Here we are! The final blog post! As I’m sitting here writing this, I am struggling to find a way to put this class into words. Which, I think, was kind of the point. Not the struggle to put into words part, but how that means this class was structured much differently than other classes.
At the beginning of the semester, when reading the syllabus and exploring our Moodle page, I was confused as to why this class wasn’t the typical lecture and exam format. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I didn’t have to memorize all the complex signaling pathways, acronyms, and if something is an enzyme, second messenger, kinase, protein, guanine nucleotide exchange factor, small GTPase, transcription factor, or none of the above, and instead a government agency. But I didn’t understand the point. That’s because this class, much more than others, took the key concepts of liberal learning and turned them into a syllabus. What do I mean by that? Well, Concordia has five goals for liberal learning…
Instill a love for learning
I have always described myself as someone who loves learning. But I got to be honest, at the beginning of the semester, I thought this class would be pushing my boundaries of how scientific I was willing to go. I’m a neuroscience minor; I didn’t make it a major for a reason. But because this class was not the typical lecture and exam format, we had a say in what we learned. For example, after reading an article each week, we chose what topic to research further for the next class day. I was always able to find something interesting about the articles, even if the chemistry sometimes went over my head at first glance. I could tailor my assignments for Wednesdays to what I wanted to learn more about, and how I wanted to learn it. I was always excited to share this really cool new thing I learned with the rest of the class.
Develop foundational skills and transferable intellectual capacities
This class taught me more than simply the content. Yes, I did learn a whole lot about intracellular signaling and how that impacts the brain. But skills like the most efficient way to read and take notes on journal articles, or the most effective way to communicate science to different types of people with different knowledge backgrounds, were even more valuable. Especially the communication part. We had many different ways of communicating in just one class for just one semester. We worked in small groups to discuss questions we had about articles, we had to give quick elevator speeches about a whole bunch of different topics, and we discussed real-world applications of these topics in large groups. Communicating science, “translating” it to be easily digested by different people, was the most valuable skill from this class. For example, how you would discuss a journal article with a professor in that area, a professor not in that area, a peer in that area, a peer not in that area, a friend, the general public, kids… (I could go on, but I think you get the point) is all different.
This is super important to my future career. After graduation I am pursuing a social work degree, and communication is probably one of the top three skills needed and wanted in social workers, as we work with all kinds of different people and all kinds of different topics. It’s kind of funny, the biggest thing I took away from my most heavily scientific class was communication, which is an entirely different major on a whole different side of campus!
Develop an understanding of disciplinary, interdisciplinary and intercultural perspectives and their connections
Our Friday discussions really highlighted this goal of liberal learning. It was really cool to see multiple different majors, who all shared some level of science background, come together. People approached the real-world application of the science in multiple different ways; through a chemistry, neuroscience, or psychology lens. We had people from different cultural backgrounds, which also impacted how we approached and thought about these topics.
My favorite article, about anxiety and its long-term impacts on memory and behavior, is a perfect example of this. During our discussion, the chemistry and neuroscience majors tended to focus more on the signaling pathways, and zoomed-in, what was going on in the brain. People with a psychology background talked more about behavior and cognition, what was going on in the mind. Then me, with my psychology and social work perspective, gave a whole spiel about ACES and trauma. But all of us were talking about how anxiety and trauma rewires the brain. Each person’s perspective was a valuable piece of putting together that puzzle. We each brought our own ideas for how to “solve” the problem of anxiety. Whether that be research, pharmacology, therapy, or education.
Cultivate an examined cultural, ethical, physical and spiritual self-understanding
The biggest piece of this goal from this class was a physical understanding of what is going on down to the level of my cells. It’s kind of crazy to know what on a microscopic level contributes to feelings of hunger, anxiousness, or a concussion.
Encourage responsible participation in the world (B.R.E.W.)
One of the important parts of responsible participation/engagement with the world is being able to critically think about information you are presented with. This class gave us a full week to dissect each journal article. It encouraged us to ask questions, search for answers, and consider the application from multiple perspectives. Being able to see a catchy headline, but then check the sources and actually read the journal/research articles about it helps us make more informed decisions.
Considering topics and ideas from multiple different perspectives is also one of the most important parts of being responsibly engaged in the world. I cannot think of a profession where taking the time to understand people’s perspectives would not be beneficial. This is a critical part of compassion, which in my perspective, is an essential piece of BREW.
This all leads me to the question: What does a liberal arts education mean to me?
A liberal arts education is not simply taking classes outside of your major. It is giving students the tools necessary to critically think with compassion and engage with the world. It doesn’t teach students one uniformed way of thinking, but rather to simply THINK in general. How to ask those tough questions, and be okay with not getting all the answers. How to integrate information with your own thoughts and opinions. And, having your own thoughts and opinions and speaking up to share them. Some of my favorite classes at Concordia were outside of my major, and without attending a liberal arts college, I probably wouldn’t have decided to pursue social work.
This unconventional science course was the perfect way to personify BREW in my last semester of undergrad!
