Assessment of General Education Requirement

II.A.1. Scientific Inquiry

 

 


Learning Goals
Students who successfully complete this General Education requirement should be able to:

  1. Think critically (e.g., synthesize conclusions from observations and data).
  2. Solve problems (requiring both logical reasoning and quantitative skills.

Scientific Reasoning courses are offered by four departments—Biology, Chemistry, Geography, and Physics, Astronomy, & Geosciences. Some departments have developed specific definitions of these two competencies as they apply to their discipline. Students who successfully complete a Scientific Inquiry course in Biology should be able to:

  1. Define, identify within context, critique, and/or employ various components of the scientific method (i.e., observations, inferences, hypotheses, controlled variables, etc.).
  2. Utilize scientific vocabulary and examples effectively in describing major ideas appropriate to specific scientific disciplines.
  3. Identify interconnections between science and technology and describe the dynamic, communal nature of scientific inquiry.
  4. Demonstrate the ability to use quantitative reasoning to analyze and/or support scientific information.
  5. Document and display an enhanced, scientifically literate, and engaged attitude toward science and technology as evidenced by positive reflections and behaviors.

Students who successfully complete a Scientific Inquiry course in Geography should be able to:

  1. Critically evaluate geographical and environmental information.
  2. Explain the spatial distribution of environmental phenomena.
  3. Explain the physical processes shaping landscapes.

Students who successfully complete a Scientific Inquiry course in Physics should be able to:

  1. Apply the scientific method.
  2. Make good observations.
  3. Process observations.
  4. Quantify a problem.

Assessment Strategy
Each of the four departments offering Scientific Inquiry courses—Biology, Chemistry, Geography, and Physics, Astronomy, & Geosciences—has adopted its own assessment strategies.

Biology: Faculty assess these goals through multiple choice test questions and short-answer problems. Answers to the problems are evaluated using four-point rubric; a score of 2 is considered minimally acceptable for college-level proficiency. For the multiple-choice questions, a total score of at least 60% correct is considered minimally acceptable for college-level proficiency.

Chemistry : Faculty assess these goals through multiple-choice test questions. Each question is evaluated by calculating the percent of students who choose the complete and correct answer and the percent who choose the “next best” answer, one that represents partial development of these skills. The “next best” answer is considered minimally acceptable for college-level proficiency.

Geography: Faculty assess these goals through a series of test questions. The faculty consider a score of 70% correct minimally acceptable for college-level proficiency.

Physics: Faculty assess these goals through laboratory assignments, each scored on a ten-point scale, and through multiple-choice questions designed to elicit critical thinking. With both tools, the faculty consider a score of 60% correct minimally acceptable for college-level proficiency.

Recent Assessment Findings
 Biology: On the problems evaluated using a rubric, all students have scored at least 2 on a four-point scale, demonstrating college-level proficiency. When the multiple-choice questions were administered to students at the beginning of the course, the students averaged only 30% correct. At the end of the course, students average 73% correct, demonstrating college-level proficiency and a sizable improvement from their performance at the beginning of the course. On only two questions do students average less than 60% correct.

Chemistry: For the critical thinking items, 61% of students have chosen the complete and correct answer, and 92% have chosen either the complete and correct answer or the “next best” answer, demonstrating college-level proficiency. For the problem-solving items, 37% of students have chosen the complete and correct answer, and 78% have chosen either the complete and correct answer or the “next best” answer, demonstrating college-level proficiency.

Geography: Students have answered correctly an average of 80% of those test questions evaluating skill in critically evaluating geographical and environmental information. Students have answered correctly an average of 67% of those test questions evaluating skill in explaining the spatial distribution of environmental phenomena. Students have answered correctly an average of 82% of those test questions evaluating skill in explaining the physical processes shaping landscapes.

Physics: On the laboratory assignments, all students have earned at least a minimum score of six out of ten possible points, demonstrating college-level proficiency. (Most students have earned far higher scores; average assignment scores range from 7.4 to 9.3.) On the multiple-choice test questions, students have averaged 65% correct, again demonstrating college-level proficiency. On only two questions have students averaged less than 60% correct.

  How the Results Are Being Used
Biology: While the faculty have concluded that the results of their assessment demonstrate college-level proficiency, they would nonetheless like to improve students’ scores and to this end are developing more active learning strategies for students, especially to help them develop their quantitative reasoning skills.

Chemistry: The faculty have concluded that the results of their assessment of critical thinking demonstrate college-level proficiency. To improve students’ problem-solving skills, the faculty will place more emphasis on these skills in their classes. The faculty are also modifying the test questions; the current questions are highly content-oriented, so it is very possible that students with strong problem-solving skills will answer the questions incorrectly solely because of lack of relevant content knowledge.

 Geography: The faculty have concluded that the results of their assessment demonstrate college-level proficiency in critically evaluating geographical and environmental information and explaining the physical processes shaping landscapes. To improve students’ skills in explaining the spatial distribution of environmental phenomena, some faculty have modified their syllabi, teaching methods, and assessment tools. The faculty are developing new assessment tools to evaluate judgment and reasoning skills, including skill in interpreting scientific data displayed in graphical formats such as maps and charts and skill in applying physical geography concepts to understanding contemporary problems and issues.

 Physics: Because the faculty have concluded that the results of their assessment of scientific reasoning skills demonstrate college-level proficiency, they have not used the results for teaching/learning enhancement, although they continue to discuss ways to optimize students’ learning experiences.

 

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