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Notre Dame College Self-Study Report

Chapter 4: Learning Outcomes

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Self-Study Report

• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Criterion One - Mission and Integrity
• Chapter 3: Criterion Two - Preparing for the Future
• Chapter 4
  • Criterion Three - Student Learning & Effective Teaching
  • Learning Outcomes
  • Valuing Effective Teaching
  • Creating Learning Environments
  • Support for Learning and Teaching
  • Considerations
• Chapter 5: Criterion Four - Acquisition, Discovery, and Application of Knowledge
• Chapter 6: Criterion Five - Engagement & Service
• Chapter 7: Conclusions

Core Component: Notre Dame College’s goals for student learning outcomes are clearly stated for each educational program and make effective assessment possible.

Notre Dame College’s work to develop a comprehensive and continuous process to assess student learning is a three-part story.

Part One: Disjointed First Steps
Prior to and including 2000, it was difficult to awaken the faculty to see assessment as an institutional initiative requiring consensus on goals, collection of evidence, and communal interpretation of that evidence so that meaningful changes could result. The raising of consciousness was all the harder due to ineffectiveness: multiple administrators who tried to direct the process, an assessment coordinator who for a year did not communicate with the faculty and then resigned, and the leadership of one faculty member whose skills were so far beyond those of the other faculty members that the directives were too complex to implement. The result of this ineffectiveness was that the mention of the word assessment caused tension, resistance, and defensiveness among the faculty.

In spite of this, the faculty accomplished several steps towards developing an assessment process. Committees articulated outcomes for college-level skills and formulated assessment plans for the academic majors in each department. The syllabus guidelines were revised so that they required clear course goals that flowed from institutional goals. Adjuncts, too, were instructed to use these guidelines for all syllabi.

As for the collection of evidence, one instructor attempted to collect qualitative evidence of students’ spiritual and value-centered growth by asking for self-reports in a random sampling of classes during the 2004 – 2005 academic year. Another instructor collected examples of student personal growth after their comprehensive field projects on justice issues were completed. English instructors collected cartons of evidence on students’ growth in composition skills. But without the direction from an active assessment committee or the expectation of taking this evidence to the next step of analysis, all data remained in cartons or folders, lacking analysis and interpretation.

Part Two: Waking Up with Assessment, Clear and Simple
During Spring, 2005 the faculty attended a mandated day-long in-service workshop facilitated by faculty members from the University of Akron. This workshop introduced participants to a common assessment language and offered useful ideas and steps to follow in an assessment process.

In Fall, 2005 the Educational Policy and Planning Committee (EPPC) used the Spring, 2005 workshop ideas in conjunction with direction provided by Barbara Walvoord’s book, Assessment, Clear and Simple: A Practical Guide for Institutions, Departments, and General Education (2004) to create a 10-step assessment process. The following describes this process and provides examples for each step.

1. Begin with the Mission Statement as the basis for determining educational outcomes. The Mission Statement leads the College to educate for personal, professional, and global responsibility.

At Notre Dame College, the values and skills of the Statement of Purpose flow from the mission. Those who choose a Notre Dame College education are encouraged to develop these values and skills through the curriculum:

• Think logically, analytically, and creatively,

• Demonstrate mastery of an academic discipline,

• Choose wisely for health and well-being,

• Appreciate the fine arts,

• Communicate effectively in speech and in writing,

• Integrate Judeo-Christian values into living,

• Pursue personal spiritual development,

• Share talents and gifts in the spirit of friendship and compassion, and

• Engage in the lifelong search for truth, beauty, and justice.

EPPC created a flowchart for faculty members to use in planning courses. The first column lists outcomes gleaned from the Mission Statement, the Statement of Purpose, and a short list of college-level skills. College-level skills are communication, math, and computer literacy skills.

Communication skills include:

• Careful, perceptive, and confident reading for a variety of purposes,

• Adherence to the conventions of Standard Written English,

• Adaptation of listening and speaking behaviors to the needs of the presenting situation,

• Facility in writing essays, supporting a central idea with clearly organized and well-developed support, demonstrating fluent use of language, and adherence to a particular manuscript format,

• Integration of research from a variety of sources in support of the central argument, and

• Evaluation of information, sources, and contexts when making judgments and solving problems.

