Annual Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Report
Unit Name: Department of
History, Undergraduate Level
Prepared by: Wendy Venet and
Undergraduate Studies Committee
Academic Year: 2004-2005
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III. Changes to
Procedures or Curriculum Based on Assessment |
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Charged with the task of assessing our major, the
Undergraduate Studies Committee, consisting of Professors Glen Eskew, Krystyn
Moon, Jared Poley, Doug Reynolds, Christine Skwiot, and Wendy Venet (committee
chair), examined twelve research essays, selected randomly, from three sections
of History 4990, the department’s senior seminar. These papers came from courses taught in the fall of 2004 (two
sections) and the spring of 2005 (one section). The committee reached its conclusions and drafted a report in
April, presenting findings to the last full meeting of the department on May 6,
2005. The department approved the
report.
The outcomes assessed were those adopted by the
department in January 2003: Professional Skills; Historiography;
Interdisciplinary Awareness; Comparative/Global/Transnational Perspective; and
Professional Values.
II. Achievement of Departmental Objectives for
Students
Our report finds that graduating seniors in the
Department of History are meeting the History Standards adopted by the department
in January 2003. By and large, our
students succeeded in selecting a topic of importance, constructing a thesis
statement, and using a variety of types of evidence to make an argument. They demonstrated analytical skills in their
writing. The Undergraduate catalog
describes History 4990's goal as “composition of a coherent research paper with
depth.” The majority of papers in our
pool met this goal.
Upper division History Standards involve, first,
“Professional Skills,” defined as using library resources and evaluating the
relative merits of evidence. Additional
skills concern the ability to write clearly and creatively and to document
sources appropriately. The committee
applauds our seniors for their success in meeting this standard. We were impressed with the range of sources
students incorporated into their papers, including traditional ones such as
books, scholarly articles, microfilmed newspapers, and published primary
sources, but also their ability to search out a variety of secondary and
primary material on the Internet. An
increasing number of our students are learning how to conduct and incorporate
oral history interviews. We found that
some students succeeded better than others in contextualizing their sources and
documenting them correctly.
The second standard, “Historiography,” concerns students
demonstrating the knowledge of differing interpretations of historical
data. Again, our students revealed
their ability to understand and appreciate the varying viewpoints of many scholars. The next two standards, “Interdisciplinary
Awareness” and “Comparative/Global/Transnational Perspective” are areas
currently being addressed with plans to offer a new topic in 4990 in the coming
year. This fall, a section on the
History of Work will offer students an opportunity to examine this subject
within the broad context of the Americas.
Lastly, “Professional Values” emphasizes “fidelity to evidence,
tolerance of alternative approaches to obtaining, interpreting, and applying
historical knowledge, and an appreciation and articulation of the indebtedness
historians have to the work of others.”
Our students met this standard as well.
III. Changes to Procedures or
Curriculum Based on Assessment
In addition to offering a new section on the History of
Work, the department plans in the future to include a section of 4990 devoted
to viewing the Cold War in a transnational perspective. This will further implement the departmental
standard concerning Comparative/Global/Transnational Perspective. When presenting its report to the
department, the Undergraduate Studies Committee initiated a discussion on the
need to work with majors in emphasizing good writing skills, including teaching
them to evaluate evidence in terms of its limits and biases, documenting
sources in line with the highest standards of professional historians. In the fall of 2005 the Undergraduate
Studies Committee plans a major reconsideration of the undergraduate curriculum
with an eye towards considering ways to help
students improve their writing skills.
IV. Changes in Department’s Assessment Goals
No changes are planned at this time.