Program: Writing Center
Date: Fri Sep 19, 2014 - 5:19:08 pm
1) Below are your program's student outcomes (SOs). Please add or update as needed.
Learning Outcomes for Writers
Writers coming to the Writing Center will:
- Engage in a collaborative writing process that spans invention through revision.
- Practice information literacy by 1) using resources on writing, and 2) finding, assessing, integrating, and documenting sources.
- Gain awareness of available campus resources.
Learning Outcomes for Consultants
Consultants will:
- Promote an understanding of writing as a social act that can be realized though active engagement with the writing process.
- Acquire skills and experiences that are transferable to careers both in and out of academia by working in a multi-tiered complex working environment that demands management, teamwork, and delegation.
- Develop skills for working with any writer at any stage of the writing process.
- Support and encourage diverse cultural knowledge basis.
2) Your program's SOs are published as follows. Please update as needed.
Program's Website. URL: https://sites.google.com/a/hawaii.edu/writingcenter/about
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure. URL, if available online: UHM Catalog. Page Number: Other: Other: 3) Provide the program's activity map or other graphic that illustrates how program activities/services align with program student outcomes. Please upload it as a PDF.
- File (09/17/2014)
4) Did your program engage in any program assessment activities between June 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014? (e.g., establishing/revising outcomes, aligning activities to outcomes, collecting evidence, interpreting evidence, using results, revising the assessment plan, creating surveys, etc.)
Yes
No (skip to question 14)5) For the period between June 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014: State the assessment question(s) and/or assessment goals. Include the student outcomes that were targeted, if applicable.
1) Re-articulate the Student Learning Outcomes for writers who visit the center.
2) Articulate Student Learning Outcomes for consultants.
3) Design and implement an end-of session writer survey to provide infomation on the subject and student perceived efficacy of each session.
4) Gather data on students' visits, including number of visits and demographic data .
5) Complete end-of-semester consultant evaluations of the director and their training .
6) State the type(s) of evidence gathered to answer the assessment question and/or meet the assessment goals that were given in Question #5.
1) quantitative data on number of visits
2) quantitative data on demographics of vistors to the center
3) quantitative data on number of workshops and class visits
4) quantitative and qualitative data gathered from end-of session surveys
5) qualitative data on training and work experience
7) State how many persons submitted evidence that was evaluated. If applicable, please include the sampling technique used.
Number of writers submitting end-of-session reports (quantitative and qualitative data): 1891
Number of consultants submitting end-of-semester evaluations (quantitative and qualitative data): 36
8) Who interpreted or analyzed the evidence that was collected? Check all that apply.
Program faculty/staff member(s) Faculty/staff committee Ad hoc faculty/staff group Director or department chairperson Persons or organization outside the university Students (graduate or undergraduate) Dean or Associate Dean Advisory Board Other: 9) How did he/she/they evaluate, analyze, or interpret the evidence? Check all that apply.
Compiled survey results Used quantitative methods on student data (e.g., grades, participation rates) or other numeric data Used qualitative methods on interview, focus group, or other open-ended response data Scored exams/tests/quizzes Used a rubric or scoring guide Used professional judgment (no rubric or scoring guide used) External organization/person analyzed data (e.g., Social Science Research Institute) Other: 10) For the assessment questions/goals stated in Question #5, summarize the actual results.
-
Re-articulate the Student Learning Outcomes for writers who visit the center:
The Writing Center Staff (the Writing Center Director, Assistant Director, and all writing consultants) collaboratively worked to re-articulate SLOs for writers coming into the center to work on writing tasks. In this effort, we took into account best practices as articulated in the scholarship as well as our ability to operationalize each outcome so it could be measured through quantitative and/or qualitative data. We articulated the following 3 SLOs for writers coming to the center:
- Engage in a collaborative writing process that spans invention through revision.
- Practice information literacy by 1) using resources on writing, and 2) finding, assessing, integrating, and documenting sources
- Gain/Increase awareness of available campus resources.
-
Articulate Student Learning Outcomes for consultants.
In an effort to expand our understanding of the Writing Center as both a site that offers a service to students in our university as well as an instructional site where consultants enhance their academic course work through a practicum focusing on composition theory and practice, the Writing Center Staff articulated SLOs for the writing consultants:
- Promote an understanding of writing as a social act that can be realized though active engagement with the writing process.
- Acquire skills and experiences that are transferable to careers both in and out of academia by working in a multi-tiered complex working environment that demands management, teamwork, and delegation.
- Develop skills for working with any writer at any stage of the writing process.
- Support and encourage diverse cultural knowledge basis.
-
Design and implement an end-of session writer survey to provide information on the subject and student perceived efficacy of each session.
The Staff collaboratively designed end-of-session report forms to be filled out by each writer/client at the end of each session. The questions on the report form were designed to gather data to assess the efficacy of the SLOs articulated for writers visiting the center. -
Gather data on students' visits, including number of visits and demographic data.
We gathered data on the both the number of visits to the center as well as the demographic data of these students. Highlights of this data are presented in the table below:
|
2011-2012 (LAC) |
2012-2013 (spring only) |
2013-2014 (spring #s incomplete) |
|
|
# of Unique Visitors |
689 |
326 |
613 |
|
# of Appointments |
2076 |
Fall: 811 |
Fall: 1214 |
|
# of Disciplines Represented |
123 |
122 |
87 |
|
Class Standing |
Undergrad: 69% Graduate: 31% |
Undergrad: 73% Graduate: 25% Other: 2% |
Undergrad: 51% Graduate: 47% Other: 2% |
|
Class Standing |
Undergrad: 44% Graduate: 56% |
Undergrad: 56% Graduate: 42% Other: 2% |
Undergrad: 71% Graduate: 25% Other: 4% |
|
Non-Native English Speakers |
47% |
48% |
41% |
5. Complete end-of-semester consultant evaluations of the director and the training received.
Evaluations were designed so as to gather data on the SLOs articulated for writing consultants and administered.
11) What was learned from the results?
During the process, a lot was learned about the demands of assessment in terms of connecting learning golas with measurable data, designing assessment tools, and the importance of articulating SLOs with assessment tools.
We have only begun to analyze the data collected (over 2000 pieces of data), but initial results indicate that students return to the center with high frequency with suggests a perceived efficacy of the services.
12) State how the program used the results or plans to use the results. Please be specific.
The results will be used to determne the level of effectiveness of our services in terms of our center's mission statement and stated writer and consultant SLOs. Results will inform consultant training practices and will be used to modify and improve services, including individual consultations and workshops.
13) Reflect on the assessment process. Is there anything related to assessment procedures your program would do differently next time? What went well?
The assessment practices in place continue to provide the information necessary to effectively evaluate our services both in terms of writing consulations and preparation of consultants pedagogically. Our efforts to colalboratively design and implement our assessment practices were extremely beneficial for student consultants, the asssitant director, and director. I would not change our process.
14) If the program did not engage in assessment activities, please explain.
Or, if the program did engage in assessment activities, please add any other important information here.
Our next steps we will be evaluating the data gathered and articulate it with the SLOs.