Program: Japanese (BA)
Degree: Bachelor's
Date: Thu Oct 10, 2013 - 11:02:50 am
1) Below are your program's student learning outcomes (SLOs). Please update as needed.
[SLO1: ORAL] Engage in oral communication in Japanese in various social contexts, in linguistically and culturally appropriate ways.
[SLO2: READING] Read and comprehend texts written in Japanese from a variety of genres and contexts (e.g., newspapers, essay collections, novels).
[SLO3: WRITING] Apply critical thinking and rhetorical skills to produce coherent written works and presentations in both English and Japanese.
[SLO4: RESEARCH] Use a variety of Japanese reference works and sources, including dictionaries and encyclopedias both in book form and on the internet.
[SLO5: RESEARCH] Conduct independent research on topics in Japanese literature and/or linguistics, and effectively communicate the results.
[SLO6: LINGUISTICS] Demonstrate an understanding of phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics through analysis of words, phrases, and clauses from authentic Japanese samples.
[SLO7: LITERATURE] Identify and describe major authors, works, features, forms, and styles of Japanese literature, both premodern and modern.
[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.
[SLO9: LITERATURE] Situate and evaluate Japanese literature in its social, historical, intellectual, and religious contexts.
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, 2012 and September 30, 2013? (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 June 1, 2012 to September 30, 2013: 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. 28 of 43 graduating seniors (65%) responded to the Exit Survey.
2. 18 of 42 inivited students (43%) took the OPI Test.
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
Responses to the 2012-13 Exit Survey revealed that, in general, students held 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," 21 of 28 respondents said they had "mostly attained" or "fully attained" the goals they had hoped to reach. The responses to Q. 12, "Overall satisfaction with the program," fell into the categories of "Somewhat satisfied" and "Very satisfied" for most areas. Scores were especially high for "Faculty mentoring and advising" and "Faculty's ability to keep pace with the field." A significant group of students indicated that their satisfaction was "Neutral" in the areas of "Extra-curricular activities," "Research opportunities," and "Career training opportunities." Comments indicated a wish to better connect courses to careers.
Q. 13, "Satisfaction with the courses in the program," showed that the majority of students were "Somewhat satisfied" or "Very Satisfied" with nearly all areas of our course offerings. "Overall quality of instruction" and "Class size" received especially high marks. "Course availability" remains a concern, with roughly a third of the respondents being "Somewhat dissatisfied." Comments indicated that the complaints about course availability often involved courses being scheduled at the same time.
Q. 15, "Self-assessment of learning outcomes," showed that students felt they could perform "Adequately" or better in all of the SLOs listed in our Curriculum Map.
Q. 20, "What recommendations do you have to improve the program," elicited a pattern of students desiring more practice, especially in upper-level classes, in the spoken Japanese used in real world situations. There were also concerns expressed about difficulties in transferring credits from study-abroad programs.
OPI Test
18 students took the OPI test in 2012-13. Of these, 9 students fell into the Intermediate High group, with the others falling on either side. We feel these are good and consistent results for the level of instruction the students receive. There was clear evidence that participation in study abroad improves a student's speaking ability.
12) State how the program used the results or plans to use the results. Please be specific.
1. 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 reviewed our course schedule for 2013-14 and have made efforts to spread out our courses.
2. The Japanese Section is currently conducting a review of our 100- and 200-level program. Part of the goal of this review is to update our language courses to increase student exposure to the Japanese used in real-life situations.
3. We regularly offer JPN 420, a course in advanced spoken Japanese specifically designed to offer upper-level training in the language used in real-life situations. We will modify the description for this course so that its purpose is clearer to undergraduates.
3. We have modified the accelerated courses JPN 105-205 to meet the needs of pre-professional students. These courses stress the language used in real-life conversations encountered in business and professional contexts. We have also submitted a new course proposal for JPN 311, "Third-Year Japanese for Professional Communication," whose focus will be the spoken language used in the business and professional workplace. We plan next term to propose JPN 312, a continuation of JPN 311.
4. We have identified a select group of faculty to assist with evaluating transfer credit. This should result in more efficient and consistent handling of study-abroad transcripts.