USM Honors Program Assessment Methods
Assessment Methods and Schedule: Entry Level Program Outcomes
Formative / SummativeAssessment Level / Method / When / Method / When
I.A. Community
- Adjusting to seminar
- Experiencing paradigm shift
- Recognizing individual/collective
- Recognizing language
- Becoming aware of disciplines & interdisciplines
- Recognizing learning community
Formative entries in portfolio/notebook for relevant courses (e.g. Hon100) / ≥ 3x/semester
Throughout fall and spring semester relevant to course / Collaborative instructor syllabus development Hon100-105
Student Assessment for Interdisciplinary Learning Survey
(SAIL) / May Retreat
End of semester
II.A. Communication
- Engaging in dialogue
- Able to present
- Able to navigate writing
- Demonstrating awareness of literacies
- Demonstrating ability to read, describe & discuss
- Recognizing analytic& personal thinking
- Becoming aware of audience
Throughout first year / Wisdom Event for all Hon101 students juried by external panel
Final project as relevant to Hon 102/103/105
Student Assessment for Interdisciplinary Learning Survey
(SAIL) / End of fall semester
End of spring semester
End of first year
III.A. Wellness
- Demonstrating awareness of wellness
- Realizing self care and cultural practices
- Recognizing ideas are often not black or white
- Beginning to recognize transformative learning
- Becoming more comfortable w/ curiosity and dissonance
- Becoming familiar with resources
Orientation for First-Year students / Throughout first year
Prior to fall semester / Collaborative instructor syllabus development for Hon100-105 explicit inclusion of information on wellness resources
Student Assessment for Interdisciplinary Learning Survey
(SAIL)
Embedded as self-reflection in survey / May Retreat
End of first year
End of fall/spring semesters
IV.A. Interdisciplinary
- Becoming familiar w/ texts
- Engaging in close & deep reading
- Recognizing the disciplined nature of knowledge
- Beginning to encounter complex thinking
Student Assessment of Learning Gains
Student Assessment for Interdisciplinary Learning Survey
(SAIL) / End of spring semester
May Retreat
End of first year
V.A. Engaged Inquiry
- Learning to invest in and care about work
- Demonstrating awareness of active & engaged learning
- Seeking mentoring
- Developing awareness of approaches to inquiry
- Exploring disciplinary/interdisciplinary perspectives
(SAIL) / End of first year
Example: Assessment Methods and Schedule: GEC Goals & Outcomes INTRODUCED in 100
Formative / SummativeGEC outcomes identified for this course: / Method / When / Method / When
1. Demonstrate informed understandings of human cultures and the natural world:
1. Examine and analyze interrelationships within and among ecosystems and human communities
2. Clarify and assess the values and histories underlying quests for human freedom and domination, justice and oppression, emancipation and exploitation
5. The processes of creative expression and products of human imagination across cultures / “Streets of Portland” ethnography assignment looking at humans & the environment, injustice and border crossing
Essay reading material: historical, cross-cultural/literary studies / First three weeks
Throughout semester / Final Portfolio based on “intertextual“ criteria / End of semester
2. Demonstrate analytical, contextual and holistic thinking about complex issues:
3. Value, appreciate, and work effectively with diverse viewpoints, uncertainty, and ambiguity, and remain open-minded towards alternatives. / Examine complexity in essay construction
Asking the Proprioceptive Question, “What do I mean by__?” / Essay and in-class writing throughout semester / Final Portfolio based on “intertextual“ criteria / End of semester
3. Demonstrate effective communication using multiple literacies, and forms of expression:
1. Express themselvesclearly through a variety of media including writing, speaking, non-verbal modes, and technologies
5. Practice respectful civil discourse with diverse individuals / Weekly essays: written product read out loud while others listen and provide feedback on format and structure / 10 throughout semester / Final Portfolio based on “intertextual“ criteria / End of semester
4. Demonstrate critical reflection upon and informed action in their roles as citizens, family members, consumers, and producers:
none listed
5. Demonstrate ethical action to maintain their own health and contribute to the social environmental, and economic welfare of local and global communities:
1. Recognize and practice a healthy lifestyle / Writing & Healing entries into Course Notebook / 25 + over semester / Collected Course Notebook / End of semester
Sample: Assessment for Honors 100Fall 2008
Directions: Faculty and staff are very interested in your feedback about this Honors course. We appreciate your honest responses to the following learning outcomes. All responses are confidential and are used to improve the general education we provide in the program.
Thank you!
Hon 100 Course Learning Outcomes: Please rate your own achievement of each of the outcomes.
