Educational Psychology and Special Education
Annual Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Report
Educational Psychology
Education
of Exceptional Students
Unit Name: Educational Psychology
Degree Programs: MS; Ph.D.
Prepared by: Dennis Thompson, Area Coordinator, Date: July 29, 2005
Academic Year: August 2004—August 2005
Number of graduates from each degree program this acad= emic year
MS: 7 Ph.D.: 4
I. Assessment Procedures
Please refer to, “Learning Outcomes Assessment P= lan, Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education,” March 5, 2004.
II. Achieveme=
nt of
Departmental Objectives for Students
A. Undergraduate
Educational Psychology does not currently have an undergraduate program
B. Gradu= ate
EPY Masters Program
Learning Outc= ome 1: Develop expertise with major conce= pts, theoretical perspectives, and empirical findings in the field of Educational Psychology.
Each MS student in the Educational Psychology program = must complete a comprehensive exam before finishing the program. The comprehensive exam is made up = of two parts. The first part consist= s of writing either a thesis or a project. For the thesis, students conduct their own research, and for the pro= ject students write an in-depth analysis of an area within the field. The written component of the comprehensive exam is followed by an oral defense of the thesis or project conducted by the student’s committee.
During the past academic year, seven students successf= ully completed both the written and oral defense component of the comprehensive exam.
In addition to the written and oral comprehensive exam,
students are evaluated in terms of their coursework performance. The
Learning Outc= ome 2: Understand and apply research methods including research design, data analy= sis, and interpretation
In addition to completion of the written and oral comprehensive exams, all students in the MS program are required to complete coursework related to research design and statistics. This coursework is agreed up= on by the student and two faculty members and becomes a part of the student’= ;s planned program. All students= are carefully monitored in terms of progress of their planned program and must complete coursework on research methods and design before undertaking the thesis or project.
Before beginning the thesis or project, students must prepare a written proposal and defend their proposal before a committee of = at least three members.
In addition, four MS students were hired as GRA’s by the EPSE department during the 2004-20= 05 academic year.
Two MS students presented papers at professional conve= ntions during the 2004-2005 academic year.
Learning Outc= ome 3: Develop Competence in College teac= hing.
This outcome applies to Ph.D. students only.
Learning Outc= ome 4: Communicate and work in groups effectively
Learning Outc= ome 5: Acquire skills in accessing and disseminating information with the use of computer technology.
These learning outcomes are currently undergoing revis= ion by the EPY faculty. We will disc= uss these and suggest changes in our next report.
Learning Outc= ome 6: Weigh evidence, tolerate ambiguity= , act ethically, and reflect other values underpinning educational psychology.
Currently this learning outcome is primarily assessed = at the doctoral level. However, all = EPY MS students must successfully complete at least one course in Social Foundatio= ns of Education. Learning outcom= e 6 is also assessed in combination with other learning outcomes as a part of completion of the written and oral comprehensive exam. As mentioned above, seven students= in the program completed the MS program during the 2004-2005 academic year.
Learning Outc= ome 7: Emerge from graduate school with credentials and plans for career path
These values are assessed in combination with other le= arning outcomes as a part of completion of the written and oral comprehensive exam. It is anticipated that = more specific data on this outcome variable will become available as part of an anticipated annual evaluation of EPY MS Students.
Evaluation of
Doctoral Students in Educational Psychology
Learning Outc= ome 1: Develop expertise with major conce= pts, theoretical perspectives, and empirical findings in the field of Educational Psychology.
In addition to performance in coursework, this learning outcome is assessed in two ways. The first is in terms of the comprehensive examination for the Ph.D. During the 2004-2005 ac= ademic year five students attempted the comprehensive exam in the EPY program and = four passed.
This learning outcome is also assessed in terms of the annual evaluation of Ph.D. students. The annual evaluation of Ph.D. students occurred in April, 2005. This review includes all stu= dents who have not completed the comprehensive examination. The evaluation of each student inc= ludes a review of academic progress, residency progress, professional growth, and professionalism. The review committee rates student progress as satisfactory or unsatisfactory. During the 2004-2005 academic year= , two students were rated as unsatisfactory.&nbs= p; In both of these cases, the students were informed in writing about areas in which they were not meeting goals of the program, and a remediation plan was developed with the student’s advisor.
Learning Outc= ome 2: Understand and apply research methods including research design, data analy= sis, and interpretation
One way that the EPY faculty assessed Outcome 2 during= the 2004-2005 academic year was through completion of a successful dissertation. During this yea= r four students in the program successfully prepared and defended a dissertation.<= /p>
As a part of the residency requirement for the Ph.D., = the Educational Psychology program requires and encourages students to be activ= e in research and professional communication.&n= bsp; During the 2004-2005 academic year, eight of our students either published a manuscript or had one in press. In addition, eleven students autho= red papers that were presented at professional conferences and meetings.
During the 2005-2006 academic year, eight EPY students= were hired as GRA’s in the EPSE department.
In addition two EPY students were awarded the new Doct= oral Assistanceship in the EPSE Department. One student was awarded the Urban Graduate Research Collaborative.
Learning Outc= ome 3: Develop competence in college teac= hing.
Competence in college teaching is evaluated in several ways. One required activity o= f the EPY Ph.D. program is the completion of a teaching residency. To complete the teaching residency, students are required to successfully complete EPY 9000: Facilitating Colle= ge Teaching, and also to formally assist in the teaching of a course. Assisting in a course includes att= ending class sessions, teaching a specified unit of the class under supervision of= the instructor, assessing students on the material taught during that unit, and providing feedback to the class regarding their performance.
During the 2004-2005 academic year, six students compl= eted the teaching residency successfully.
A second =
way that
teaching is evaluated is through the student evaluation conducted on line at
the end of each course as required by the
Learning Outc= ome 4: Communicate and work in groups effectively
Learning Outc= ome 5: Acquire skills in accessing and disseminating information with the use of computer technology.
These learning outcomes are currently undergoing revis= ion by the EPY faculty. We will disc= uss these and suggest changes in our next report.
Learning Outc= ome 6: Weigh evidence, tolerate ambiguity= , act ethically, and reflect other values underpinning educational psychology.
One way in which this learning objective is met is thr= ough attendance in EPY 8961: Professional Development Seminar in Educational Psychology. All EPY doctoral students are required to enroll EPY 8961 every year until they complete the= ir comprehensive exams. As a par= t of this seminar, students discuss current issues and topics in educational psychology. One of the activi= ties included in the seminar this year was conducted by Dr. Ann Kruger of the GSU IRB, who presented on current ethical standards for conducting research.
All students who enrolled in EPY 8961 completed the requirements successfully.
Learning Outc= ome 7: Emerge from graduate school with credentials and plans for career path
These values are assessed in combination with other le= arning outcomes. This includes the annual evaluation, completion of the comprehens= ive examination, performance in EPY 8961, presentations at conferences, publications, and evalu= ation of teaching. These outcomes a= re discussed under Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, and 6 above.
III. Changes = to Procedures and
IV. Changes to
Assessment Goals
We will begin an annual evaluation of EPY MS students = during the next academic year.
Learning Outcomes 4 and 5 are currently undergoing rev= ision by the EPY faculty
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