Department: Applied Linguistics & ESL / Contact person: Kris Acheson-Clair / Cycle/year: 2014-2015
Program: Undergraduate TEFL Certificate / Email address: / Submission date: 10/23/2015
Program Mission and Student Learning Goals
Mission/Purpose
The Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language prepares students for a career as a classroom language teacher, especially of adult language learners, and emphasizing settings outside of the United States. The curriculum of the certificate program incorporates both theory and practice, providing students with not only theoretical knowledge of linguistics and teaching approaches, but also applied skills related to linguistic analysis and classroom management.
Goals
G 1: Linguistic Expertise
Students who complete the Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language will be well-grounded in knowledge about linguistic theory and the performance of linguistic analyses.
G 2: Mastery of Pedagogy
Students who complete the Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language will be knowledgeable about a range of methodologies for teaching language, and skilled in implementing language pedagogy suited to a variety of contexts.
Student Learning Outcomes/Objectives (SLOs)
*O 1: Core areas of linguistics (tied to Goal 1)
Students demonstrate understanding of the core areas within linguistic study: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics.
*O 2: Analysis of linguistic structure (tied to Goal 1)
Students acquire the skills to analyze language and/or interlanguage structures(e.g., sound structure, word structure, sentence structure, and discourse structure).
*O 3: Knowledge of Teaching Approaches and Methods (tied to Goal 2)
Students demonstrate understanding of a variety of historical and contemporary teaching approaches, their associated methods, and the contexts in which they might prove effective.
* O 4: Articulation of English Grammar to Non-Native Speakers (tied to Goals 1 and 2)
Students acquire the skills to explain rules for and provide examples of grammatical structures to English language learners.
* O 5: Classroom Management Skills (tied to Goal 2)
Students develop effective language pedagogical practices and classroom management skills, including the abilities to choose appropriate methods for different contexts, to design successful lessons for various language skills (e.g. listening, speaking, reading, writing), to differentiate curriculum in a heterogeneous classroom, and to give instructions clearly.
Program Learning Opportunities (optional in 2014-2015)
Assessment Methods and Targets
M 1: Final examinations in foundational course, AL 3021 Introduction to Linguistics (for Objective 1)
The final examination in AL 3021 is comprehensive and assesses student understanding of core areas of linguistics through analyzing language data and answering open-ended or selected response questions.
Source of Evidence: Academic direct measure of learning - other
Achievement Target:
80% of students will exhibit mastery of the core areas of linguistic study by achieving a passing score of at least 70% on the final exam in AL 3021.
M 2: Language analysis papers in required course, AL 3041 Second Language Acquisition (for Objective 2)
In AL 3041 Second Language Acquisition, students write papers critically examining the characteristics of written or oral language samples produced by non-native speakers (i.e., interlanguage). The number of students successfully completing interlanguage analysis papers will be tabulated.
Source of Evidence: Written assignment(s), usually scored by a rubric
Achievement Target:
80% of students will demonstrate competence in linguistic analysis by scoring at least 70% on interlanguage papers in AL 3041.
M 3: Midterm or final examination in required course, AL 3051 TEFL I: Methods and Approaches (for Objective 3)
The cumulative examination given as the midterm or final in AL 3051 assesses student knowledge of a range of teaching approaches, as well as requires students to apply this knowledge to lesson-planning and decision-making in a variety of social and cultural settings.
Source of Evidence: Academic direct measure of learning – other
Achievement Target:
80% of students will exhibit mastery of the culturally sensitive application of language pedagogy by achieving a passing score of at least 70% on the midterm or final exam in AL 3051.
M 4: Final examination in required course, AL 3101 English Grammar in Use (for Objective 4)
The final examination in AL 3101 assesses student understanding of the descriptive rules of English grammar, and requires students to analyze, explain, and provide examples of grammatical structures.
