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 first assessment project in the Gen Ed seven-year assessment plan is of Foundations Global and Multicultural Perspectives (FG). The FG assessment project is overseen by the GEC’s Assessment Working Group and FG Faculty Learning Community.
2019 – 2021: Foundations Global and Multicultural Perspectives (FG) Assessment Project
FG Assessment Project Timeline
FG Student Learning Objectives (SLOs)
The FG Faculty Learning Community (FG FLC) was formed of several faculty members from a variety of disciplines who have experience teaching FG designated courses. The FG FLC decided to revise UHM’s FG Student Learning Objectives as the first step. The FG FLC discussed revisions to UHM’s FG Student Learning Objectives during the Spring 2020 semester. After several drafts and by the end of the semester, the FG FLC proposed a set of revised Student Learning Objectives to the GEC. The GEC voted on and approved the revised FG Student Learning Objectives on May 8, 2020. The revised FG SLOs are:
Students will be able to:
FGLO1. Global Learning (content/know): Students will demonstrate an understanding of human development and cultural changes through time from prehistory to the present and across major regions of the globe–Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania–and with particular emphasis on the unique cultural contributions from Hawaiian, Pacific, and/or Asian societies. This includes identifying the basic role of some global and local institutions, ideas, and processes in human and natural worlds.
FGLO2. Intercultural Literacy (skill based/do): Using disciplinary-based modes of inquiry, and evidence by or about diverse cultures, students will imagine the perspectives of people from those cultures and evaluate the complexities of interactions across cultures.
FGLO3. Personal and Social Responsibility (value): Through interpersonal and/or intellectual engagement, students will respond to, interact with, describe, and/or analyze human cultures with sensitivity and respect.
FG Faculty Learning Community
The Assessment and Curriculum Support Center provided funds to the General Education Office to purchase resources to support the FG Assessment Project. The FG FLC members completed a poll and selected the following two resources:
- Landorf, H., Doscher, S., & Hadrick, J. (2018). Making global learning universal: Promoting inclusion and success for all students. Sterling, VA: Stylus (Amazon)
- Standish, A. (2012). The false promise of global learning: Why education needs boundaries. New York, NY: Bloomsbury (Bloomsbury)
The GEC’s Assessment Working Group facilitated book discussions with the FG Faculty Learning Community in Fall 2020. The sessions focused on the books’ themes and how they applied to the teaching and learning of FG. The FG Faculty Learning Community members were encouraged to bring a reading, assignment, or other course material from an FG designated course that represented a theme(s) from each book. Constructive feedback was shared so that members walked away from the discussions with ideas to enhance their courses.
Assessment of Student Assignments
The GEC’s Assessment Working Group constructed a survey on the Instructional Experiences with Foundations Global and Multicultural Perspectives that was sent to faculty currently teaching FG designated courses. The survey’s response rate was 17%. The survey results can be found here.
Based on the survey results, the GEC’s Assessment Working Group decided to assess FG SLO #1.
FGLO1. Global Learning (content/know): Students will demonstrate an understanding of human development and cultural changes through time from prehistory to the present and across major regions of the globe – Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania – and with particular emphasis on the unique cultural contributions from Hawaiian, Pacific, and/or Asian societies. This includes identifying the basic role of some global and local institutions, ideas, and processes in human and natural worlds.
The GEC’s Assessment Working Group adapted the AAC&U Global Learning VALUE Rubric to create a rubric to assess FG SLO #1.
Faculty members who taught FG designated courses in the Fall 2020 semester were invited to voluntarily participate in this assessment project. The General Education Office determined a stratified random sample from the rosters of the participating course sections. Participating faculty shared completed assignments that aligned with FG SLO #1 from the randomly selected students.
A Scoring Session occurred on August 4, 2021. The goal of the Scoring Session was for faculty members to score student work for the General Education-level assessment of student learning. Faculty raters practiced using the rubric on the assignments collected from FG-designated courses. Scores were discussed to develop a shared understanding of how students are demonstrating their achievement of FG SLO #1, and how well students are achieving FG SLO #1. Additionally, the faculty raters were asked to share their experiences with the scoring process and suggestions for improving the rubric.
FG Assessment Report
The GEO Director and Assessment Coordinator aggregated the findings and prepared a report.
The key takeaways were:
- Overall, 86% of the student artifacts met expectations for FG SLO #1.
- By dimension, students were slightly stronger in Understanding Cultural Diversity and weaker in Understanding Global Systems.
- 33% of respondents reported Africa as the geographic area they spend the least amount of class time on.
- 73% of respondents reported Africa as the geographic area they think their students have the least amount of knowledge prior to taking their class.
FG Faculty Professional Development
The results of the report were discussed with the FG Faculty Learning Community and the Foundations Board. As a result, the Foundations Board conducted a workshop on “Teaching About Africa in FG Courses” on March 31, 2023 and compiled a series of resources about Africa for faculty teaching FG courses.
What’s Next?
Ongoing faculty professional development will be offered to support student learning.
Foundations Global and Multicultural Perspectives is due to be assessed again in 2027.
2010 – 2012: Student Success Project: A Longitudinal Cohort Study
The Assessment and Curriculum Support Center conducted the “Student Success Project: A Longitudinal Cohort Study” in 2012. The cohort was composed of 251 first-year students who entered UHM in fall 2010.
The following PowerPoint was presented to the Foundations Board with information on FG after the cohort completed years 1 and 2.
The following is a Summary of Findings on Learning and Global and Multicultural Perspectives.
More information is provided by the Assessment and Curriculum Support Center here about the Student Success Project.