Evaluating Student Learning
Weinberg College departments and programs proposing new majors or minors, or changes to existing majors or minors, must present learning goals for their students and a plan for assessing the degree to which each goal is met. A key part of this process is identifying ways to find out what your students have learned—what they know, what they think, what they can do. Assessment plans will generally include two types of approaches:- Direct measures allow students to directly demonstrate knowledge, capabilities, and ways of thinking related to the learning goals.
- Indirect measures get at this information in other ways. For example, you can gain insights on what students may now know and be able to do by asking them to reflect on their experiences. Surveys of alumni are another approach. Or, you can look at the content of your courses, and the patterns of courses your students take, noting connections with the learning goals. Faculty members, research mentors, and employers can provide helpful observations as well.
Some types of direct measures
- Performance on selected exam questions in foundational courses
- Scoring of a sample of student papers using rubrics linked to learning goals
- Comparisons of responses to exam questions given earlier and later in a quarter, or characteristics of papers written in lower-level and advanced courses
- Analysis of characteristics of senior theses
- Analysis of electronic discussion threads or of in-class presentations or discussions
Examples from recent proposals
- Students in our introductory and methods courses will have multiple opportunities to demonstrate critical thinking both orally and in writing, and will be assessed using criteria and rubrics discussed by the program faculty and tied to learning goals.
- During the penultimate quarter of their senior year, students submit one of the papers they have written for one of their 300-level seminars. The paper must be at least 10 pages with proper scholarly annotations and bibliography. The paper is reviewed and evaluated by the undergraduate committee, in part to assess achievement of the department’s learning goals.
Some types of indirect measures
- Interviews of students completing Graduation Petitions
- Responses to CTEC questions
- Surveys of recent graduates
- Counts of students involved in faculty research or choosing particular types of courses
- Surveys of faculty regarding student preparation for advanced classes or surveys of employers regarding knowledge, skills, and attitudes your graduates bring to the workplace
- A curriculum map showing how the content and the learning objectives for individual courses, or for sets of courses fulfilling the same requirement, fit with your general learning goals (see box below)
Examples from recent proposals
- Each year, the Director and DUS schedule a meeting with the Undergraduate Board to solicit their feedback on courses and curriculum, as well as the informal learning opportunities afforded by the program.
- We will inspect a sample of transcripts for our graduating students, noting enrollments in 300-level laboratory courses and in 399-Independent Research, to assess student involvement in investigative activities.
More information
Many colleges and universities provide information on strategies for assessing majors and minors. Some examples:
- Georgetown University
- Knox College (includes a link to their comprehensive assessment guide)
- University of Massachusetts (a comprehensive 62-page booklet)
- Vanderbilt
- University of Wisconsin