EMBEDDED OUTCOMES-BASED ASSESSMENT FOR WRITING

SKILLS IN CHEMISTRY COURSES Jason D. PowellFerrum College

Saturday, October 15, 20111:30-2:30 PMACA SummitAsheville, NC

Information Gathering

Briefly: Who are you? Where do you teach? What subject(s) do you teach? What do you hope to gain from this session?

About Ferrum College Chemistry

Ferrum College is a 4-year college serving ~1,500 primarily residential undergraduate students in rural southwestern Virginia

The chemistry program operates mostly in a service capacity to other programs (Pre-Professional Science, Health Sciences, Agriculture, Biology, Environmental Science, Horticulture, Sports Medicine)

~60 students per year take introductory chemistry, ~50 students per year take general chemistry, ~20 students per year take organic chemistry, and upper-level chemistry courses have ~15 or fewer students

All students majoring in the natural sciences take a 3-semester sequence of 2-credit courses for junior and senior seminar in which they research and develop a synthesis question related to their major and minor fields of study

The Old Way

Student Learning Outcomes - Campus

1. Liberal ArtsThrough experiences in the Core Requirements, the

Ferrum College graduate will• Demonstrate integrated knowledge in the liberal

arts• Demonstrate information literacy, using available

technology when appropriate• Demonstrate competency in quantitative skills and

reading

2. Critical ThinkingThrough opportunities to engage in critical thinking,

both curricular and cocurricular, the Ferrum College graduate will

• Think critically and solve problems through analysis, evaluation, inference, induction, and deduction

3. Communication SkillsThrough experiences in both the Core Requirements

and the Major, the Ferrum College graduate will• Communicate with unity of purpose and coherent

organization consistent with standard rules and recognized conventions using appropriate methodologies

4. Competence in Academic Discipline

Through experiences in the Major, the Ferrum College graduate will

• Demonstrate a depth of knowledge, capability and ethical reasoning in a chosen field

5. CitizenshipThrough opportunities, both curricular

and co-curricular, the Ferrum College graduate will

• Demonstrate awareness of local, national and global issues

• Demonstrate personal responsibility• Collaborate with people of diverse

cultural attitudes, beliefs and values

Student Learning Outcomes - Chemistry

CHM01. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of fundamental chemical principles and the evidence and reasoning that support them.

CHM02. Use quantitative reasoning skills to sample, analyze, and interpret data for problem solving.

CHM03. Use and understand relevant methods, tools, and techniques in chemistry.

CHM04. Integrate and apply knowledge and skills independently and cooperatively in a professional setting.

CHM05. Understand the relevance of chemistry to concerns of society.

Rubric

Rubric (continued)

Rubric (continued)

Rubric (continued)

Results – Senior-Level Inorganic Chemistry Class

Students averaged 88.8% on first writing assignment and 92.6% on second writing assignment Improvements attributed by students to a better

understanding of the elements of the rubric, even though the second writing assignment was perceived as being more difficult and less guided

Consistent improvement in items related to content-matter understanding and appropriate research skills, no significant change in scores related to writing mechanics

Take-Home Messages Embedded assessments allow for more efficient

use of faculty time, and results are more relevant to essential student learning in specific courses

Rubrics provide a quick and easy way to standardize faculty scoring of student work by using specific desired traits

Customizing rubrics using common elements makes the assessment useful to the campus unit and to a specific instructor without impinging on academic freedom

Consistent usage of campus-wide rubrics allow students to develop an understanding of faculty expectations with respect to various student learning outcomes

Future Work

Ferrum’s QEP is “Critical Thinking for Success” New formative rubric for critical thinking skills

incorporated into the rubric this semester Students just handed in their first paper on

Wednesday…

Contact Information

Jason D. PowellAssociate Professor of Chemistry and PhysicsDean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

jpowell@ferrum.eduwww.ferrum.edu/academics/faculty/

jason_powell.aspx

(540) 365-4376Garber Hall – Room 22480 Wiley DriveFerrum, VA 24088