(The rating scale: 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Agree, 3= Strongly Agree, 4 = Not Applicable)
Community:
Items / Strongly Disagree / Agree / Strongly Agree / N/A1. / I know the first name of every person in this class. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
2. / I tried to better understand someone else’s views by imagining how an issue looks from his or her perspective. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
3. / I engaged in dialogue with others outside of this classroom. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
4. / I respect the personal boundaries of my classmates. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Communication:
Items / Strongly Disagree / Agree / Strongly Agree / N/A2. / I know that attentive listening is crucial to effective communication. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
3. / I talked with and/or used email to communicate with my instructor. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
4. / I recognize the role of language as a way to develop and explain my thinking. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
5. / I developed oral reading skills. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
6. / My writing shows specificity, focus and integrity. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
7. / My surface structure (grammar & style) is well edited and organized. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Wellness/Meaningful Life:
Items / Strongly Disagree / Agree / Strongly Agree / N/A1. / I felt my personal boundaries were respected. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
2. / I am beginning to see the connections between myself, this program, my major and USM. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
3. / One or more of the ideas raised in this class has made me angry. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
4. / One or more of the ideas raised in this class has made me excited. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
5. / One or more of the ideas raised in this class has made me anxious. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
6. / The writing I have done in this class matters to me personally. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Interdisciplinary Learning:
Items / Strongly Disagree / Agree / Strongly Agree / N/A1. / I use “close reading” to approach, understand and challenge classic and contemporary essays. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
2. / I have encountered new and more complex ways of thinking. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
3. / I recognize there are multiple, legitimate ways of understanding texts and ideas. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Engaged Inquiry: Reading, Writing, Action and Research:
Items / Strongly Disagree / Agree / Strongly Agree / N/A1. / I developed the connection between my personal history and concerns that extend beyond myself. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
2. / I am confident raising my own questions about texts. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
3. / This course helped me become a better reader not only of academic works but also events and discussions in everyday life. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
4. / I have engaged in research to develop, support or challenge my ideas / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Other:
Items / YES / NO / Not Sure1. / I will recommend this class to another student / 1 / 2 / 3
2. / I am interested in creating an event connected to the ideas and writing from this class / 1 / 2 / 3
Additional comments:
Assessment Methods and Schedule: Mid-Career Level Program Outcomes
Formative / SummativeAssessment Level / Method / When / Method / When
I.B. Community
- Demonstrating increased participation
- Becoming more comfortable with pedagogical structures
- Working effectively in group
- Developing moral/ethical
- Extending involvement
- Developing familiarity with areas of study
Formative entries in portfolio/notebook for relevant courses (e.g. Hon 201) / ≥ 3x/semester
Throughout fall and spring semesters relevant to course / Collaborative instructor syllabus development w/ Beth Hon 201, 202-204, 210-212, 301
Summative project using portfolio/ notebook
Student Assessment for Interdisciplinary Learning Survey (SAIL) / May Retreat & Call for Proposals
End of fall and spring semester relevant to course
End of 2nd year
II.B. Communication
- Developing formats of communication
- Refining dialogue skills
- Expanding skills using information sources
- Able to produce array of discursive practices
Throughout second/third year / Final project as relevant to Hon 201, 202-203
Student Assessment for Interdisciplinary Learning (SAIL) / End of fall and spring semesters
End of 2nd year
III.B. Wellness
- Selecting self care
- Exercising capacity to identify a meaningful life
- Recognizing & valuing agency involved in spiritual well being
- Increasing ability to hold ambiguity and seek knowledge
Student Assessment for Interdisciplinary Learning (SAIL) / May Retreat
End of 2nd year
IV.B. Interdisciplinary
- Becoming familiar with and integrating academic fields when building and presenting arguments
- Beginning to practice disciplinary knowledge & confronting artifice of disciplinary divides
- Exercising capacity to identify, describe, analyze, critique & use multiple sources of information
- Developing more complex questions and concerns
Student Assessment for Interdisciplinary Learning (SAIL)
HFC examination of samples of SAIL artifacts / End of spring and fall semesters
End of 2nd year
May Retreat
