Twentieth Century the Definition and

¶ … twentieth century the definition and scope of literacy has increased significantly. Although literacy was once defined as the basic skills needed to read and write, there are a now a wide range of literacies that are specifically developed for various professions and disciplines. Such is the case with design and management. In order to effectively participate in this course, it is evident that students must enter this course with a number of literacies that will facilitate learning.

Of particular importance are the following: Basic problem solving capabilities: Design and management requires the student to be able to identify, evaluate and solve problems. For this reason, students that have not developed basic problem solving skills will face notable challenge in making critical links between theory and practical application. Basic computer and technical competence: Although this is not the central focus of design and management, the reality is that modern design and management requires extensive use of computer and information technology.

Having a basic literacy in this area will help improve outcomes for the student and for the student as a professional in the discipline. Basic organization skills: Design and management require the individual to utilize organizational skills that will facilitate improvements in outcomes of activities. Having the basis organizational skills needed to engage in a wide range of tasks is again important to the student and to the student as a professional.

Leadership skills: Although design and management appears to focus more heavily on the issue of management rather than leadership, the reality is that literacy in leadership can help promote the manager and facilitate the process of decision making that is critical to both of design and management. Considering how these literacies are acquired, a review of my own personal experiences seems to suggest that most of these literacies were either taught in an educational setting or learned through the process of real world experience and practical application.

For instance, computer and technology literacy was taught to me by educators beginning in elementary school. Educators teach the basics of computer use, internet use and how to use technology to advance education. Over the course of this process, I began to use the computer for keeping in touch with friends. This real world application reinforced my educational experience and has created a general level of computer literacy that carries over into all of my courses.

Although most of the literacies noted above are taught and then reinforced through practical application, skills such as leadership and organizational skills are not taught in the classroom. Rather, these skills are implied and developed through interactions in both the classroom and the real world. For instance, teachers assign a significant amount of homework. In order to remain on top of this homework, organizational skills are needed. These skills develop out of a necessity directly related to education.

Over the course of time, organizational skills in one area can be applied to other areas of development. As such, organizational skills.