Computer and information literacy skills include:

• Understanding the operation of technology,

• Understanding sources and uses of information,

• Presentation of information using technology tools,

• Communication with others using technology tools, and

• Analysis and interpretation of information.

Mathematics skills include:

• A quantitative sense of numbers and proficiency in numerical manipulation,

• Facility in applying problem solving skills,

• Reading, interpreting, constructing, and using graphs, tables, and flowcharts.

Table 4.1: Assessment Flow Chart for Course Development

View Table 4.1: Assessment Flow Chart for Course Development
(PDF FIle Table4.1-Assessment-Flow-Chart.pdf, 63KB)

This list offers the high-level concepts or skills for all courses. Table 4.1 shows their placement in the flowchart distributed by EPPC.

2.Using the high-level concepts and skills in column one, a faculty member then lists the program or department learning outcomes for the course in column two. These should be determined based on the population who register for this course. Outcomes can be developed for majors, minors, and general population.

Divisions were directed to compose a list of program outcomes for its student populations. These program outcomes were articulated by December, 2005 and distributed to all full-time and adjunct faculty.

Table 4.2 is a summary of program goals for a sampling of disciplines. Some disciplines have also included types of measures for each goal as well as uses of findings. A few departments have accomplished this step.

Table 4.2: Goals for a Sampling of Programs

Division or Department	Student Populations	Program Goals
Art	Graphic Design and Graphic Communications Majors	Be exposed to and experienced using the latest computer software and hardware, Develop an understanding of graphic design theory, Feel competent in developing an individual style, Have access to and experience in multimedia and web design, Be prepared for an entry-level position using a multitude of design tools and techniques, and Prepare a graphic design portfolio.
	Art Education Major	Feel competent as a visual artist in a variety of studio art skills, Have general knowledge of and appreciation for Western art history from the ancient world to contemporary art, Be skilled at preparing course material in studio art and art appreciation, Have established criteria for implementing a classroom environment conducive to growth in the knowledge of art and creative expression, and Have classroom observation and teaching experience in several age-appropriate art lessons.
	Studio Art Major	Develop studio skills in a variety of techniques and media, Have mastery of skills to level of competence for senior show, Demonstrate variety and mastery in studio skills shown through a professional portfolio, Feel competent and confident to apply for graduate studies in an art discipline, and Understand the business processes necessary for a professional artist.
Biology	General Education Students (non-majors and non-minors)	After completing their required science course, students will: Have a greater appreciation for the field of science, Understand how the scientific method is used and tested, Incorporate what they learned into everyday life, and Critically evaluate the validity of scientific claims.
	Biology Majors	Students will: Communicate scientifically, in both written and oral formats, Understand the impact of evolution in the field of science, Perform basic lab skills, Have a diverse background in the sciences, Correlate information learned in their science courses, and Critically evaluate the validity of scientific claims.
	Nursing Students	Students will: Understand the concept of homeostasis, how it is maintained and what causes deviations in homeostasis, Be prepared to complete their clinical nursing program, Communicate scientifically, in both written and oral formats, Demonstrate knowledge in specialized areas of biology and nursing, and Critically evaluate the validity of scientific claims.
	Science Education Majors	Students will: Communicate scientifically in both written and oral formats, Learn basic skills that they can in turn use in classrooms, Demonstrate knowledge in basic and specialized areas of biology, Critically evaluate the validity of scientific claims, and Understand the impact of evolution on the field of science.

 

3. From the program or department learning outcomes, the faculty member then identifies the course outcomes.

4. From the course outcomes, the faculty member identifies two or three outcomes for assessment and determines the methodology to be used.

5. Based on the outcomes and assessment strategies, the faculty member gathers evidence that show the level of student success. From this evidence the faculty member identifies what strategies should be continued and what changes made. Table 4.3 shows an example of this flow chart for Social Justice: Issues and Action (TH 450).

Table 4.3: Goals for a Sampling of Programs

View Table 4.3: Goals for a Sampling of Programs
(PDF File Table4.3-Goals-Sampling-Programs.pdf, 75KB)

Data for outcomes being assessed in TH 450 Prochaska, Fall, 2006

Outcome A: To read critically, especially using the Internet

1. Out of 36 students, 26 critiqued their sources correctly, giving evidence of whether the source was reliable or not.

2.The 10 students who did not understand good critical assessment were given several more samples of good critiques from other students and had to critique the sources used in the gender research. The 26 who did good critiques did not have to critique the sources for gender.

