scholarly manner
- present information confidently, showing command of oral, digital, written, visual, or artistic expression
- employ effective strategies tailored to engage specific audiences
- write logically and grammatically
Communicators convey ideas confidently and strategically in ways that connect to their audiences.
Collaborators
As Collaborators, Augustana students can- work well in groups and are prepared to take leadership roles
- support, motivate, and build a team from within
- collaborate and be sensitive to social dynamics, especially when under pressure
- demonstrate an openness to other points of view, actively listening and fully engaging with the ideas of others
Collaborators engage with, support, and motivate others to develop constructive and creative ideas.