African American Studies Department
2005 Annual Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Report
Prepared by the AAS Assessment Committee:
Jonathan Gayles; Charles E. Jones; Cora Presley and Akinyela Umoja
|
III. Changes to Procedures
or Curriculum Based on Assessment |
|
|
II. Achievement
of Departmental Objectives for Students |
A.
Assessed Outcomes:
The Department’s assessment plan assesses the learning outcomes of undergraduate majors in African American Studies. The Department has identified five sets of learning outcomes that reflect the core set of skills that each African American Studies major should master. The five sets of learning outcomes include:
I.
Analytical Skills
A. Students acquire the skills to collect data.
B.
Students are
able to read, understand and critique both social science and humanities
research on the experience of people of African descent.
C. Students are able to understand
interdisciplinary scholarship.
II.
Critical
Thinking Skills
A. Students formulate research questions and
formulate testable hypotheses.
B. Students are able to analyze and interpret
data.
C. Students demonstrate the ability to assess
data and formulate new interpretations.
III.
Communication
Skills
A. Students develop effective written
communication skills.
B. Students develop effective oral
communication skills.
C.
Students
demonstrate the appropriate writing conventions and formats.
IV.
Acquisition
of Knowledge
A.
Students
articulate key concepts and theories of African American Studies.
B.
Students
demonstrate an understanding of global linkages between African Americans and
people of African descent throughout the world.
C.
Students
demonstrate an ability to understand interdisciplinary scholarship.
D.
Students can
apply data to understand the impact of societal, economic and political factors
on the life chances of people of African descent.
V.
Civic
Participation
A.
Students apply
knowledge on behalf of the broader community in general and the black community
in particular.
B.
Students
develop an ethos of volunteerism and civic engagement.
B. Embedded Courses:
The Department employed a course-embedded assessment
procedure to assess the extent to which its majors mastered the aforementioned
learning outcomes. The Department also
incorporated its awards structure as a component of its assessment procedures.
Two courses (AAS 3120 African Diaspora and AAS 4980
Senior Seminar) of the six upper-division core classes, mandatory for all
African American Studies’ majors, were selected for the course embedded
assessment procedure. AAS 3120 African
Diaspora was used to assess the students’ III. Communication skills (B) and IV.
Acquisition of Knowledge (B). The AAS
4890 Senior Seminar was used to assess the students’ I. Analytical Skills (A, B,
and C); II. Critical Thinking (A, B, and C); III Communication Skills (A and
C); and IV. Acquisition of Knowledge (A, B, C and D). (See Table 1). AAS 4890 is the department’s senior capstone
class, which is the second course of a two-course sequence in which all majors
produce an undergraduate thesis.
C. Methods of Assessment:
Student oral presentations, which are required in AAS
3120, were employed to assess the development of effective oral communication
skills (II. Communication Skills, B).
Student oral presentations were evaluated on an appropriate academic
style in presentation; thesis articulation, use of supporting evidence and
ability to respond to questions on the topic.
The members of the assessment committee utilized the students’ grade
earned on the oral presentation to assess the oral communication skill. The instructor’s assigned letter grade (A,
B, C, D, F) was converted to a five item scale in which 5=excellent (A); 4=
very good (B+); 3=good (B); 2=fair (C) and 1=poor (D or F).
The final research papers in AAS 4980 were examined by
members of the assessment committee to assess the mastery of I. Analytical
Skills (A, B and C); II. Critical Thinking (A, B, and C); III. Communication
Skills (A and C); and the IV. Acquisition of Knowledge (A, B, C and D). Thirteen students were enrolled in AAS 4980
during the 2005 spring semester.
Members of the assessment committee read all but one (N=12) of the final
research papers and evaluated each dimension of the relevant learning outcomes
on the basis of a five item scale: 5=excellent (A); 4= very good (B+); 3=good
(B); 2=fair (C) and 1=poor (D or F).
Finally, in the case of the fifth learning outcome V.
Civic Participation (A and B), the department’s awards procedures were utilized
to assess the civic participation learning outcome. The department gives an annual Kwame Ture Award for outstanding
community service and a John Henrik Clarke Award for outstanding contributions
to the discipline of African-American Studies.
This assessment is drawn from the nominations and competition for the
two aforementioned service awards.
Table
1
Matrix
for Undergraduate Embedded Course
Assessment
in African American Studies
|
|
AAS
3120 |
AAS
4980 |
|
Analytical Skills |
|
|
|
A. Students acquire the skills to collect
data. |
|
x |
|
|
|
|
|
x |
|
Critical Thinking |
|
|
|
|
x |
|
|
x |
|
|
x |
|
Communication Skills |
|
|
|
|
x |
|
x |
|
|
|
x |
|
Acquisition of Knowledge |
|
|
|
|
x |
|
x |
|
|
|
x |
|
|
x |
|
Civic Participation |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
II. Achievement of
Departmental Learning Outcomes.
Data gleaned from AAS 3120 indicated that the students’ oral communications skills are very good. The average for the class (N=28) was 4.18. Only 2 of the 28 students performed at the C level or below.
Data drawn from final research papers of the AAS 4980 Senior Seminar class indicated that African American Studies majors performed well on the learning outcomes. Committee members’ evaluation of the learning outcomes found that the students’ performance ranged from good to very good on each dimension of the relevant learning outcomes. (See Table 2). The findings indicate that students demonstrated very good analytical skills (A=4.0; B=4.5 and C=4.5) and the research papers also reflected that the students were also very good in their acquisition of knowledge (A=4.25; B=4.58 and C=4.16). While the assessment scores on critical thinking (A=3.41; B=3.58; C=3.25) and communication skills (A=3.75 and C=3.58) were somewhat lower, the results nonetheless indicated that the students performed at a satisfactory level (See Table 2). In short, an evaluation of the final research papers in the AAS 4980 senior seminar discerned that students’ mastery of the various learning outcomes ranged from good to very good on each dimension of the relevant learning outcomes.
Table 2
AAS 4980 Assessment Results
(Final Research Paper)
|
|
AAS
4980 |
|
Analytical Skills |
|
|
4 |
|
4 |
|
4.5 |
|
Critical Thinking |
|
|
3.41 |
|
3.58 |
|
3.25 |
|
Communication Skills |
|
|
3.75 |
|
|
|
3.58 |
|
Acquisition of Knowledge |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4.58 |
|
4.16 |
|
Civic Participation |
|
|
|
|
|
Ratings: 5= Excellent
4= Very good
3= Good
2= Fair
1= Poor
The keen competition among AAS undergraduates for the Department’s two service awards is but one indication of our majors’ commitment to civic participation. Several students were nominated for each award. Moreover, members of the Sankofa Society, the department’s student organization, sponsored a host of community service programs during the 2004-2005 academic year. Finally, a number of AAS majors volunteer with community organizations, including Aid to Children of Imprisoned Mothers, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, and local elementary and high schools.
III. Changes to Procedures or
Curriculum Based on Assessment.
The committee recommends that AAS 4980 obtain a Writing-Across-the- Curriculum designation. The committee also recommends one of the two theory courses (AAS 3975 or AAS 4120) be included in the assessment procedure. Finally, the committee recommends that the department develop a systematic procedure for ascertaining the full extent of student volunteerism.
IV. Changes in the Department’s Assessment Goals.
The committee did not recommend any changes to its learning outcomes.