3. Eight out of 10 students wrote acceptable critiques on their second try.

Outcome B: To engage in theological reflection related to social responsibility

All students wrote a reflection at the end of their comprehensive field project which involved interviewing at least two victims of an injustice. Of the 36 students, only three stated honestly that they were not changed by their experience. One stated that she already was a member of this group of victims so the project did not change her. Another student admitted that he did the project as an assignment and did not get emotionally or personally involved.

Attached are some samples of critiques as well as some theological reflections, included with permission of the writers.

Table 4.4 shows that over the past two years, some instructors and divisions have been systematically assessing student learning and making changes as a result. Not all instructors are doing this consistently. Not all adjuncts are fully engaged yet. And not all departments agree on one program goal on which to focus. However, there is a healthy process in place.

Table 4.4: Samples of Assessment Work, 2004-2006

View the three PDF files for Table 4.4: Samples of Assessment Work, 2004-2006

• Table4.4A-Samples-Assessment-Work.pdf (66KB)
• Table4.4B-Samples-Assessment-Work.pdf (80KB)
• Table4.4C-Samples-Assessment-Work.pdf (63KB)

The remaining steps have yet to be incorporated in the College’s assessment process. These remaining steps are:

6. Interpretation of the evidence by the department.

7. Communication to students, the institution, and external agencies of the results and interpretation of the data,

8. Changes in texts, methods, and courses that will increase student success,

9. Budget support for changes so that students can accomplish institutional goals and mission more effectively. Also, budget support for expansion of the curriculum, and

10.Regular review of the assessment process by faculty and administration, leading to improvement of the process.

Assessment of student learning provides evidence at multiple levels: course, program, and institutional.

While the faculty was becoming involved in the assessment process, two major initiatives were in process that impacted the College’s assessment effort. The Professional Education Division pursued accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). This work began in February, 2005. The executive summary of the accreditation process provides the following information.

NCATE is a national accrediting body for higher education teacher education institutions. To receive this accreditation, the Education Division had to demonstrate that their teacher education programs were aligned with NCATE standards. NCATE standards are divided into two sections, candidate performance (Standards 1 and 2) and the [Division’s] capacity (Standards 3-6). These standards apply to both initial teacher preparation and advanced levels. One of the most significant aspects of the NCATE standards is the conceptual framework.

The conceptual framework is the underlying structure of the [Division] that set forth a vision…and provides a theoretical and empirical foundation for the direction of programs, courses, teaching, candidate performance, faculty scholarship and service, and [Division] accountability. The conceptual framework is knowledge-based, articulated, shared, coherent, and consistent with the [Division] and institutional mission, and continuously evaluated. The Education Division provided evidence of alignment with NCATE standards.

The mission of the Division of Professional Education…is to prepare students to become teachers who demonstrate:

• An appropriate mastery of general, pedagogical, and specific discipline subject matter,

• A concern for the needs of all students,

• Multiple teaching strategies to effectively achieve stated learning outcomes,

• Collaboration with the entire school community to affect the learning process, and

• Is reflective and professional in education practice.

The mission is achieved through the design, delivery, and continual assessment of initial teacher licensure programs at the undergraduate and graduate level and through the provision of a Master of Education program for educators in urban and suburban school districts surrounding the College. The small class size at both the undergraduate and graduate level, combined with the commitment of a caring, well-grounded faculty, is best represented in the Division motto, “Changing the Classroom…One Teacher at a Time.”

Through its undergraduate and graduate professional licensure programs, the teacher candidates will:

• Be well-grounded in general studies (i.e. human development and learning) and a specific discipline area (i.e. mathematics, special education),

• Be familiar with students in a variety of settings,

• Be able to use multiple teaching strategies to work effectively with learners of diverse abilities, learning styles and cultural backgrounds,

• Possess the skills to collaborate effectively with parents, colleagues and other stakeholders, and

• Be reflective in their educational practice.

These five outcomes are the foundation for the coursework, classroom activities, assessments, and field experiences prescribed for each licensure program. Together the five outcomes form the three essential themes of the Division’s conceptual framework: the importance of culturally-relevant teaching, a variety of field experiences, and the importance of collaboration within the school community.

