Program: Biology (BA)
Degree: Bachelor's
Date: Wed Nov 18, 2020 - 3:38:07 pm
1) Program Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) and Institutional Learning Objectives (ILOs)
1. Student will be able to explain biological processes from molecules to ecosystems in an evolutionary context, including being able to use examples from Hawaii.
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field)
2. Student will be able to demonstrate scientific literacy by critically evaluating scientific evidence, identifying gaps in knowledge, and applying strong evidence-based biological arguments to real-world problems.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research)
3. Student will be able to apply the scientific method to generate new hypotheses, formulate experimental approaches and outline potential outcomes, applying appropriate logical and quantitative methods.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research)
4. Student will work individually and in teams in an ethical manner, and demonstrate respect for diversity of viewpoints
(1a. General education, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture)
5. Student will, in oral and written forms, be able to communicate biological information clearly and professionally.
(1a. General education, 2c. Communicate and report)
2) Your program's SLOs are published as follows. Please update as needed.
Department Website URL: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/biology/education
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: Other: 3) Please review, add, replace, or delete the existing curriculum map.
- File (10/27/2020)
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) Does the program have learning achievement results for its program SLOs? (Example of achievement results: "80% of students met expectations on SLO 1.")(check one):
No Yes, on some(1-50%) of the program SLOs Yes, on most(51-99%) of the program SLOs Yes, on all(100%) of the program SLOs6) Did your program engage in any program learning assessment activities between November 1, 2018 and October 31, 2020?
Yes No (skip to question 17)7) What best describes the program-level learning assessment activities that took place for the period November 1, 2018 and October 31, 2020? (Check all that apply.)
Create/modify/discuss program learning assessment procedures (e.g., SLOs, curriculum map, mechanism to collect student work, rubric, survey) Collect/evaluate student work/performance to determine SLO achievement Collect/analyze student self-reports of SLO achievement via surveys, interviews, or focus groups Use assessment results to make programmatic decisions (e.g., change course content or pedagogy, design new course, hiring) Investigate other pressing issue related to student learning achievement for the program (explain in question 8) Other: 8) Briefly explain the assessment activities that took place since November 2018.
We discussed the Biology writing rubric and adjusted expectations of student performance.
We assessed SLO 1 using student answers from essay exams from BIOL 470 Evolutionary Biology, which were evaluated by the assessment committee.
Three SLOs (2:Demonstrate Scientific Literacy, 3:Apply the Scientific Method, and 5:Communicate in Writing) were assessed using writing assignments from a 100-level laboratory course (BIOL 171L) using an in-house rubric developed by core teaching faculty that ranks achievement on a four point scale (4 = mastery).
9) What types of evidence did the program use as part of the assessment activities checked in question 7? (Check all that apply.)
Artistic exhibition/performance Assignment/exam/paper completed as part of regular coursework and used for program-level assessment Capstone work product (e.g., written project or non-thesis paper) Exam created by an external organization (e.g., professional association for licensure) Exit exam created by the program IRB approval of research Oral performance (oral defense, oral presentation, conference presentation) Portfolio of student work Publication or grant proposal Qualifying exam or comprehensive exam for program-level assessment in addition to individual student evaluation (graduate level only) Supervisor or employer evaluation of student performance outside the classroom (internship, clinical, practicum) Thesis or dissertation used for program-level assessment in addition to individual student evaluation Alumni survey that contains self-reports of SLO achievement Employer meetings/discussions/survey/interview of student SLO achievement Interviews or focus groups that contain self-reports of SLO achievement Student reflective writing assignment (essay, journal entry, self-assessment) on their SLO achievement. Student surveys that contain self-reports of SLO achievement Assessment-related such as assessment plan, SLOs, curriculum map, etc. Program or course materials (syllabi, assignments, requirements, etc.) Other 1: Other 2: 10) State the number of students (or persons) who submitted evidence that was evaluated. If applicable, please include the sampling technique used.
BIOL 470 = 85 students (all students from spring 2019)
BIOL 171L = A random sample of 12 mid-semester written lab reports was collected from students in BIOL 171L Spring 2020.
11) 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: 12) 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: 13) Summarize the results from the evaluation, analysis, interpretation of evidence (checked in question 12). For example, report the percentage of students who achieved each SLO.
BIOL 470: a score of 3/5 was considered minimum for meeting standards for SLO 1. 82% scored 3 or higher. This exceeds our expectation that at least 75% meet or exceed our standards.
BIOL 171L: in which the SLO’s were first introduced to students. No students in the sample met our benchmark of 2.4 on SLO 3: Apply the Scientific Method (average score of 1.35) or on SLO 5: Communicate in Writing (average score of 1.68), but half of students did by mid-semester already meet our benchmark of 2.4 on SLO 2:Demonstrate Scientific Literacy (average score of 2.08).
14) What best describes how the program used the results? (Check all that apply.)
Assessment procedure changes (SLOs, curriculum map, rubrics, evidence collected, sampling, communications with faculty, etc.) Course changes (course content, pedagogy, courses offered, new course, pre-requisites, requirements) Personnel or resource allocation changes Program policy changes (e.g., admissions requirements, student probation policies, common course evaluation form) Students' out-of-course experience changes (advising, co-curricular experiences, program website, program handbook, brown-bag lunches, workshops) Celebration of student success! Results indicated no action needed because students met expectations Use is pending (typical reasons: insufficient number of students in population, evidence not evaluated or interpreted yet, faculty discussions continue) Other: 15) Please briefly describe how the program used its findings/results.
Results were reported to the faculty.
Since the 100-level assessment was conducted on mid-semester lab reports, assessment results will be used to guide instruction on final lab reports for the current semester. Assessment results will be shared with all lab instructors, revised guidelines and examples for satisfactory work will be provided and reviewed with students, and a supplementary round of revision and instructor feedback will be conducted on the sampled assignment type.
Use of the in-house rubric will be extended to additional courses at the 200- and 300-level across the curriculum as a component of the regular summative assessment contributing to student course grades. This will reinforce focus of both students and instructors on progress towards the specific learning objectives, and provide students with direct feedback through a more explicit scaffolding within and across courses.
16) Beyond the results, were there additional conclusions or discoveries? This can include insights about assessment procedures, teaching and learning, and great achievements regarding program assessment in this reporting period.
We will fine tune rubric for SLO 3 and try to make its use uniform across the Life Sciences.
Review of the assessment results with scorers and members of a faculty assessment committee brought to light a discrepancy between the instructions for some 100-level laboratory report assignments and the criteria on the in-house rubric to be used across courses for assessment of scientific writing in regard to the number of alternative hypotheses to be provided as demonstration of mastery in applying the scientific method. This will be remedied in future rounds of assessment through revision of the assignment instructions.