Program: Chemistry (BA)
Degree: Bachelor's
Date: Tue Nov 17, 2020 - 4:42:22 pm
1) Program Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) and Institutional Learning Objectives (ILOs)
1. Students will be able to develop qualitative and quantitative descriptions of atoms, ions, molecules, and their mixtures.
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
2. Students will be able to develop qualitative and quantitative descriptions of the chemical reactions of atoms, ions, and molecules.
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
3. Students will demonstrate a quantitative understanding of how chemical equilibria, thermodynamics, and kinetics can be used to predict reactivity and energetics.
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
4. Students will demonstrate an understanding of quantum mechanical descriptions of the electronic configuration of atoms and molecules.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
5. Students will be able to use the fundamental principles of carbon chemistry to depict organic molecules and the reactions of organic molecules.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
6. Students will demonstrate a qualitative understanding of stereochemistry as a foundational principle controlling structure and reactivity.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
7. Students will be able to use mechanistic reasoning as a tool to analyze and predict chemical reactivity.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
8. Students will be able to design and execute synthetic schemes for the construction of new molecules.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
9. Students will be able to determine molecular structures based upon analysis of spectroscopic data.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
10. Students will be able to make and record experimental measurements, use the chemical literature and databases to obtain relevant published information, and communicate the results in written laboratory reports.
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
11. Students will be able to interpret data using appropriate statistical and mathematical models.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
12. Students will demonstrate and understanding of the fundamentals of inorganic, coordination, and organometallic chemistry.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
2) Your program's SLOs are published as follows. Please update as needed.
Department Website URL: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/chem/academics/undergraduate/
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/chem/academics/undergraduate/ UHM Catalog. Page Number: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/catalog/schools-colleges/arts-sciences/nat-sci/chem/ Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/chem/course-program/undergraduate/ Other: 3) Please review, add, replace, or delete the existing curriculum map.
- File (11/18/2020)
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.
Placement exam: we modified the placement exam scoring and required the placement exam for students enrolling in Chem 131 (Prep Chem), which
restricted this class to only students that needed additional preparation, allowing the instructor to focus the course content and delivery.
Chem 131: working with local high schools and with Chem 161 instructors, we determined which essential chemistry and math skills needed to be reviewed to
bridge between high school and college chemistry, and we redesigned the course curriculum to focus on those skills. Analysis of success rates of former 131
students in Chem 161 suggests a 20% improvement in average grade.
Chem 162: we created 4th hour recitations led by undergraduate learning assistants which focused on problem solving skills. Comparison of sections with and
without the recitations shows a roughly 10% improvement in average grade.
Chem 272 and 273: we instituted instructor- and/or TA-led 4th hours that focus on essential critical thinking skills needed for success in organic chemistry.
Assessment of the success of these changes is ongoing.
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.
Chem 131/161 analysis: approximately 150 students who took Chem 131 in Fall 2019 enrolled in Chem 161 in Spring 2020 and their exam and course grades
were analyzed and compared to similar data from Fall 2017. Recently, one instructor has instituted the American Chemical Society first year general chemistry
exam as a method to obtain external validation of SLO success.
Chem 162 analysis: In Spring 2019, two sections of Chem 162 with approximately 200 students in each section were compared to determine the effectiveness
of LA-led recitations. We examined exam scores and final grades. We also conducted surveys of approx. 200 students in LA-led recitations to obtain feedback
on ways to improve the student experience in these recitations.
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.
Analysis of exam scores for students who prgressed from Chem 131 into Chem 161 validated the success of our Chem 131 curriculum redesign., with
approximately 20% decrease in DFWI among those students in Chem 161. Anecdotal evidence collected by the course instructor led to incorporation of
fundamental math skills refreshers into Chem 131, daramatically improving student performance in 131 and presumably having a carryforward positive effect
on 161.
Analysis of exam scores in sections of Chem 162 using LA-led recitations demonstrated a 10% average improvement for students in those sections as
compared to prior years that did not use LAs. We have now expanded the LA-led recitations to all sections of Chem 162.
Administration of the ACS first-year general chemistry exam to one section of Chem 161 resulted in exam scores ~20% above the national average, validating
achievement of SLOs 1&3.
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.
We have continued the use of LA-led recitations in all sections of Chem 162 and continue to monitor student success and to conduct surveys of student
satisfaction.
We instituted instructor- and/or TA-led recitations in Chem 272 & 273 and will be collecting data in 2021 to determine the success of these
changes.
In 2021, faculty discussed and decided to incorporate in all sections of Chem 161 and 162 the use of the American Chemical Society general chemistry exams in an effort to improve consistency of instruction across sections with different instructors, and to identify topics that need additional attention in the course design.
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.
The recent forced move to online instruction has led several faculty to experiment with different methods of online instruction and to determine that many students respond well to online instructional tools. For example, the use of online textbooks with instructional videos allows students to review the course content mutiple times while working through homework assignments. We are exploring ways to retain some of the best of these online methods once F2F instruction resumes.
We also determined that students do not easily learn many of the finer details of chemical reactivity, stereochemistry, and mechanistic reasoning through online instruction. These topics seem to require a level of back-and-forth communication that is difficult to achieve in an online environment.
17) If the program did not engage in assessment activities, please justify.
N/A