Source of Evidence: Academic direct measure of learning - other
Achievement Target:
80% of students will exhibit mastery of English grammar and associated pedagogy by achieving a passing score of at least 70% on the final exam in AL 3101.
M 5: Final portfolio in AL 4161 TEFL II: Practicum and Classroom Practices (for Objective 5)
In the final course in the TEFL series, AL 4161 Practicum, students compile portfolios that document their perspectives (with a teaching philosophy and course reflection) and their pedagogical skills (with sample lesson plans tailored for particular cultural settings and analyses of their own teaching). The number of students successfully completing course portfolios will be tabulated.
Source of Evidence: Written assignment(s), usually scored by a rubric
Achievement Target:
80% of students will demonstrate skill mastery in language pedagogy by scoring at least 70% on final portfolios in AL 4161.
Assessment Findings
M 1: Final examinations in foundational course, AL 3021 Introduction to Linguistics (for Objective 1)
In five offerings of the course AL 3021 during three terms, 89 out of 97 students, or 91.75%, exhibited mastery of the core areas of linguistic study by achieving a passing score of at least 70% on the final exam. The target of 80% on this measure was MET.
M 2: Language analysis papers in required course, AL 3041 Second Language Acquisition (for Objective 2)
In two offerings of the course AL 3041 during two terms, 60 out of 64 students, or 93.75%, demonstrated competence in linguistic analysis by scoring at least 70% on interlanguage papers. The target of 80% on this measure was MET.
M 3: Midterm or final examination in required course, AL 3051 TEFL I: Methods and Approaches (for Objective 3)
In two offerings of the course AL 3051 during two terms, 59 out of 65, or 90.77%, exhibited mastery of the culturally sensitive application of language pedagogy by achieving a passing score of at least 70% on the midterm exam. The target of 80% on this measure was MET.
M 4: Final examination in required course, AL 3101 English Grammar in Use (for Objective 4)
In two offerings of the course AL 3101 during two terms, 54 out of 62, or 87.1%, exhibited mastery of English grammar and associated pedagogy by achieving a passing score of at least 70% on the final exam. The target of 80% on this measure was MET.
M 5: Final portfolio in AL 4161 TEFL II: Practicum and Classroom Practices (for Objective 5)
In three offerings of the course AL 4161 during two terms, 46 out of 52, or 88.46%, demonstrated skill mastery in language pedagogy by scoring at least 70% on final portfolios. The target of 80% on this measure was MET.
Analysis of Assessment Findings
Targets were met for all measures associated with all five student learning outcomes for the TEFL Certificate program. This is our first year of assessment for this program. Although our department has offered a TEFL Certificate for a number of years, we recently moved administration and documentation of the program from the department to the college level so that our students would benefit from more official status. These benefits include receiving a certificate from the registrar, as they do their diploma, and seeing the certificate in their academic evaluations and transcripts for advising and employer verification purposes.
Targets were initially set for program measures based on existing targets for our BA program in Applied Linguistics (with which it shares two objectives and measures). Those current BA targets were at the outset established based on common-sense reasoning that four of five students should be reaching skill mastery in our courses, and should be able to demonstrate that mastery at a level of 70% or higher on direct measures. We modeled our TEFL Certificate assessment program after the existing BA program because over the past five years of assessment it seems to have provided us with reasonable, challenging yet reachable targets. The fact that all our targets were met in the first assessment cycle is encouraging, but also makes us question whether the targets are set a bit too low. This may be especially true for the target for M1 (O1), the final exam in AL 3021. A new prerequisite for that course has recently been added to our BA program in order to better scaffold difficult concepts and skills for students. It may be that the addition of this prerequisite class that builds important background knowledge before they enter AL 3021 may mean that our students are now achieving beyond our previous expectations in that course.
