Annual Assessment Report

 

         Academic Year:    2015/16

              Department:    Liberal Studies

                Program(s):    Liberal Studies: All Options (Quaternity,

Environmental Studies, Global and Multicultural Studies)

1. What Was Done

In FY2015/16 we evaluated learning outcomes 1 (Critical Thinking) and 4 (Oral Communication) from our Assessment Plan.

Learning Outcome #1, Critical Thinking: Students will be able to consider multiple perspectives; discuss critical assumptions, findings and alternative interpretations; and draw well-founded and cautious conclusions.

Learning Outcome #4 Oral Communication: Students will be able to give a compelling, focused, well-organized and well-delivered presentation on a research topic.

2. What Data Were Collected

Critical Thinking:  Final papers were randomly collected from the capstone course (LS401) sections. The final papers were assessed using a rubric designed to measure critical thinking by two reviewers based on use of evidence, lack of bias, and depth of content and explanation. In cases where there were disagreements between coders the lower category was reported for the most conservative estimate regarding how the program is doing with the goal of improving critical thinking.  In no case did the coders differ more than one category. The coders both commented on the generally high quality of the papers. As you can see from the chart below, students are scoring above or meets expectations at nearly 100% in all the areas. 

Criteria – Critical Thinking

Above Expectations

Meets Expectations

Below Expectations

Use of Evidence – analyzing information: data, ideas, or concepts

50.0%

50.0%

0.0%

Lack of Bias – presenting multiple solutions, positions, or perspectives that effectively analyze own and other’s assumptions

62.5%

25.0%

12.5%

Context – clarity of issue/question/problem, depth of content, relevant support, clear explanation

37.5%

62.5%

0.0%

 

 

Oral Communication: Data were collected from one capstone course where presentations were given at the end of the semester. Two assessors used an oral communication rubric to assess how well students performed in seven elements of oral communication: central message, content development, organization, support, language, visual aids, delivery, and timing. Except in one case the coders never differed more than one step from one another.  In cases where there were disagreements between coders the lower category was reported for the most conservative estimate regarding how the program is doing with the goal of improving oral communication. 

Criteria – Oral Communication

Above Expectations

Meets Expectations

Below Expectations

Central Message

37.5%

37.5%

25.0%

Content Development

12.5 %

75.0%

12.5%

Organization

12.5%

75.0%

12.5%

Support

25.0%

62.5%

12.5%

Language

12.5%

87.5%

0.0%

Visual or other Aids

25.0%

75.0%

0.0%

Delivery

12.5%

87.5%

0.0%

Timing

62.5%

37.5%

0.0%

 

3. What Was Learned

Critical Thinking: We are really impressed with the high quality of work that students are submitting for their final capstone projects.  This illustrates that the interdisciplinary program with individualized curriculum is successfully encouraging students to think critically about a wide range of problems, issues, and potential solutions.

Oral Communication:  By and large students are meeting expectations or better in the elements of oral communication.  The data indicate some issue with central message, but this may be attributable to the instrument being used to assess oral communication as it is really working on the basis of a certain type of presentation whereas the research being presented did not all fall into a type of paper where a claim should be made at the beginning.  In some presentations a question was posed and no claim or thesis proposed and that was appropriate for the field and for the assignment.  So it may be that we need to choose a rubric that better captures the multiple methods of communicating ideas and research that are represented by our interdisciplinary program.  Overall the presentations were well done with greater than 80% of the students meeting or exceeding expectations in each domain. We believe that this provides evidence that students in Liberal Studies are mastering oral communication.

4. How We Responded

Critical Thinking: Our assessment indicated that no changes are needed regarding learning outcome 1.  By the time the reach the capstone (LS401) students are able to think through problems, issues, or planning in a critical and thoughtful way.    

Oral Communication: Our assessment of oral communication resulted in a productive discussion, a review of the rubric we are using, and some consensus that a rubric that more completely acknowledges the range of types of presentations that our Liberal Studies students might use would be more appropriate.  The current rubric is too specific and hard to score and may actually underreport the quality of the diverse types of presentations we reviewed.  Overall no changes are needed in the program as the vast majority of students are able to present their thoughts and ideas quite effectively.