Inquiry Pathways provide an avenue for students to explore an important issue or topic in-depth and from multiple disciplinary perspectives. The theme of the pathway provides a “glue” that helps students draw connections across disciplines and apply knowledge at a deeper level.

An initial set of Pathways has been created by the Core Curriculum Committee, based on input from faculty and other campus stakeholders. Initiatives are also in place on campus to support the creation of additional pathways. To ensure pathways function as a signature component of the CSU Inquiry Core Curriculum, the total number of available pathways will be small. The Director of the Core Curriculum will, in consultation with faculty, regularly review pathway and course offerings and adjustments will be made to enhance visibility and student interest.

Current Inquiry Pathways

For the initial launch of the Inquiry Core Curriculum, three Inquiry Pathways have been established. These Pathways were chosen due to their alignment with broader university initiatives, their support among faculty as indicated in core curriculum surveys, their collective ability to draw upon courses meeting all requirements in the core curriculum, and their synergy with existing strengths at CSU.

For each Pathway, three things are provided: a general student-facing description; a pair of learning goals; and example signature assignment reflection prompts unique to the pathway. The aim of providing this information is to assist faculty in designing courses for the pathway and describing how their course can meaningfully and substantively contribute to the pathway. Faculty are encouraged to contextualize the pathway goals to their own course and to consider using the reflection prompts (or variations thereof) in their signature assignments.

Social Justice

How can we achieve a more just world? What does social justice even mean? In this pathway, you will explore the interconnections between social norms and the law and the foundations of freedom, equality, and justice. You will also examine how individuals and groups use power, politics, science, and the law to mobilize for justice and the barriers they encounter along the way.

Pathway Goals

Students successfully completing the Social Justice pathway should be able to…

1. Gain a deep understanding of the concept of social justice, its complexities, and key debates within social justice scholarship and practice.
2. Evaluate historical and contemporary issues in light of social justice theory and practice.

Social Justice Reflection Prompts

• What is a social justice project you are personally interested in? How might the ideas from this course help you engage in that project?
• Social justice is a complex subject with many competing views and ideas. How does your signature assignment highlight or demonstrate the complexity of the topic?
• Social justice is often understood differently in different disciplines. Identify a specific aspect of social justice we explored in this course and relate it to an aspect of social justice you explored in another course in the Social Justice pathway. Do the different aspects challenge one another? Support one another? Did your understanding of one become clearer as a result of learning about the other?
• How has your understanding of social justice changed as a result of taking this course (or completing this signature assignment)?

Environmental Sustainability

A changing climate. Massive species extinction. Dwindling natural resources. What should our response to these environmental catastrophes be? What can we do to sustain and preserve the natural world for future generations? What are our moral obligations to the environment? In this pathway, you will explore the theory and practice of environmental stewardship and sustainability. Explore the cultural and social significance of nature to human civilizations, the science of environmental change, the practice of conservation and green design, and our ethical responsibilities to the environment.

Pathway Goals

Students successfully completing the Environmental Sustainability pathway should be able to…

1. Gain a deep understanding of the complex relationship between humans and the environment and the concept of environmental sustainability.
2. Develop practical skills and strategies for promoting environmental sustainability in personal and community settings.

Reflection Prompts

• Reflect on a personal habit related to the environment. How could you alter this habit to be more sustainable, and what impact might this change have?
• Describe an environmental issue that particularly concerns you. How has learning about this issue influenced your thoughts and actions?
• Sustainability can mean different things in different disciplines and contexts. Focusing on a specific aspect of sustainability we examined in this course, how does it relate to sustainability as you learned about it in another course in the Environmental Sustainability pathway? Do the ideas oppose or complement one another?
• Sustainability is often viewed as at odds with other important values, such as economic growth or individual freedom. How did you grapple with this conflict in your signature assignment? Be sure to identify what other value(s) you focused on.

Transformative Leadership

Do you want to make a positive difference in the world? Do you have the vision of a better future for yourself and others? Do you want to inspire, motivate, and empower people to achieve their goals and potential? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the CSU Pathway in Transformative Leadership is for you. In this pathway, you will learn about the theory and practice of transformative leadership, a family of leadership styles that can bring about lasting change in individuals, groups, organizations, and society. You will explore the characteristics, traits, and skills of transformative leaders and work to develop your own leadership style. Through self-exploration and collaborative engagement with real-world scenarios and challenges, you will develop an understanding of the effects of transformative leadership and the skills to be a transformative leader.

Pathway Goals

Students successfully completing the Transformative Leadership pathway should be able to…

1. Gain a deep understanding of foundational and contemporary theories of leadership and how to apply them in various contexts.
2. Develop a personal leadership style, grounded in an honest analysis of one’s own personality and abilities.

Reflection Prompts

• Reflect on a leader you admire. What qualities do they possess, and how can you incorporate those qualities into your own leadership style?
• Consider a challenge you may face as a leader. How would you apply the theories you’ve learned to overcome it?
• Compare an idea related to leadership that you learned in this course to an idea you learned in another course in this pathway. How are they similar and how do they challenge each other? How does knowing about one improve your understanding of the other?
• What key habits of leadership do you believe you are most developed in? What key habits of leadership do you want to most focus on developing going forward?
• There are many different ways to be a leader. In your signature assignment, how did you grapple with or explore this complexity of what it means to be a leader?

Designing Pathways

As part of the CSU Inquiry Core Curriculum, the Inquiry Pathways aim to:

1. Enhance student engagement through designing courses on topics and themes of interest to CSU students.
2. Enhance student learning through promoting the engagement with important themes from multiple disciplinary perspectives.

In thinking about recommending an Inquiry Pathway, these two aims should be at the forefront of your mind. To that end, proposed Inquiry Pathways should:

• Be anchored in a theme that would be of serious interest to 18-year-old first-year college students.
• Be able to leverage core curricular courses meeting as many different core curricular requirements as possible.
• Demonstrate a high level of synergy between courses, such that it should be reasonably easy for students to identify connections and draw on prior learning in new settings.

Currently, the Office of Instructional Excellence is developing an initiative to support and promote the growth of Inquiry Pathways at CSU. That initiative will be the first means by which additional pathways are added to the three initial Pathways. More information will be provided soon.

How Students Participate in Pathways

Students may optionally choose to complete some of their core curricular requirements through the completion of a pathway.

• To complete a pathway, students need to complete at least three courses within the pathway.
• Completion of a pathway earns a digital badge and an indication on the student’s transcript, akin to completion of a certificate program.
• Students may choose to complete multiple pathways.