One item of concern in the analysis is that for some courses, there appears to be a fairly wide distribution of scores across different sections of the same course taught by different instructors. For example, measures taken in five sections of AL 3021 ranged from 72% of students achieving 70% or greater on the final to 100% of students doing so. These findings of course raise the issue of equitable instruction across sections; since PhD students often teach this course, and it is often the first undergraduate Applied Linguistics course that they teach, we are concerned that some GTAs are more prepared or supported than others when assigned to teach AL 3021, or that section consistency is not being monitored carefully enough by the faculty. See the measure data by section in the supporting documents below for additional details.
Sharing and Discussion of Assessment Findings
Findings for all TEFL Certificate Outcomes, Measures and Targets were shared by the Director of Undergraduate Studies with the full faculty in a meeting on October 7, 2015. Implications of the findings were discussed, as well as potential action plans that would address potential program issues revealed by the findings.
Use of Assessment Findings for Program Improvement (Action Plan)
Our findings in this first cycle of assessment for the TEFL Certificate suggest two action plans for program improvement, detailed below:
- Curriculum Revision of AL 2021 and AL 3021 – This plan addresses the findings of unexpectedly high scores on some of our measures, especially for M1 (O1). Our undergraduate curriculum committee of faculty, joined by faculty and PhD students who often teach AL 2021 and AL 3021, will meet this year and revisit the relationship between the two courses. The goals of this plan are to reduce overlap between the two, ensure that the lower level and upper level courses are both teaching concepts at the appropriate level of detail and difficulty, and better align the textbooks used for each. As part of this curriculum revision plan, the exemption exam for AL 2021 and the final exam for AL 3021 will both be examined for alignment with curricular changes.
- Across Section Comparison of AL 3021 – In order to address the findings of score disparity across sections of the same course taught by different instructors (many of them PhD students), we also plan to more closely monitor section equity. The course objectives, textbook, and measure (final exam) are designated by the course coordinator for AL 3021, who is also often the faculty member observing and providing feedback to GTAs teaching that course. The undergraduate curriculum committee of faculty and director of undergraduate studies will work with the course coordinator to provide further direction, support, and monitoring of the instruction in this course. Across section comparisons of measure data from this course will be closely examined in future cycles of assessment to determine what further steps may need to be taken to accomplish the goal of this action plan, which is to reduce the distribution of scores across sections of AL 3021.
Supporting Documents
Objective / Course / Data Needed / Semester / Sections / Instructors' name / Measure / Data collected / MET?
BA O1 & TEFL O1 / AL 3021 / Final exam scores / Fall 2014 / AL 3021 (2) / Ute Römer / BA M1 & TEFL M1 / 100% (22 out of 22) / BA M1 & TEFL M1: 91.75% (89/97) MET
Kris Kyle / 92.86% (13 out of 14)
Spring 2015 / AL 3021 (2) / Paco Barron / 100% (25 out of 25)
Yeon Joo Jung / 72% (18 out of 25)
Summer 2015 / AL 3021 (1) / Kris Kyle / 100% (11 out of 11)
BA O 2 / AL 3031
AL 4151 AL 4241 / Final paper rubric score distribution / Fall 2014 / AL 3031 (1) / Eric Friginal / BA M2 / 87.5% (21 out of 24) & 79.17% (19 out of 24) / BA M2: 82.3% (93/113) & 80.53% (91/113) MET BA M6: 81.42% (92/113) & 85.84% (97/113) MET BA M7: 89.38% (101/113) MET
AL 4151 (1) / Sarah Kegley / 68.18% (15 out of 22) & 77.27% (17 out of 22)
AL 4241 (0)
BA O 4 / AL 3031
AL 4151 AL 4241 / AL 3031 (1) / Eric Friginal / BA M6 / 79.17% (19 out of 24) & 83.33% (20 out of 24)
AL 4151 (1) / Sarah Kegley / 81.81% (18 out of 22) & 81.81% (18 out of 22)
AL 4241 (0)
BA O 5 / AL 3031
AL 4151 AL 4241 / AL 3031 (1) / Eric Friginal / BA M7 / 87.5% (21 out of 24)
AL 4151 (1) / Sarah Kegley / 86.36% (19 out of 22)
AL 4241 (0)
BA O 2 / AL 3031
AL 4151 AL 4241 / Final paper rubric score distribution / Spring 2015 / AL 3031 (1) / Eric Friginal / BA M2 / 79.17% (19 out of 24) & 70.83% (17 out of 24)
AL 4151 (1) / Sarah Kegley / 70% (7 out of 10) & 70% (7 out of 10)
AL 4241 (1) / Nicole Marie Pettitt / 86.67% (13 out of 15) & 86.67% (13 out of 15)
BA O 4 / AL 3031
AL 4151 AL 4241 / Final paper rubric score distribution / Spring 2015 / AL 3031 (1) / Eric Friginal / BA M6 / 66.67% (16 out of 24) & 79.17% (19 out of 24)
Objective / Course / Data Needed / Semester / Sections / Instructors' name / Measure / Data collected / MET?