Notre Dame College earned provisional accreditation in October, 2005, passing all NCATE standards except Standard 2, Assessment System and Unit Evaluation. To address the deficiency cited in Standard 2, Notre Dame College implemented an online assessment system, Tk20’s Higher Ed Campus Tools, for Spring, 2006. The NCATE Annual Report written October 14, 2006 describes “the initial focus of the implementation as twofold:

• Deliver through the online assessment system a capstone assignment with rubric for each education course and

• The placement and evaluation of field experience/practicum activities.”

• All education students who are degree or licensure seeking must have a subscription to the online assessment system. The benefits to the students include:

• Receive assignments electronically,

• Have access to their coursework and electronic portfolio from wherever there is Internet access,

• Receive handouts and graded work electronically from their instructors,

• Receive up-to-date advising information, and

• Receive placement information electronically for practicum and student teaching.

The benefits for the Education Division (are) the ability to collect data in a regular and systematic way for assessment of students at program transition points, and aggregation of data individually and collectively by specific criteria. An example of this is the field experience data in the form of formative and summative evaluations which were in paper form and difficult to tabulate. With the new online system, the formative and summative evaluation form is online and each domain area is aligned with NCATE, INTASC, SPA, and Notre Dame College’s conceptual framework. Co-operating teachers and observing faculty fill out these forms online and reports can be generated by domain, cohort, or standard. This will aid the education division in assessing the quality of different parts of the field experience and where program changes may be necessary. (The College) already instituted a common lesson plan and journal reflection template with common rubrics aligned to standards across field experience and practicum courses.

The second initiative was the development of a Bachelor of Nursing program. The proposal forwarded to the Ohio Board of Nursing required assessment planning. The proposal provides the following information:

The Assessment, Evaluation and Quality Improvement Plan of the Nursing Program flows from the theoretical framework of the Nursing Program and is based on systems theory. The Nursing Program represents the system in the Evaluation Plan. Input, throughput and output are essential elements of any system. In relation to the evaluation plan, these elements can be correlated with structure, process and outcomes. Structure includes the composition or arrangement of the elements in a system and represents the input for the system or the nursing program in the evaluation plan.

Throughput represents the methods or procedures that are used by the system or the nursing program to produce the desired outputs. Throughput is associated with process. Process has been identified in the evaluation plan in relation to student/faculty involvement in the governance structure, curriculum and assessment of the program.

Output represents the end product to the system and can be viewed as the outcomes of the system. The primary output of the nursing program is the student who ideally completes the program requirements and graduates, or who does not progress and exits the program.

Several major areas are identified for assessment within the evaluation plan. These areas include several measures of program quality and effectiveness including:

• Mission and governance,

• Institutional commitment and resources,

• Curriculum and teaching-learning practices, and

• Student performance and faculty accomplishments.

The proposals, materials, and the multi-level evaluation plan created for accreditation by the Ohio Board of Regents, the Higher Learning Commission, and the Ohio Board of Nursing are available in the Nursing Department Office.

Assessment of student learning includes a final or capstone experience.

• Each department has a capstone requirement designed to help students integrate program objectives. The students must produce a final product that displays achievement of the program goals. In addition, all students seeking a Bachelor of Arts degree must complete an internship or co-op in their major discipline as a graduation requirement.

The final requirements by division are:

Behavioral Science:
Psychology: Each psychology major completes a practicum.

Business: All business majors require a 1 – 6 credit hour experience of cooperative education.

Education: Student teaching is considered to be the capstone course for education majors. In addition, each student seeking teaching licensure on any level must take Issues in Education (ED 475) during the last semester before graduation.

Humanities:
Art: Studio Art majors compile an art portfolio and present a senior art show. Graphic Art and Graphic Design majors compile a graphic arts portfolio.

Art Education majors compile a portfolio of materials suitable for use in teaching art at the K – 12 levels. In addition, they must successfully pass student teaching.

Communication: All communication majors are required to participate in 1 – 6 credit hours of cooperative education.

English: English majors who are not intending to teach take English Studies (EN 482). Those who are intending to teach use Issues in Education (ED 475) as their capstone course.

History: Each history major must complete a cooperative education project.

Political Science: Political Science majors participate in a senior research seminar and a practicum.

