Program: Anthropology (BA)
Degree: Bachelor's
Date: Fri Nov 19, 2010 - 11:04:41 am
1) Below are the program student learning outcomes submitted last year. Please add/delete/modify as needed.
1. Learn to think anthropologically, specifically to include cross-cultural perspectives, especially in regard to issues of diversity and commonality in understanding human societies.
2. Gain a basic understanding of the origin and development of humanity.
3. Develop the ability to think critically about cultural assumptions and use active learning modes in assessing their effects on social processes.
4. Acquire a holistic understanding of how biological evolution and cultural histories interact.
5. Understand how populations adapt to social and environmental change, especially in terms of human empowerment.
6. Become culturally literate with regard to the physical and cultural dimensions of the Pacific and Asian regions, including historical movements and connections among diverse populations.
7. Learn various methods employed by anthropologists from a variety of sub-disciplines and specializations.
2) As of last year, your program's SLOs were published as follows. Please update as needed.
Department Website URL: http://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/index.html
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online: http://www.anthropology.hawaii.edu/Programs/Degrees/Bachelor%20of%20Arts/Majoring_Flyer.pdf UHM Catalog. Page Number: Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: http://socialsciences.people.hawaii.edu/esyllabi/index.cfm Other: Other: 3) Below is the link to your program's curriculum map (if submitted in 2009). If it has changed or if we do not have your program's curriculum map, please upload it as a PDF.
- File (03/16/2020)
4) The percentage of courses in 2009 that had course SLOs explicitly stated on the syllabus, a website, or other publicly available document is indicated below. Please update as needed.
0% 1-50% 51-80%
81-99% 100%5) State the assessment question(s) and/or goals of the assessment activity. Include the SLOs that were targeted, if applicable.
We wanted to look more closely at perhaps the most central and generalizable SLO that we expect our students to take away from the study of anthropology, the concept and practice of cultural relativity. One basic question is the baseline of awareness that students bring to anthropology classes.
6) State the type(s) of evidence gathered.
Because of the complexity of the question and our uncertainty as to the most appropriate evidence and methods of investigation, our first step was to discuss the question of student awareness of cultural relativity as a formulated doctrine--that is not just in the unreflected activities of everyday life--among ourselves, based not on precise measurement but on the experience of teaching introductory classes in anthropology.
7) Who interpreted or analyzed the evidence that was collected?
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: 8) How did they evaluate, analyze, or interpret the evidence?
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: 9) State how many persons submitted evidence that was evaluated.
If applicable, please include the sampling technique used.
In this preliminary step in designing an assessment procedure, the persons involved were faculty members who had long experience in teaching our introductory class in cultural anthropology. These faculty members included the department chair, and undergraduate advisor, and faculty members who routinely offer the course. Some participants had been teaching the course with regularity over the course of some thirty years and could offer historical perspective on changes in students life experiences--for example, the possible impact of new electronic communication technology.
10) Summarize the actual results.
Our discussions pointed the way to the development of questions that could be asked of our students in a systematic way at stages in their exposure to anthropological instruction so that we can observe the dynamics of learning involved. We also clarified our ideas about implicit and discursive knowledge of cultural relativity. That is, the "how to" versus the "how to talk about" the social, interactive practice.
11) How did your program use the results? --or-- Explain planned use of results.
Please be specific.
The next step will be to develop the measurement techniques that will be appropriate--valid, reliable, and practical in terms of course management, and so on. We are currently using the results of the preliminary work to design test runs.
12) Beyond the results, were there additional conclusions or discoveries? This can include insights about assessment procedures, teaching and learning, program aspects and so on.
One conclusion is that SLOs are not realistically confined to discursive knowledge--that is, the student's being able to recite formulated knowledge. The expression of the concept in practice shold be considered part of the educational process.
13) Other important information:
SLOs can be classified in terms of their generalizability in students' lives. Some key concepts, such as cultural relativity, represent a different species, so to speak, from technical knowledge such as reserch methodologies.