V.B. Engaged Inquiry
- Identifying own learning goals/outcomes
- Demonstrating experience with variety of activities of engaged inquiry
- Utilizing appropriate modes, frameworks & techniques and able to articulate reasons for choices
- Able to discuss processes of research, inquiry & practice in at least one field of study
Example: Assessment Methods and Schedule: GEC Goals & Outcomes DEVELOPED in 201
Formative / SummativeGEC outcomes identified for this course / Method / When / Method / When
1. Demonstrate informed understandings of human cultures and the natural world:
3. Describe and employ different lenses used in the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, fine arts, and within a specific field or fields of practice
4. Value and appreciate the diversity of human cultures, the natural world, and the complexity of the interrelations between them
7. Diverse ecosystems and interrelationships between the human and the natural world
8. Natural processes as disclosed through modes of scientific inquiry / Written responses to weekly reading questions; syllabus readings
Oral seminar participation; syllabus readings
Required readings in humanities, social sciences, & sciences assessed by reading questions and seminar participation
Epidemiologic considerations
As above
Anatomy, cellular biology, human genetics, genomics / Weeks 2-14
Weeks 2-14
Weeks 2-14
Week 5
As above
Weeks 1-8, 10, 12-14 / Final portfolio project showing application of science to human problems; portfolio scoring rubric
Final portfolio project
As above / Week 15
Week 15
As above
2. Demonstrate analytical, contextual and holistic thinking about complex issues
1. Employ quantitative and qualitative analyses to solve problems, identify the component parts of complex issues and describe their interrelationships
2. Recognize and construct well-reasoned arguments
3. Value, appreciate, and work effectively with diverse viewpoints, uncertainty, and ambiguity, and remain open-minded towards alternatives
4. Different levels of cognitive complexity and alternative sequences of thinking and reasoning
5. The intellectual standards of and criteria for sound reasoning and logical argumentation, including the processes of quantitative and qualitative analyses and systems of thinking
6. Alternative systems of thought, and modes of problem solving / Written responses to weekly reading questions; syllabus readings
Oral seminar participation; syllabus readings
Written responses to weekly reading questions; syllabus readings
Oral seminar participation; syllabus readings; Laboratories
Throughout course in weekly reading questions; seminar participation; labs
As above
Consideration of development of anatomy from Greek to modern and of genetics from Mendel to molecular biology
Written responses to weekly reading questions; syllabus readings
oral seminar participation; Laboratories; Consideration of development of anatomy from Greek to modern and of genetics from Mendel to molecular biology
Written responses to weekly reading questions re: religious, scientific, & medical responses to disease / Weeks 2-14
Weeks 1-6, 10, 13-15
Weeks 1-15
As above
Weeks 1-14
Weeks 1-14
Weeks 2-14 / Final portfolio project
Final portfolio project; Personal prognosis
Final portfolio project; Personal prognosis
As above
Reflected in presentation of final portfolio project
As above
As above / Week 15
Week 15
Week 15
As above
Week 15
As above
As above
3. Demonstrate effective communication using multiple literacies and forms of expression.
1. Express themselves clearly through a variety of media including writing, speaking, non-verbal modes, and technologies
2. Identify, select, and employ audience-appropriate forms of communication
3. Critically evaluate information communicated through various media
4. Critically read and frame questions for understanding
5. Practice respectful civil discourse with diverse individuals
6. Value and appreciate the richness of multiple literacies and forms of expression, and the limitations of each in contributing to knowledge and understanding
7. The standards and criteria of effective communication and critical reading / Written responses to weekly reading questions; oral seminar participation; laboratory reports
As above
As above
As above
Written responses to weekly reading questions; oral seminar participation; laboratory reports
Weekly Seminars and Laboratories
Written responses to weekly reading questions; oral seminar participation; laboratory reports examining the contributions of religion, science, medicine, & art to comprehending the human body
Written responses to weekly reading questions; oral seminar participation; laboratory reports / Weeks 1-14
As above
As above
As above
Weeks 1-14
As above
As above
As above / Presentation of final portfolio project
As above
As above
As above
None
Presentation of final portfolio project
As above
As above / Week 15
As above
As above
As above
not applicable
Week 15
As above
As above
4. Demonstrate critical reflection upon and informed action in their roles as citizens, family members, consumers, and producers:
1. Analyze their roles as citizens, family members, consumers, and producers, and assess their responsibility for action in these roles and in service to their communities
2. Clarify their own values, frame decisions and evaluate actions as citizens, family members, consumers, and producers within ethical frameworks
5. Take thoughtful, ethical action despite ambiguity and uncertainty
6. The ethical dimensions of perspectives used in the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, fine arts, and within specific fields of practice
