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EMBEDDED OUTCOMES-BASED ASSESSMENT FOR WRITING
SKILLS IN CHEMISTRY COURSES Jason D. PowellFerrum College
Saturday, October 15, 20111:30-2:30 PMACA SummitAsheville, NC
Information Gathering
Briefly: Who are you? Where do you teach? What subject(s) do you teach? What do you hope to gain from this session?
About Ferrum College Chemistry
Ferrum College is a 4-year college serving ~1,500 primarily residential undergraduate students in rural southwestern Virginia
The chemistry program operates mostly in a service capacity to other programs (Pre-Professional Science, Health Sciences, Agriculture, Biology, Environmental Science, Horticulture, Sports Medicine)
~60 students per year take introductory chemistry, ~50 students per year take general chemistry, ~20 students per year take organic chemistry, and upper-level chemistry courses have ~15 or fewer students
All students majoring in the natural sciences take a 3-semester sequence of 2-credit courses for junior and senior seminar in which they research and develop a synthesis question related to their major and minor fields of study
Student Learning Outcomes - Campus
1. Liberal ArtsThrough experiences in the Core Requirements, the
Ferrum College graduate will• Demonstrate integrated knowledge in the liberal
arts• Demonstrate information literacy, using available
technology when appropriate• Demonstrate competency in quantitative skills and
reading
2. Critical ThinkingThrough opportunities to engage in critical thinking,
both curricular and cocurricular, the Ferrum College graduate will
• Think critically and solve problems through analysis, evaluation, inference, induction, and deduction
3. Communication SkillsThrough experiences in both the Core Requirements
and the Major, the Ferrum College graduate will• Communicate with unity of purpose and coherent
organization consistent with standard rules and recognized conventions using appropriate methodologies
4. Competence in Academic Discipline
Through experiences in the Major, the Ferrum College graduate will
• Demonstrate a depth of knowledge, capability and ethical reasoning in a chosen field
5. CitizenshipThrough opportunities, both curricular
and co-curricular, the Ferrum College graduate will
• Demonstrate awareness of local, national and global issues
• Demonstrate personal responsibility• Collaborate with people of diverse
cultural attitudes, beliefs and values
Student Learning Outcomes - Chemistry
CHM01. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of fundamental chemical principles and the evidence and reasoning that support them.
CHM02. Use quantitative reasoning skills to sample, analyze, and interpret data for problem solving.
CHM03. Use and understand relevant methods, tools, and techniques in chemistry.
CHM04. Integrate and apply knowledge and skills independently and cooperatively in a professional setting.
CHM05. Understand the relevance of chemistry to concerns of society.
Results – Senior-Level Inorganic Chemistry Class
Students averaged 88.8% on first writing assignment and 92.6% on second writing assignment Improvements attributed by students to a better
understanding of the elements of the rubric, even though the second writing assignment was perceived as being more difficult and less guided
Consistent improvement in items related to content-matter understanding and appropriate research skills, no significant change in scores related to writing mechanics
Take-Home Messages Embedded assessments allow for more efficient
use of faculty time, and results are more relevant to essential student learning in specific courses
Rubrics provide a quick and easy way to standardize faculty scoring of student work by using specific desired traits
Customizing rubrics using common elements makes the assessment useful to the campus unit and to a specific instructor without impinging on academic freedom
Consistent usage of campus-wide rubrics allow students to develop an understanding of faculty expectations with respect to various student learning outcomes
Future Work
Ferrum’s QEP is “Critical Thinking for Success” New formative rubric for critical thinking skills
incorporated into the rubric this semester Students just handed in their first paper on
Wednesday…
Contact Information
Jason D. PowellAssociate Professor of Chemistry and PhysicsDean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
[email protected]/academics/faculty/
jason_powell.aspx
(540) 365-4376Garber Hall – Room 22480 Wiley DriveFerrum, VA 24088