Assessment of Student Learning in General
Education
The
General Education Assessment Plan calls
for comprehensive assessment of student learning in both the skills and liberal
studies areas of the curriculum. During the period 1993-2000, the General
Education Committee used a variety of methods to assess learning outcomes in
general education. These include:
Assessment of skills in general education. Table 1 summarizes assessment of
general education skills in the areas of mathematics, writing, oral
communication, computer science, logic,
and foreign languages
Assessment of student learning in general education course categories.
The liberal studies component of general education consists of seven
categories. Table 2 summarizes assessment
of student learning in three liberal studies categories: 1) Science:
Understanding the Natural World 2) Self and Society: Understanding Oneself and
the Social World, and 3) Art: The Aesthetic Experience.
In each case a faculty committee developed an instrument to measure
student outcomes for the category, administered the instrument to a sample of
students, analyzed the results and wrote a report to the General Education
Committee. For additional details, read the full reports.
Course Reviews. The
course review is intended to be systematic and
formative assessment of student learning in individual general education
courses. The review consists of two parts: 1) instructors gather, analyze and
summarize information about the course and about student learning in the course
and 2) instructors prepare a written report and present it to the General
Education Committee.
Student perceptions of and beliefs about general education. Focus groups and surveys have assessed student perceptions of general education.
Table
1: Assessment of Skills in General Education
|
Skill Area |
Method |
Findings |
|
Writing |
1994 Analyzed a sample of 100 student papers from ENG 110. 1993 Assessment of writing emphasis courses. Analyzed small number of student papers from writing emphasis courses 1997 Assessment of writing emphasis courses.
Used instructors’ global estimates of student performance. |
Determined patterns of strengths and
weaknesses with respect organization and development of ideas; reasoning
and support; rhetorical strategies; efficiency of prose, textual
conventions Descriptive analysis of writing samples
(only 6 of 79 instructors responded) indicated course could be
strengthened by using a recursive writing process, informal writing, and
assignments in which students write to an audience. Descriptive analysis of writing samples from
several disciplines found courses could be strengthened in same areas as
the 1993 report. |
|
Oral
Communication |
1998 Course Review of CST 110 |
Found strengths and weaknesses in
students’ knowledge based on a pre and post knowledge test. Found 6%-7% of freshmen have very high
communication apprehension. |
|
Mathematics |
1993-95 Used a test to measure students’
statistical knowledge 1996 Used a pre and post test to measure
student learning in applied calculus 1997 Used a pre and posttest to measure student learning in algebra and trigonometry. |
Mean scores on test of statistical knowledge
were 8%, 23% and 14 % for pre-test, post-test and test in follow-up
courses respectively. Determined patterns of students’ strengths
and weaknesses. Determined patterns of students’ strengths
and weaknesses. |
|
Foreign
Languages |
1997-98 Course Reviews |
|
|
Computer
Science |
Course review of CS 120 No assessment of CS 101 |
|
|
Logic |
No assessment |
|
Table 2: Assessment of Student Outcomes in General Education Liberal Studies 1993-2000
|
Liberal
Studies Categories |
Assessment
Method |
Findings |
|
Minority
Cultures or Multiracial Women’s Studies |
Course reviews of each course in the
category. |
|
|
|
Course review of HST 151 No assessment of global studies courses in
the category. |
|
|
Science:
Understanding the Natural World |
1995-96 Category-wide assessment. Used a
science test with students who had vs. did not have general education
science courses. 1996-97 Course Reviews of each course in the
category. |
Students with science course background did
better than those w/o science course. Overall performance was low for both
groups in science reasoning. |
|
Self and
Society: Understanding Oneself and the Social World |
Category-wide assessment. Used a pre and
posttest of social science reasoning. 1998-99 Course reviews of each course in the
category. |
Determined changes in students’ ability to
explain a social science problem and explain methods for investigating a
social science problem. |
|
Humanistic
Studies: The Search for Values and Meaning |
No assessment |
N/A |
|
Arts: The
Aesthetic Experience |
1996-97 Category-wide assessment. Used pre
and posttest of art appreciation to measure student outcomes. 1996-97 Course reviews of each course in the
category. |
Determined changes in students’ ability to
respond to a work of art using course concepts and explain the role of
arts in society. |
|
Health and
Physical Well Being: Learning to Create Healthy Lives |
Course review of HPR 105. |
Determined students' ability to apply
knowledge of important concepts and principles to "real life"
situations. Lectures and labs revised to strengthen student learning. |