Student Learning Outcomes for the UCCS Knowledge Areas

Student Learning Outcomes for the UCCS Knowledge Areas

Diverse Cultures

Assessment Procedure

To fulfill the “diverse cultures” requirement of the Core of Common Studies, students select one course from among the 39 listed in the Bulletin. Student learning in diverse cultures was assessed in 22 courses in 2014-15 1. Items from exams, essays, assignments, presentations, papers/projects, reflections, journaling, discussion posts, case analysis and multiple choice tests were used to score students’ level of proficiency in each of the three learning outcomes. A scoring rubric categorized students as having exceeded, met or developing the outcome. Instructors were free to define levels of proficiency according to their own standards. Not every course assessed all three outcomes. In some courses, information was insufficient to determine whether the student artifact assessed was in fact related to the learning outcome.

Data summaries were received from the following courses:

ADPR 4600 International and Multicultural Advertising and Public Relations

ANTH 1001 Introductory Anthropology

EDUC 1210 Introduction to Schooling in a Diverse Society

EDUC 3240 Critical Inquiry into Contemporary Issues

ENGL 4810 Race, Ethnicity and Identity in American Literature and Culture

ENGL 4825 Native American / Indigenous Literatures

ENGL 4840 Postcolonial Literatures

HEAL 1025 Culture and Health

HIST 1401 Africa

HIST 1501 Survey of East Asian Civilization

HIST 4120 American Immigration

INPS 2010 Introduction to Peace Studies

LEOR 3150 The Culturally Diverse Organization

MANA 3035 Diversity in Organizations

SOCI 3280 Race and Family

SOCI 4400 Social Inequality

SOWJ 2150 Immigrants and their Communities

SPAN 3300 People and Cultures of Spain

SPAN 3310 Peoples and Cultures of Spanish America

THEO 2420 Bridging the Racial Divide (2 sections)

THEO 4020 The Bible in the Jewish Community (2 sections)

1 Some assessment results were from the previous academic year.

Assessment Results

The tables below summarize the assessment results by objective. Results are displayed by course section and for the objective as a whole.

Overall, students demonstrated similar proficiency in all three objectives. Between 46% - 49% were rated as having exceeded the standard for the objective, 38% - 40% met, and 11% - 14% were developing. Students were rated slightly higher on objective 3 (Critically reflect upon one's personal and cultural presuppositions and how these affect one's values and relationships.) Results varied greatly by course.