Natural Sciences:
Biology: Students seeking a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology are required to take a seminar to discuss recent journal articles and present topics studied by each student. Those seeking a Bachelor of Arts degree are required to complete up to a six-hour co-op experience.

Chemistry: Chemistry majors are required to take a two semester coordinated seminar to discuss recent journal articles and present topics studied by each student.

Mathematics: All mathematics majors participate in a 1 credit hour seminar during which each student presents a research paper showing mastery of mathematics.

Nursing: Students in the Associate of Science in Health Sciences program complete a capstone nursing course, Transition to the Hospital Role (Nursing 230) that is taken at Huron Hospital.

Theology: Each theology major participates in a cooperative education experience.

• As part of the final assessment of Catholic identity and the Statement of Purpose, students must take Social Justice: Issues and Action (TH 450) at Notre Dame College. The course is designed to awaken students’ social conscience and guide them in applying Catholic social principles to local and global issues.

• At the end of each course, students are asked to evaluate their own learning experiences in the course as well as their perception of the effectiveness of the teaching, the text book and learning experiences of the course. Student evaluations are filed in the Office of Academic Affairs. Final Exams are kept in various departmental files for at least one semester. In some courses, students are asked to write a reflection paper on the course objectives and the Statement of Purpose and their perception of how those were met in that course.

Results obtained through assessment of student learning are available to appropriate constituencies, including students themselves.

• Assignments are returned to students with appropriate comments. Where indicated, instructors schedule appointments with students to discuss progress toward achieving the course goals and objectives. At midsemester, the names of students who are not progressing are reported to the Office of Academic Affairs. Advisors of these students are informed. The advisors then schedule appointments with those students to create a plan for achieving the learning outcomes.

• At the end of each semester, student grades are sent to the Registrar’s Office. Grade report cards are generated and sent to the students and advisors. Student grades are also sent to coaches who monitor student athletes’ study tables.

• Co-operating teachers and diocesan pastoral ministry personnel are provided with student progress reports.

Notre Dame College integrates into its assessment of student learning the data reported for purposes of external accountability.

• Every year the Office of the Registrar apprises the faculty of data regarding graduation, retention, and transfer rates.

• The Education Department regularly receives reports on the pass rates of education students on the Praxis exams.

• The Career Services Center tracks the placement of graduates into their first professional positions.

• The Career Services Center tracks, in so far as possible, the progress of graduates in their careers. This information is usually self-reported by the alumni and is only as complete as self-reporting allows. Information is collected through surveys after graduates have been out of college one, two, five, and 10 years.

Notre Dame College supports professional development designed to facilitate assessment.

In 2005, the College made a commitment to provide professional development in the area of assessment for faculty. The plan was to send up to eight faculty members each summer to the Alverno College Institute conference, Connecting Student Learning Outcomes to Teaching, Assessment, and Curriculum. The belief was that as faculty members attended the conference, they would return and apply key learnings to their assessment practices. And, as the number of faculty members who attended grew, the language, concepts, and practice would become grounded at Notre Dame College over time. During the Summer of 2005, seven faculty members and the Executive Dean attended this conference. It is expected that a faculty team will attend the 2007 conference.

In October, 2006 the seven faculty members who attended the Alverno conference were asked to respond to three questions:

1. Based on the learning from Alverno, what assessment changes did you make in a course/s or a program/s?

2. Based on the changes, what data supports these actions?

3. What changes did you have to make based on the data you collected?

Five faculty members provided responses:

Sr. Helen Burdenski, SND
Business: Based on learning at Alverno Sr. Helen Burdenski has incorporated more self-reflection activities and five debates into the Business Ethics course. The course begins with a video that presents the Enron scandal in the context of a young man just starting out at Enron, his expectations, and the reality that he found in the corporation’s culture. Since the story is told in the first person of the young man and brings in his personal life along with his professional life, the students readily identify with the protagonist and are able to reflect on his actions, the gradual changes in his behavior, and the moral lessons he learned through the entire experience. After experiencing the video, students are given time to reflect on the story and a series of questions to guide their reflection. Since students are deeply touched by this dramatic video, they repeatedly use the story as an example throughout the course. And now that some of the former executives of Enron and WorldCom are being given prison sentences, the students take an active interest in what is happening and are learning through it.

