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2012-2013 Assessment Report School of TAHSS Department: English, Undergraduate. Chair: Jennifer Haytock Date of Presentation: 1 October 2013. Student learning outcomes :.
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2012-2013 Assessment ReportSchool of TAHSSDepartment: English, Undergraduate Chair: Jennifer Haytock Date of Presentation: 1 October 2013
Student learning outcomes : The following Learning Outcomes are the central objectives for teaching and learning in the English Department. Upon graduating from the major, students should be able to: • Analyze the relationship between literary form and meaning, taking into consideration literary techniques and devices. Applicable for all English majors and minors.* • Construct arguments about literary works using historical contexts. Applicable for all English majors and minors. • Identify reputable and relevant sources, and incorporate the words and ideas of others without misrepresentation and with appropriate documentation practices. Applicable for all English majors and minors.
SLOs, continued • Write in conformity with standard usage and grammar. Applicable for all English majors and minors. • Argue with a command of the rhetorical strategies, terms, and major interpretive methods characteristic of academic writing in the Humanities. Applicable for all English majors enrolled in the Literature Track. • Apply basic elements of creative writing craft, including such elements as control of form and figurative language. Applicable for students in the Creative Writing program.
How was the assessment accomplished? • Student work assessed: Essays from all sections of ENG 303, ENG 323, and other courses in close reading (ENG 304-349) • Measurement strategy: rubric • Sample size: 97 essays (sample)
Assessment results: ENG 303, all sections Total number of students assessed in the course – all sections (n):_73__ Results based on sample of 35 essays, each scored by two instructors, for a total of 70 scores Percent exceeding: 11% Percent meeting: 39% Percent approaching: 42% Percent not meeting: 8%
Assessment results: ENG 323, all sections Total number of students assessed in the course – all sections (n):_42_ Results based on sample of 27 essays, each scored by two instructors, for a total of 54 scores Percent exceeding: 10% Percent meeting: 40% Percent approaching: 38% Percent not meeting: 12%
Assessment results: Other Courses in Close Reading (ENG 326, 329, 336) Total number of students assessed in the course – all sections (n):_69__ Results based on sample of 35 essays, each scored by two instructors, for a total of 70 scores Percent exceeding: 10% Percent meeting: 38% Percent approaching: 45% Percent not meeting: 7%
Assessment results: What have the data told us? • We did not meet our benchmark of 85% of students performing at the “meets criteria” level: only ~50% of students performed at this level. • We need to do a better job teaching close reading skills. • We need to do a better job teaching students to write close reading essays.
Data-driven decisions: “close the loop” Our proposed course of action focuses on • teaching strategies for cultivating student’s capacity for critically rigorous close reading • making assessment of student learning a more effective tool for student learning (making assessment more transparent, making students more active participants in defining assessment rubrics, etc.)
Decisions, cont’d Ideas for immediate implementation: • set up banks on the English Faculty ANGEL page with • exercises in close reading • examples of rubrics • examples of work that exceeded expectations • organize a collaborative workshop on strategies for teaching close reading (scheduled for Oct. 29) • consider instituting a curricular skill-set for ENG 303
What resources were used or have been requested to close the loop? • Stipend for instructors to score essays (paid last year from Provost’s fund) • Faculty participation in Teaching and Learning Workshops • Faculty participation in curriculum committee discussion • Time for assessment of essays