Course Assessment Action Form
To be completed for the respective semester each time a course is offered
Date Submitted: 5/19/10
Name: Kathleen Ruiz Phone: 845-657-5711 Email Address: WH 314c
Course #______Course Title Experimental Game Design Department____ARTS______
Learning OutcomesCompleted before start of semester. Measurable student knowledge, behavior, actions, abilities, demonstrating that learning takes place (these are sentences with “student” as a subject and the measurable outcome/action as a verb) / Assessment measures
Completed before start of semester. What course assessment was designed to collect data as evidence for student learning outcomes (the assessment must map onto the learning outcomes) / Additional data
Completed in the course of semester as self feedback. Results of student course evaluation, peer review, class observations, any memos and notes in what concerns course flow, teaching, curriculum, new ideas to implement for the future in the course, etc. / Evaluation
Completed at the end of the semester. Analysis and self reflection based on assessment and additional data concerning how the teaching and learning process in the course met the learning outcomes
(goals vs. results) / Outcome changes
Completed at the end of the semester. Actions need to be taken following assessment results and the evaluation in order to improve the course curriculum, the learning outcomes, and student learning experience
Will be implemented next time the course is offered
Course Objectives/Outcomes:
1. Upon successful completion of the course, students will demonstrate the ability to work together in trans-disciplinary teams to conceptualize, design, produce and express ideas through game or virtual environments projects.
2. Students will develop one or more of the following skills: design, art making, game programming, or engineering strategies which merge concept, process and form - encouraging approaches that are at once inquisitive, analytical, creative, experimental and articulate.
3. Upon successful completion of the course students will be able to create an archeological, socio-cultural and ethical overview of their own history of game and toy preferences.
3. Upon successful completion of the course students will have the ability to explore new approaches to the concept of “game” & “play” and start to define alternate paradigms within this emerging expressive form as demonstrated in the FPS Paradigm Shift Prototype Game short study project.
4. Students will examine the work of several artists, theoreticians, and institutions who engage in game creation.
5. Upon successful completion of the course students will have experience in creating a detailed game design document, summation overview, and poster.
7. In addition, students will have the ability to successfully articulate informed ideas relating to the representation of gender, race, and behavior in games and simulations as demonstrated in class discussions and critiques and in short written reaction papers to relevant readings and events. / Final game projects, detailed game design documents,
fps design challenge prototypes,
(first with one person teams then multi-person teams),
reading reaction papers, event reaction papers,
final project exhibitions & presentations at GameFest. / There are always new ideas, applications, and projects in this field and there is a constant update to the course.
The implementation of the one person team short study followed by the multi-person team approach was very helpful and revealed the talents needed to develop a workable prototype and illustrated the need for team development for certain advanced projects. / The results were beyond the goals as the class won 1st, 2nd and 4th prizes in the Vicarious Visions sponsored cash award ceremonies.
consider for implementation. / I asked additional questions in the student evaluation forms and I have not received the feedback at this juncture, but they are inquires about facility improvements, software sdks, api’s and hardware which we would like to possibly consider for implementation for next semester.
How to use the Course Assessment Action Form
First construct your syllabus, deciding all the details of the course.
List in your syllabus the Learning Outcomes.
Now the only thing what you have to think is to make sure that all you state in the learning outcomes section is covered by the assessment you use in class (participation, postings, presentations, etc.) and vice versa; that there is nothing in the assessment you use not covered by the learning outcomes. You don't want to miss anything you do. So, in short, learning outcomes and the results of the assessment used in the course must match. In fact what you do is to make sure that the skills students will demonstrate by successfully completing the course, which are listed in the section of Learning Outcomes in your syllabus, are the same skills that you measure (and give grades based upon the proficiency that those skills are performed by the students when they complete the assessment (participation, discussions, quizzes, homework, tests, projects, etc.).
To document how the learning outcomes match the assessment and to document any semester flow ideas, memos, ideas for change you will use a course assessment action form. Each time you offer a course use the course assessment action form.
This is very easy to use.
As you see the first two columns are the Learning outcomes and the Assessment (copy/paste from syllabus).
Then the Additional data column is like a note pad for you, like a memo place where across the semester you can write all the little notes and memos you usually make in your mind or on sticky notes or written on a sheet of paper. Please write there all ideas and notes you might have, or note from the student course evaluation forms if you want to keep anything in mind. Results of student course evaluation, peer review, class observations, memos and notes in what concerns course flow, teaching, curriculum, new ideas to implement for the future in the course, etc.
The Evaluation column is for you to think at the end of the semester, how did the course go. Did the learning outcomes and assessment pair, do you have any ideas you would like to implement in the future semester when the course is offered, or any possible changes you would like to bring (change of a text book, change of an assignment, introducing a new topic, deleting a topic, merging two assignments, etc)? Analysis and self reflection based on assessment and additional data concerning how the teaching and learning process in the course met the learning outcomes (goals vs. results).
If you plan and decide that some changes will take place in the course next time the course is offered then write those changes in the last column Outcome changes. If no changes are needed then just write "no changes" in the last column.
Next time you offer the course, look back at the course evaluation template at the very last column Outcome Changes, see what changes you were planning to make. Then implement those changes and see what/how the learning outcomes and the Assessment columns are affected (in case no changes were made then the first columns Learning outcomes and Assessment should stay the same).
Repeat the entire process for the semester in course (and repeat it each semester, as many time as a course is offered).
This template will be your helper across many semesters and will document how the course has changed or stayed consistent across the time. You can use it as documentation for P & T dossier, and if you write a short essay about how the course has changed and improved across time under your teaching this will be a very nice piece for your teaching portfolio.