7. Civic processes and the values upon which they are based / Written responses to weekly reading questions; oral seminar participation; laboratory reports
Not emphasized, but varying incorporation into written responses to weekly reading questions; oral seminar participation
Not specifically evaluated, but contributing to their written & oral seminar participation
Written responses to weekly reading questions; oral seminar participation
As above
As above / Weeks 1-14
As above
As above
As above
As above
As above / Presentation of final portfolio project & Development of their personal prognosis
Emphasized by the scoring rubrics for the presentation of final portfolio project & development of their personal prognosis
Background for the choice of topic for the final portfolio presentation
As above
As above
As above / Week 15
As above
As above
As above
As above
As above
5. Demonstrate ethical action to maintain their own health and contribute to the social environmental, and economic welfare of local and global communities:
1. Recognize and practice a healthy lifestyle
2. Employ effective approaches to decision-making and distinguish between ethical and unethical action
3. Articulate her/his own ethical basis for decisions and actions, and engage in informed civic action with integrity
6. Health and healthy practices
8. The context of and connections among local, state, regional, national, and global systems over time
9. The systems of values and ethics, both historical and contemporary, underlying diverse societies and political systems / Written responses to weekly reading questions; oral seminar participation; laboratory reports
Written responses to weekly reading questions; oral seminar participation; laboratory reports
Written responses to weekly reading questions; oral seminar participation
Written responses to weekly reading questions; oral seminar participation (does not include broad civic action)
Written responses to weekly reading questions; oral seminar participation
Written responses to weekly reading questions re: religious, scientific, & medical responses to treatment, disease, & alteration of human body
As above / Weeks 1-14
Weeks 9-15
Weeks 3-5, 7-13
Weeks 3-5, 7-14
As above
Weeks 1-14
As above / Presentation of final portfolio project & Development of their personal prognosis
Development of their personal prognosis
Choice and presentation of final portfolio project
Choice and presentation of final portfolio project
As above
Depends on choice of topic for final portfolio presentation
As above / Week 15
As above
As above
As above
As above
As above
As above
Survey in development comparable to Hon100 sample
Assessment Methods and Schedule: Integrated Program Outcomes
Formative / SummativeAssessment Level / Method / When / Method / When
I.C. Community
- Participating intentionally
- Demonstrating leadership
- Arriving at own collaboratively achieved solution to conflict.
Formative entries in portfolio/notebook for Hon 411 / ≥ 3x/semester
Throughout fall and spring semester relevant to course / Collaborative instructor syllabus development Hon 411-412
Summative project using portfolio/ notebook Hon 411
Student Assessment for Interdisciplinary Learning Survey (SAIL) / May Retreat
End of fall and spring semester relevant to course
End of final year
II.C. Communication
- Able to compose/write/perform clear, concise articulate interdisciplinary thesis
- Demonstrating capacity for rule-breaking of various forms of communication to create new elements within and between them
- Achieving competence and creativity in oral, written and/or computer languages and evidence based inference
- Engaging in debate with diverse audiences
Defense of thesis for Hon 412 in collaboration with committee and thesis advisor
Student Assessment for Interdisciplinary Learning Survey (SAIL) / End of 411
End of 412
End of final year
III.C. Wellness
- Carrying out year-long project that matters to her/him
- Advocating for practices and contexts and understanding connection between individual and collective well being
- Developing own unique potential to promote human wellness
- Recognizing self in-relation-to others within changing contexts
- Consolidating academic journey and beginning life long learning
Student Assessment for Interdisciplinary Learning Survey (SAIL)
Thesis Event presentation/reflection on the ways of knowing that emerge from thesis work / May Retreat
End of final year
End of Thesis year
IV.C. Interdisciplinary
- Synthesizing learning experiences by creating interdisciplinary undergraduate research
- Using multiple perspectives
- Critically evaluating and integrating levels and types of knowledge
- Collaboratively using accepted methods in initiate revisions in practice
Defense of thesis for Hon 412 in collaboration with committee and thesis advisor
Student Assessment for Interdisciplinary Learning Survey (SAIL)
Survey by thesis committee members / End of 411
End of 412
End of final year
End of 412 semester
V.C. Engaged Inquiry
- Able to design, execute & interpret a research protocol and effectively communicate results
- Producing year-long project characterized by ability to critique, integrate & synthesize multiple viewpoints & resources and motivation to complete with substantive revision
- Applying analysis to data sets and sources & justifying mode of inquiry and analytic choices
- Choosing or considering path of advanced study or vocation based on engaged interest
Defense of thesis for Hon 412 in collaboration with committee and thesis advisor
Student Assessment for Interdisciplinary Learning Survey (SAIL)
Survey by thesis committee members / End of 411
End of 412
End of final year
End of 412 semester
Survey in development comparable to Hon100 sample