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The University of Hawai’i at Mānoa’s (UHM) General Education Office (GEO) and General Education Committee (GEC) are committed to the assessment of student achievement of the General Education (Gen Ed) learning outcomes. The third assessment project in the Gen Ed seven-year assessment plan is of the Diversification requirement. The Diversification assessment project is overseen by the General Education Committee’s Assessment Working Group, General Education Office, and the Assessment and Curriculum Support Center.  

2020 – 2023: Diversification (DIV) Assessment Project

 

Summary of Faculty and Student Experiences:

 

DIV Assessment Project Timeline

DIV Student Learning Objectives (SLOs)

Beginning in Spring 2019, the Diversification Board began constructing Student Learning Objectives (SLOs). The Diversification Board submitted several drafts of SLOs and received feedback from the General Education Committee in Fall 2020. The General Education Committee voted and unanimously approved the Diversification SLOs at its December 17, 2020 meeting. The new Diversification SLOs are:

DA – Diversification Arts

Students will be able to:

DALO 1:  Understand definitions, descriptions, and terminology of the visual arts, performing arts, or other creative arts. 

DALO 2:  Demonstrate basic techniques in visual, performing, or other creative arts in response to phenomena. 

DALO 3:  Reproduce visual, performing, or other creative arts via more complex practical and theoretical skills. 

DALO 4:  Appreciate the imaginative and expressive traditions of cultures through engagement with or creation of art work or performance.  

DH – Diversification Humanities

Students will be able to:

DHLO 1:  Identify the terminology of historical, philosophical, language, religious studies, or other humanities disciplines. 

DHLO 2:  Interpret history, ethics, the representation of culture, or other issues of concern within humanities through the examination of materials and/or expressions of human experience and thought. 

DHLO 3:  Apply appropriate methods of inquiry and evidence-gathering to engage with the humanistic tradition. 

DL – Diversification Literatures

Students will be able to:

DLLO 1:  Identify the terminology of literary and/or cultural analysis. 

DLLO 2:  Interpret a variety of texts using the formal conventions of literary and/or cultural analysis. 

DLLO 3:  Apply appropriate methods — qualitative, quantitative, and/or argumentative — in the context of literary and/or cultural analysis.  

DB – Diversification Biological Sciences

Students will be able to:

DBLO 1:  Identify fundamental biological principles as they occur in diverse natural phenomena and situations.  

DBLO 2:  Express biological phenomena and scientific problems in quantitative and qualitative terms. 

DBLO 3:  Apply analytical and/or numerical methods toward the solution of problems in the biological sciences. 

DP – Diversification Physical Sciences

Students will be able to:

DPLO 1:  Identify fundamental physical principles as they occur in diverse natural phenomena and situations. 

DPLO 2:  Explain physical phenomena and scientific problems in quantitative or formal terms. 

DPLO 3:  Apply theoretical and/or computational methods toward the solution of problems in the physical sciences. 

DY – Diversification Science Laboratory

Students will be able to:

DYLO 1:  Identify experimental, observational, or measurement techniques from the corresponding field.  

DYLO 2:  Perform laboratory or quantitative techniques for testing, analysis, observation, and measurement. 

DYLO 3:  Apply the scientific method using theoretical concepts or techniques to execute experiments or analyze and interpret data.  

DS – Diversification Social Sciences

Students will be able to:

DSLO 1:  Identify the core concepts, theories, structures, and methods used in the social sciences.  

DSLO 2:  Interpret social science concepts and theories to better understand the social implications of social, cultural, or political structures on human behavior and interactions. 

DSLO 3:  Apply appropriate quantitative and/or qualitative methodologies such as interviews, surveys, and observations used in scientific study to analyze social structures and processes. 

Faculty Survey: Instructional Experiences with Diversification

In Fall 2020, the General Education Office and the Assessment and Curriculum Support Center discussed how to assess Diversification at UHM. It was determined that the most useful information to gather was baseline information about Diversification courses instead of doing any type of intervention. The two goals of the Diversification assessment project are:

  1. to have a better understanding of the teaching and learning that are occurring in Diversification courses
  2. to have discussions with faculty about their exposure to the SLOs and if they are reflecting on them in regards to their teaching and students’ learning

A Faculty Learning Community was not created for the Diversification assessment projects since the focus of the assessment project was not the assignment itself nor how to improve the assignment in the future.

The survey findings will be reviewed over Summer 2021 to decide how to plan the Fall 2021 data collection. 

The General Education Office identified high enrollment Diversification courses (courses with 101+ students) taught in Spring and Fall 2020. Based on the data, most of the high enrollment classes were designated with DB, DP, or DS. Emails were sent to the identified faculty members to alert them of the upcoming assessment project. 

After the faculty were alerted, the General Education Committee’s Assessment Working Group, General Education Office, and the Assessment and Curriculum Support Center created a survey that asked the faculty members the following: how did they evaluate student learning in their particular course, which Div outcome(s) were evaluated, and if they could share an assignment that counted towards a high percentage of the student’s grade. The survey results can be seen HERE.

Faculty Workshop: Diversification Discussion Workshop

The survey findings will be reviewed over Summer 2021 to decide how to plan the Fall 2021 data collection. 
Based on the types of assignments that faculty report in the survey, the General Education Commitee’s Assessment Working Group, General Education Office, and Assessment and Curriculum Support Center will develop resources for faculty to support their participation in the assessment. The groups will also work with the faculty on obtaining data from their classes. 

Student Focus Groups (Pilot)

Artifacts are assessed. General Education Office’s Director and Assessment Coordinator aggregates findings and prepares report for General Education Committee.   

Student Focus Groups (Final)

Results will be discussed with the Diversification Board. The General Education Commitee makes recommendations to improve the curriculum through faculty governance. An action plan is created. Results and recommendations are shared with faculty members. 

Ongoing teaching and faculty professional development support is offered. 

Student Learning Objectives Resources

From Spring 2019 to Fall 2020, the Diversification Board constructed Student Learning Objectives of the Diversification areas. The Board members used the following resources to guide their discussions and writing of the Diversification Student Learning Objectives. Click on the image of the resource to be taken to the webpage to download the resource.

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