The Alverno program emphasized explicit outcomes and criteria, a stimulus and close-to-life context that would elicit a performance, feedback, provision for self-assessment, and a means of evaluation that would ensure continuing improvement of each assessment experience. The debates that are now a part of the Business Ethics course center around ethical issues, give the students an opportunity to read widely on the assigned topic, reflect on their own values, and then participate in debating the two sides of an issue. The debates usually get increasingly powerful as the course develops, a result of a better grasp of ethical decision making, more skill in debating, higher trust level in the group, and self-reflection on strengths and weaknesses in articulating one’s ideas. The students are assigned to fourperson teams and work in these same teams for all five debates, so they also learn to respect individual differences and play to the strengths of individual team members.

Sharon Kerschner
Business: The management major outcomes were adjusted to more closely match the outcomes of the Business Division. Changes include the recommendation that students complete courses in Professional Communication and Business Ethics. These recommendations meet the Division outcomes of applying effective communications strategies to acquire and disseminate information about key managerial activities, and taking personal responsibility for making ethical decisions by identifying, clarifying, and connecting ethical values to discipline-area issues found in the workplace.

In response to the needs of our student population, Professor Kerschner created an Entrepreneurship minor and altered the course requirements for the major to allow students a choice between taking the Labor Relations course (if student intends to pursue a career in a large corporation/ organization) or Entrepreneurship (if student wants to pursue a career in a small business setting or wants to start their own business). These changes meet the Division outcomes of demonstrating mastery of the management theory and practice and performing professionally in a variety of organizational settings.

Prefessor Kerschner proposed the addition of a new special topics course in Strategic Management. This course will serve the needs of students in both Public Administration and Competitive Analysis and will address the Business Division outcomes to:

• Work collaboratively to gain additional experience in a business team environment,

• Demonstrate mastery of the management theory and practice,

• Analyze various organizations and their activities and apply strategic managerial concepts to real world examples,

• Apply effective communications strategies to acquire and disseminate information about key managerial activities,

• Take personal responsibility for making ethical decisions by identifying, clarifying, and connecting ethical values to discipline-area issues found in the workplace, and

• Understand the functions of management in a global economy as well as the effect of public policy and the relationship between business and the government sector.

The College Catalog was also altered for both the management major and HR major. The College Catalog reflects the same language for program goals as that found in the Management Assessment Chart and the HR Development Major chart. The students see consistent language on course syllabi when indicating course outcomes.

As described above, each of Professor Kerschner’s course syllabi contains the same language found in the College Catalogand majors assessment charts. This allows the student to see the connection between assigned tasks and the course outcomes and how that then relates to the outcomes for the major. Using consistent language should reinforce the importance of these outcomes to the student and allow them to see how the courses fit into the goals for the major.

Management Principles (BU240) has been the course that Professor Kerschner chose to assess based on course activity change. While the change was instituted in the 2005 – 2006, preliminary data has been collected to examine if the change in direction has encouraged learning of each of the four functions of management. In 2004 – 2005 students were assigned a comprehensive project that examined each of the four functions of management as a complete package. Students researched a company to apply the course content on these four functions. While directions were given to the students that each functional area should be completed as we covered that function in the course, approximately 20 percent of the students were missing some functional component in their comprehensive project. Professor Kerschner also spoke with a number of students who indicated that they did not work on individual functional components until the end of the semester. In order for the students to achieve the benefit of applying course concepts to each functional area as we covered them in the class, she altered the assignment from a comprehensive study of an organization to smaller assignments focused on individual functions. There was also a change in textbook which did not the to isolation of this variable for research of its success. However, it appeared that the change from comprehensive assignment to individual assignments did not appear to result in improved test scores on the management functions.

Beginning in Spring Semester, 2005, Professor Kerschner incorporated an additional change. Using the same text, she altered her classroom activities to include many more case studies, application exercises and video application cases. While she continues to collect data on these changes, it appears that there is some correlation between the combination of classroom activities, individual assignments and a higher test score average for each functional area. In Spring Semester the average test score for the tests covering each function increased by an average of approximately 10 points. Professor Kerschner continues to measure this during the current semester and plans to reevaluate during the 2008 – 2009 academic year.

