Program: Japanese (BA)
Degree: Bachelor's
Date: Fri Oct 10, 2014 - 6:07:17 am
1) Institutional Learning Objectives (ILOs) and Program Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
1. [SLO1: ORAL] Engage in oral communication in Japanese in various social contexts, in linguistically and culturally appropriate ways.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture)
2. [SLO2: READING] Read and comprehend texts written in Japanese from a variety of genres and contexts (e.g., newspapers, essay collections, novels).
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture)
3. [SLO3: WRITING] Apply critical thinking and rhetorical skills to produce coherent written works and presentations in both English and Japanese.
(2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
4. [SLO4: RESEARCH] Use a variety of Japanese reference works and sources, including dictionaries and encyclopedias both in book form and on the internet.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2b. Conduct research, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
5. [SLO5: RESEARCH] Conduct independent research on topics in Japanese literature and/or linguistics, and effectively communicate the results.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report)
6. [SLO6: LINGUISTICS] Demonstrate an understanding of phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics through analysis of words, phrases, and clauses from authentic Japanese samples.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field)
7. [SLO7: LITERATURE] Identify and describe major authors, works, features, forms, and styles of Japanese literature, both premodern and modern.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture)
8. [SLO8: LITERATURE] Analyze and interpret works of Japanese poetry, prose, and drama, read both in translation and in the original Japanese, using terms appropriate to each genre.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture)
9. [SLO9: LITERATURE] Situate and evaluate Japanese literature in its social, historical, intellectual, and religious contexts.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture)
2) Your program's SLOs are published as follows. Please update as needed.
Department Website URL: http://hawaii.edu/eall/japanese/undergraduate-programs/
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online: UHM Catalog. Page Number: Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: http://hawaii.edu/eall/japanese/courses/ Other: http://www.lll.hawaii.edu/eval/resources/F10/cm_JapaneseBA.pdf Other: 3) Select one option:
- File (03/16/2020)
4) For your program, the percentage of courses that have course SLOs explicitly stated on the syllabus, a website, or other publicly available document is as follows. Please update as needed.
0% 1-50% 51-80% 81-99%
100%5) Did your program engage in any program assessment activities between June 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014? (e.g., establishing/revising outcomes, aligning the curriculum to outcomes, collecting evidence, interpreting evidence, using results, revising the assessment plan, creating surveys or tests, etc.)
Yes No (skip to question 14)6) For the period between June 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014: State the assessment question(s) and/or assessment goals. Include the SLOs that were targeted, if applicable.
Q1: To what degree do students graduating from the Japanese program feel they can perfrorm the SLOs? (Indirect
assessment involving all SLOS)
Q2: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the program and how can we help students to better achieve the SLOs?
Q3: At what level do graduates from the Japanese BA program speak Japanese? (Direct assessment of speaking skills-
SLO1)
All SLOs were targeted.
7) State the type(s) of evidence gathered to answer the assessment question and/or meet the assessment goals that were given in Question #6.
1. Student self-ratings and views (collected as part of the College of LLL Online Student Exit Survey)
2. OPI test results from graduating seniors.
8) State how many persons submitted evidence that was evaluated. If applicable, please include the sampling technique used.
1) 20 out of 41 graduating seniors (49%) responded to the Exit Survey.
2) 7 out of 41 graduating seniors (17%) took the OPI exams.
9) Who interpreted or analyzed the evidence that was collected? (Check all that apply.)
Course instructor(s) Faculty committee Ad hoc faculty group Department chairperson Persons or organization outside the university Faculty advisor Advisors (in student support services) Students (graduate or undergraduate) Dean/Director Other: 10) How did they evaluate, analyze, or interpret the evidence? (Check all that apply.)
Used a rubric or scoring guide Scored exams/tests/quizzes Used professional judgment (no rubric or scoring guide used) Compiled survey results Used qualitative methods on interview, focus group, open-ended response data External organization/person analyzed data (e.g., external organization administered and scored the nursing licensing exam) Other: 11) For the assessment question(s) and/or assessment goal(s) stated in Question #6:
Summarize the actual results.
Exit Survey
The 2013-14 Exit Survey showed that students continue to hold a positive view of the B.A. program in Japanese. In response to Q. 5, “To what degree do you feel you were able to attain your goals,” a large majority of respondents felt that they had “mostly attained” or “fully attained” their goals in the program. The responses to Q. 12, “Overall satisfaction with the program,” generated scores of 4 or 5 in most categories, with the largest number of students indicating that they were “very satisfied;” this was a marked improvement over the previous year. A significant number of students indicated that their satisfaction was “neutral,” however, in the areas of “student morale,” “research opportunities,” and “career training opportunities.”
Q. 14, “Satisfaction with the courses in the program,” showed improvement in many areas, with the largest group of students now saying that they were “very satisfied” with the “overall quality of instruction,” “variety of courses,” and “course sequencing,” and “class size.” But dissatisfaction was evident in the areas of “course availability” and “frequency of course offerings.” Comments showed that some of this dissatisfaction was related to courses being offered in the same time period.
Q. 16, “Self-assessment of learning outcomes” showed that the large majority of students felt they could perform “adequately” or better in all assessed areas. There was a decided improvement in the scores related to Japanese language and linguistics, with the largest number of students scoring their own abilities with a “4” or above. The self-assessed outcomes related to Japanese literature were more varied this year, with many students scoring themselves with a “3.”
Q. 21, “What recommendations do you have to improve the program?,” showed that students were interested in having more opportunities to develop their spoken Japanese and to acquire career-related skills, such as translation and business language. Students showed a strong desire to have required courses offered more frequently.
OPI Test
Only 7 students took the OPI test this year, but, with one exception, all of these students tested at “Intermediate High” or above. These are good and consistent results for the level of instruction.
12) State how the program used the results or plans to use the results. Please be specific.
1. We believe that the concerns regarding course availability were partly due to required or elective courses being offered in the same time period in Spring 2013. We have been vigilant about spreading our courses since then.
2. We revised Japanese concentration requirements, making the electives more flexible. Allowing students to choose courses more freely should help to alleviate some concerns about course availability.
3. Although budget restrictions will force us to reduce the number of sections of Japanese starting in Spring 2015, increased class sizes will allow us to retain the same number of seats. We will need to keep a close eye on how budget restrictions and the hiring freeze affect course availability.
4. This academic year, we will add JPN 311-312, Third-Year Japanese for Professional Communication. This sequence will serve students who want increased practice in oral communication skills, specifically in a career-oriented context.
5. We have proposed a new course, JPN 424, English to Japanese Translation. Along with the existing JPN 425, Japanese to English Translation, this course will help to train students in a specific career-related skill.
6. The lower student self-assessments related to Japanese literature are a concern because the faculty in Japanese literature has been reduced by retirements and administrative reductions, with a larger portion of teaching now being done by lecturers and graduate students. Maintaining the quality of Japanese literature offerings must be a concern when position requests again become possible.