Embedded Outcomes-Based Assessment for Writing Skills in Chemistry Courses

1. Embedded Outcomes-Based Assessment for Writing Skills in Chemistry Courses Jason D. Powell Ferrum College Saturday, October 15, 2011 1:30-2:30 PM ACA Summit Asheville, NC

2. Information Gathering • Briefly: • Who are you? • Where do you teach? • What subject(s) do you teach? • What do you hope to gain from this session?

3. About Ferrum College Chemistry • Ferrum College is a 4-year college serving ~1,500 primarily residential undergraduate students in rural southwestern Virginia • The chemistry program operates mostly in a service capacity to other programs (Pre-Professional Science, Health Sciences, Agriculture, Biology, Environmental Science, Horticulture, Sports Medicine) • ~60 students per year take introductory chemistry, ~50 students per year take general chemistry, ~20 students per year take organic chemistry, and upper-level chemistry courses have ~15 or fewer students • All students majoring in the natural sciences take a 3-semester sequence of 2-credit courses for junior and senior seminar in which they research and develop a synthesis question related to their major and minor fields of study

4. The Old Way

5. Student Learning Outcomes - Campus 1. Liberal Arts Through experiences in the Core Requirements, the Ferrum College graduate will • Demonstrate integrated knowledge in the liberal arts • Demonstrate information literacy, using available technology when appropriate • Demonstrate competency in quantitative skills and reading 2. Critical Thinking Through opportunities to engage in critical thinking, both curricular and cocurricular, the Ferrum College graduate will • Think critically and solve problems through analysis, evaluation, inference, induction, and deduction 3. Communication Skills Through experiences in both the Core Requirements and the Major, the Ferrum College graduate will • Communicate with unity of purpose and coherent organization consistent with standard rules and recognized conventions using appropriate methodologies 4. Competence in Academic Discipline Through experiences in the Major, the Ferrum College graduate will • Demonstrate a depth of knowledge, capability and ethical reasoning in a chosen field 5. Citizenship Through opportunities, both curricular and co-curricular, the Ferrum College graduate will • Demonstrate awareness of local, national and global issues • Demonstrate personal responsibility • Collaborate with people of diverse cultural attitudes, beliefs and values

6. Student Learning Outcomes - Chemistry CHM01. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of fundamental chemical principles and the evidence and reasoning that support them. CHM02. Use quantitative reasoning skills to sample, analyze, and interpret data for problem solving. CHM03. Use and understand relevant methods, tools, and techniques in chemistry. CHM04. Integrate and apply knowledge and skills independently and cooperatively in a professional setting. CHM05. Understand the relevance of chemistry to concerns of society.

7. Rubric

8. Rubric (continued)

9. Rubric (continued)

10. Rubric (continued)

11. Results – Senior-Level Inorganic Chemistry Class • Students averaged 88.8% on first writing assignment and 92.6% on second writing assignment • Improvements attributed by students to a better understanding of the elements of the rubric, even though the second writing assignment was perceived as being more difficult and less guided • Consistent improvement in items related to content-matter understanding and appropriate research skills, no significant change in scores related to writing mechanics

12. Take-Home Messages • Embedded assessments allow for more efficient use of faculty time, and results are more relevant to essential student learning in specific courses • Rubrics provide a quick and easy way to standardize faculty scoring of student work by using specific desired traits • Customizing rubrics using common elements makes the assessment useful to the campus unit and to a specific instructor without impinging on academic freedom • Consistent usage of campus-wide rubrics allow students to develop an understanding of faculty expectations with respect to various student learning outcomes

13. Future Work • Ferrum’s QEP is “Critical Thinking for Success” • New formative rubric for critical thinking skills incorporated into the rubric this semester • Students just handed in their first paper on Wednesday…

14. Contact Information Jason D. Powell Associate Professor of Chemistry and Physics Dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics jpowell@ferrum.edu www.ferrum.edu/academics/faculty/jason_powell.aspx (540) 365-4376 Garber Hall – Room 224 80 Wiley Drive Ferrum, VA 24088