Kathleen Molnar
Education: Professor Molnar was impressed with the fact that students worked at assignments until they met the objectives adequately. In her Education 335 course (Reading in the Content Areas), she has the students create a Thematic Unit which incorporates each objective of the course. The final product is a compilation of parts that together make the Thematic Unit.

Professor Molnar now collects each part of the Unit as the course progresses. She evaluates the part and the student must correct the work so that it is totally correct. The number of times it takes to get each component of the Unit correct is up to the student. The student is given an extra point for each part that is perfectly correct. If it takes more than one try, the student still only earns one point.

Professor Molnar found that she has to limit the amount of time that students are allowed to redo assignments. She also had to make a decision based on how to determine the value of scores earned. Does a student get to redo assignments and improve until he or she reaches an A? Should the students be given all the time needed to achieve competency? Professor Molnar felt that only a small increase in grades should be possible through redoing of an assignment. Therefore, she took part of Alverno and adapted the procedure to best help students meet criteria while not penalizing those students who produced (mastery) work from the beginning. Only one point was added to redone assignments.

Kenneth Palko
Philosophy: Throughout the course, students are asked to write brief paragraphs responding to philosophical problems. The answers to these questions are not presented in the text and require critical and original thinking. Students are encouraged to share their ideas with the class. The students receive credit for completing a reaction paragraph but not a grade. These assignments assess the students’ understanding of theory and vocabulary.

Professor Palko found a wide and alarming difference in the quality of student thinking. A few students exceeded his expectations, but too many were not thinking about the questions. Many students are not active participants in the classroom but are passive note-takers and listeners. These passive students are reluctant to offer their own ideas and thinking.

Given the written evidence, Professor Palko now spends much more time stressing the importance of thinking about and questioning bodies of knowledge across the curriculum, as opposed to merely memorizing information for a test. Given the semester long emphasis on thinking, he is finding that students are more willing to express their own ideas about timeless philosophical questions instead of worrying about the right answers. This builds intellectual courage, an important and defining trait of a scholar.

Karen Groth
Psychology: Students reported abysmal GRE subject test scores which provided evidence that changes needed to be made. There had been a clear lack of focus on general content in the psychology program and very little evidence of attention to APA guidelines for undergraduate program curriculum or to the current direction psychology as a field is taking.

Improvement began by clearly specifying the outcomes associated with Notre Dame College’s Statement of Purpose including:

• Think logically, analytically and creatively,
• Communicate effectively in speech and in writing, and
• Demonstrate mastery of academic discipline.

Based on these outcomes, there is now a clear assessment chart with four levels of outcomes including cognitive, interpretive and analytical, decisionmaking and evaluation, and action and synthesis.

Another issue was poor preparation of students for the research design course and many upper biennium courses due to minimal background in statistics, hypothesis testing, and knowledge or experience with the use of APA style manuscript preparation.

Program changes included developing new courses and defining a sequence in which some courses need to be taken. Statistics (PY 222) is a new course that will be taught within the Psychology Department rather than the Math Department with a focus on presenting descriptive and inferential statistics and the logic behind hypothesis testing within the realm of social science, in particular, psychology. This will be taken Fall Semester of the sophomore year.

Part Three: Towards an Integrated and On-going Assessment that Serves Learning

There is much to be done to integrate all the pieces of assessment in progress at Notre Dame College and to follow through with the rest of the assessment steps. As of Fall, 2006, departments began to focus on one goal. Each instructor determined strategies to assess that goal. Often instructors of sections of the same course will agree on a common strategy. Then division chairs will ensure that all instructors save samples of student work and share the level of success shown by their students.

Notre Dame College continues to seek a systematic way to assess collegelevel skills. The administration is considering one of two possible online standardized instruments that would be administered to 100 freshmen and 100 seniors. One of these is The Collegiate Learning Assessment, which requires the student to incorporate analysis and building of an argument. The other is the Measure of Academic Progress and Performance (MAPP) from ETS and is a multiple-choice format. Currently, the sole strategy for assessing clear writing is using the Writing Rubric and Scoring Guide developed by the Writing Committee during Summer, 2006. The College is attempting to develop consensus about how to help students transfer skills from composition class to application in other classes.

The assessment story has begun. Ideas for continuing the development of assessment are included as considerations to be forwarded to the Institutional Policy and Planning Committee (IPPC).

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