GREAT Day

A few weeks ago Geneseo celebrated GREAT Day. After thinking about some of the discussions we’ve had in class I have realized that GREAT Day is more than just a day off from school, or a chance to learn about peer research. It’s an opportunity for students to show off how much they have grown, and what they have learned throughout the semester. One thing that I believe GREAT Day does a very good job of is demonstrating to faculty and students alike the learning outcomes outlined by the GLOBE. As students in college we are expected to grow as people and continuously learn throughout our entire college experience and lives. Geneseo has outlined ways to do this in the GLOBE, and GREAT Day is a great way to demonstrate that growth. Take critical thinking for example, by working on a semester long research project students have to think critically to make claims and test their hypotheses. Critical thinking is at the core of research, something it can not succeed without.  Another example is communication, in which to paraphrase from the GLOBE “to compose written texts that effectively inform or persuade… to engage in discussion, debate and public speaking in a manner suitable to the listener(s) and the discourse.” This is what GREAT Day is all about, sharing and presenting research to others, in order to inform them of new ideas and persuade them to take action, in a way that they the listeners will understand. I believe that in this way GREAT Day fulfills all of the learning outcomes of the GLOBE in that it provides students will the opportunity to grow.