Objective 1: Identify differences and similarities in communication, values, practices
and beliefs between one's own culture and other cultures.
Summary by course and overall
Course / Percent exceeds / Percent Meets / Percent Developing / Number of Students
ADPR 4600 / 22% / 49% / 30% / 37
ANTH 1001 / 59% / 30% / 11% / 270
EDUC 1210 / 69% / 31% / 0% / 26
EDUC 3240 / 79% / 21% / 0% / 19
ENGL 4810 / 22% / 59% / 19% / 27
ENGL 4825 / 30% / 65% / 5% / 20
ENGL 4840 / 31% / 38% / 31% / 13
HIST 1401 / 94% / 6% / 0% / 16
HIST 1501 / 63% / 37% / 0% / 16
HIST 4120 / 0% / 100% / 0% / 7
INPS 2010 / 70% / 20% / 10% / 10
LEOR 3150 / 47% / 41% / 12% / 17
MANA 3035 / 35% / 57% / 8% / 60
SOCI 3280 / 34% / 45% / 21% / 38
SOCI 4400 / 32% / 53% / 16% / 38
SOWJ 2150 / 39% / 42% / 19% / 31
SPAN 3300 / 28% / 61% / 11% / 18
SPAN 3310 / 25% / 59% / 16% / 32
THEO 2420 / 86% / 12% / 1% / 37
THEO 4020 / 32% / 39% / 29% / 65
Objective 1 Total / 49% / 38% / 13% / 834
Objective 2: Explain how categories of human diversity influence personal
identities and can create structural and institutional inequity.
Summary by course and overall
Course / Percent exceeds / Percent Meets / Percent Developing / Number of Students
ADPR 4600 / 22% / 49% / 30% / 37
ANTH 1001 / 51% / 37% / 12% / 270
EDUC 1210 / 62% / 38% / 0% / 26
EDUC 3240 / 84% / 16% / 0% / 19
ENGL 4810 / 33% / 44% / 22% / 27
ENGL 4825 / 35% / 60% / 5% / 20
ENGL 4840 / 38% / 38% / 23% / 13
HEAL 1025 / 28% / 51% / 21% / 80
HIST 1401 / 94% / 6% / 0% / 16
HIST 4120 / 0% / 100% / 0% / 7
LEOR 3150 / 47% / 41% / 12% / 17
MANA 3035 / 21% / 74% / 5% / 61
SOCI 3280 / 45% / 39% / 16% / 38
SOCI 4400 / 84% / 13% / 3% / 38
SOWJ 2150 / 38% / 41% / 21% / 29
SPAN 3310 / 44% / 47% / 9% / 32
THEO 2420 / 85% / 12% / 3% / 37
THEO 4020 / 9% / 50% / 41% / 64
Objective 2 Total / 46% / 40% / 14% / 868
Objective 3: Critically reflect upon one's personal and cultural presuppositions and
how these affect one's values and relationships
Summary by course and overall
Course / Percent exceeds / Percent Meets / Percent Developing / Number of Students
ADPR 4600 / 22% / 33% / 44% / 36
ANTH 1001 / 41% / 51% / 8% / 270
EDUC 1210 / 27% / 69% / 4% / 26
EDUC 3240 / 89% / 11% / 0% / 19
ENGL 4810 / 15% / 44% / 41% / 27
ENGL 4825 / 45% / 45% / 10% / 20
ENGL 4840 / 38% / 31% / 31% / 13
HIST 1401 / 94% / 6% / 0% / 16
HIST 4120 / 0% / 100% / 0% / 7
INPS 2010 / 60% / 30% / 10% / 10
LEOR 3150 / 47% / 41% / 12% / 17
MANA 3035 / 35% / 57% / 8% / 60
SOCI 3280 / 26% / 53% / 21% / 38
SOCI 4400 / 84% / 16% / 0% / 38
SOWJ 2150 / 90% / 10% / 0% / 31
SPAN 3310 / 41% / 44% / 16% / 32
THEO 2420 / 76% / 20% / 4% / 37
THEO 4020 / 69% / 25% / 6% / 64
Objective 3 Total / 49% / 40% / 11% / 798

Best practice examples:

HEAL 1025 used multiple measures across multiple sections, randomly selected assignments to assess, trained doctoral students as raters, computed inter-rater reliabilities, and included exemplars of essays and discussion posts at each proficiency level.

THEO 2420 used a detailed analytic rubric with 7 exam questions directly related to the diverse cultures learning outcomes. Student point ratings were converted to proficiency levels for the assessment.

The English department enlisted faculty members not associated with the assessed courses to evaluate student work, thereby separating the assessment process from grading.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Most concluded that the courses were successful in meeting diverse cultures learning outcomes. Course topics vary significantly in this knowledge area, and could be expected to address some learning outcomes more comprehensively than others. Some measures worked better than others to assess learning.

Most were able to identify several ways to improve the course (e.g., provide more examples and opportunities for practice, review service learning placements, provide a written study guide, design a longer case study, provide opportunities for formative feedback earlier in the course, find ways to generate more interactive discussion, devote time to academic writing and research, increase variety of pedagogical approaches, incorporate reflection papers or exercises.) In the department of Social and Cultural Sciences, faculty planned to meet to discuss curricular strategies that could be adopted.

Some participants in this process suggested that the diverse cultures learning outcomes be revised. The language for learning outcome #3 was seen as particularly problematic. Increasing the diverse cultures requirement to two classes, one focused on global perspectives and one on national perspectives, was recommended to better address diversity. Future assessments should strive to attain a more precise match between outcomes to be measured and assessment instruments, and should strengthen reliability by ensuring that norming sessions are conducted prior to assessment. Class size and teaching support must be considered when deciding what types of assessments are feasible. Consider adopting a standardized rubric across courses and types of assessments.

Use of Assessment Results

On 1/27/16, the CCRC voted to accept the report on the diverse cultures knowledge area assessment. Members met the following recommendations:

1.  To encourage instructors or units overseeing assessment to more consistently match outcomes to instruments that can meaningfully measure student proficiency.

2.  To encourage instructors or units to follow the best practice of having norming sessions in advance of assessing student work to improve reliability.

3.  To encourage instructors or units to develop in advance of assessment rubrics for measurement.

Members noted that these best practices were followed in some but not all instances, and that regularizing these practices could make the results more meaningful.

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