AL 4151 (1) / Sarah Nkkati Kegley / 70% (7 out of 10) & 80% (8 out of 10)
AL 4241 (1) / Nicole Marie Pettitt / 93.33% (14 out of 15) & 93.33% (14 out of 15)
BA O 5 / AL 3031
AL 4151 AL 4241 / AL 3031 (1) / Eric Friginal / BA M7 / 83.33% (20 out of 24)
AL 4151 (1) / Sarah Nkkati Kegley / 90 % (9 out of 10)
AL 4241 (1) / Nicole Marie Pettitt / 93.33% (14 out of 15)
BA O2 / AL 3031 / Final paper rubric score distribution / Summer 2015 / AL 3031 (1) / Nic Subtirelu / BA M2 / 100% (18 out of 18) & 94.44% (17 out of 18)
BA O4 / BA M6 / 100% (18 out of 18) & 100% (18 out of 18)
BA O5 / BA M7 / 100% (18 out of 18)
BA O3 / AL 4011
AL 4012 / Final exam scores / Fall 2014 / AL 4011 (0) AL 4012 (1) / Scott Andrew Crossley / BA M3 / 84% (21 out of 25) / BA M3: 85.45% (47/55) MET
Spring 2015 / AL 4011 (1) AL 4012 (0) / Elizabeth Bell Canon / 86.67% (26 out of 30)
BA O4 & TEFL O2 / AL 3041 / Interlanguage analysis paper scores / Fall 2014 / AL 3041 (1) / YouJin Kim / BA M4 & TEFL M2 / 96.77% (30 out of 31) / BA M4 & TEFL M2: 93.75% (60/64) MET
Spring 2015 / AL 3041 (1) / Audrey Paige Roberson / 90.90% (30 out of 33)
TEFL O3 / AL 3051 / Midterm or final exam scores / Fall 2014 / AL 3051 (1) / Audrey Paige Roberson / TEFL M3 / 88.57% (31 out of 35) / TEFL M3: 87.1% (54/62) MET
Spring 2015 / AL 3051 (1) / Stephen Cameron Skalicky / 93.33% (28 out of 30)
TEFL O4 / AL 3101 / Final exam scores / Fall 2014 / AL 3101 (1) / Francisco Javier Barron Serrano / TEFL M4 / 89.66% (26 out of 29) / TEFL M4: 90.77% (59/65) MET
Spring 2015 / AL 3101 (1) / Cynthia May Berger / 84.84% (28 out of 33)
TEFL O5 / AL 4161 / Scores on final portfolios / Fall 2014 / AL 4161 (1) / Sarah Nkkati Kegley / TEFL M5 / 80% (16 out of 20) / TEFL M5: 88.46% (46/52) MET
Spring 2015 / AL 4161 (2) / Kristopher Donald Kyle / 95.83% (23 out of 24)
James Robert Garner / 87,5% (7 out of 8)