Learning Outcomes:
1) Students will demonstrate competence in communication.
2) Students will demonstrate competence in critical inquiry.
Measures used for each objective:
1) Critical Inquiry: The direct measure of student learning is a twenty-five question multiple choice assessment test. The test consists of five parts: variable relationships, graphical analysis, reading passage analysis, data analysis and scientific analysis.
2) Communication: The direct measure of students learning is a brief opinion paper students write in response to one of three different scientific statements.
The above two assessments, critical inquiry and communication, are given as a pre-test at the beginning of the semester in entry level classes, and at the end of the semester in exit level classes.
3) Occupational skills and techniques will be evaluated through direct observation by the instructor. A portfolio consisting of the student’s lab notebook will assist in the evaluation. The instructor will assess each of the skills and laboratory techniques as expert, proficient, somewhat proficient, and not proficient.
4) Indirect Measure: Students in the exit level biotech class will be surveyed regarding their exposure to, and usage of the life long skills in their science classes. This is given as a part of post-testing.
The science department assessment exam is given to students taking a wide variety of science classes, both majors and non-majors. These classes emphasize material covered on the science assessment exam to varying degrees. Consequently, setting a common benchmark for the science department would be unusable. Instead we are looking for improvements in the score students receive on the exam as they proceed through a particular class sequence. The science department would like to see an average improvement of 20% on the exam score over a 2-semester sequence. In the Biotech classes, the department would like to see 80% of students have an average 3.5 on occupational skills.
Data Collection:
The science department gave the pre-test to 247 students in eight different entry level science classes: Astronomy 101, Geology 111, Chemistry 101, Chemistry 111, Biology 111, Biology 201, Biology 268, Physics 111, and Physics 211. The post-test and the life long skills exposure survey will be given at the end of the semester. Occupational skills in BIO 268 will be assessed by the instructor at the end of the Fall semester. The same will be done for BIO 269 at the end of the Spring semester.
Data Recording and Storage:
The critical thinking portion is graded for each individual student. Results are averaged for each science class and recorded as the percentage of students answering each question correctly. Results are then tabulated question-by-question, averaged for each topic area, and finally averaged for the entire exam. These results are tabulated for each science class taking the exam. The communication portion of the exam is graded using a rubric on a scale of 1 to 5. Average scores on the communication portion are tabulated for each science class taking the exam. The survey is a series of 5 questions regarding the lifelong skills that students respond to from strongly agree to strongly disagree, given with the posttest. The science department chair stores all the exams as well as the tabulated scores.
Data Analysis and Reporting:
Results are disseminated to all science faculty at the end of each semester. Assessment meetings are held at the end of the spring semester to analyze the results of the testing for the completed academic year.
Decision Making and Program Change Based on Data:
Curricular changes were made during summer 2005 and put into place for the Fall 2005 semester. The changes in curriculum were made in targeted classes: BIO 105, BIO 111, BIO 112, CHE 101, CHE 111, and CHE 211. The goal is to expand changes in curriculum to include all areas of the science department over time. It was decided that the most effective place to introduce changes would be in the laboratory curriculum. A variety of instructors teach these classes, each with their own lecture style and class structure, making any consistent changes to the lecture portion of the class difficult. The laboratory manuals on the other hand are written by the faculty and used in all classes, this means that any changes made to the laboratory manuals will reach all students. The results of the assessment exams were analyzed by topic area and individual questions. Based on the analysis the labs were modified to include additional use of tables, graphs, and equations. Material was added to the labs that require the students to analyze this additional material critically. The department chair is storing detailed descriptions of the changes made to the lab manuals. The lifelong skills exposure survey indicates that a high percentage of students feel that they are using the lifelong skills in their science classes. However, the percentage of students who are aware of the lifelong skills as a commitment of CCA is much lower. All science faculty are being encouraged to not just include the lifelong skills in their syllabus, but to discuss this material with their students on the first day of class.
These entry level classes are important preparatory courses for biotech students, so the improvements the science department is making to the lab curricula will be helpful in preparing them for the biotech courses. In BIO 268 and 269 we are increasing the amount of basic lab work, i.e., preparing solutions, setting up equipment, designing experiments. These activities increase the connection students feel toward the science lab, make them more comfortable working in the science setting and improve their ability to think critically about science labs and experimentation.
Adjunct Faculty Involvement:
Adjunct faculty participate in giving the assessment exam, at meetings analyzing the data, and in assessing the new laboratory curriculum.