LGBT 21 - Issues in Lesbian Relationships (switch to course assessment form) - Stage 5 - Trinity Ordona
Assessment
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| Assessment Description | MIDTERM PAPER & STUDENT SELF-ASSESSMENTS THROUGH WEEKLY ONLINE POSTINGS: The Midterm paper as well as weekly forum postings, reports and papers and student self-assessment confidential postings to the instructor from homework and special assignments are direct indicators of content understanding throughout the course and correlate to SLO #A-G. DIRECT OBSERVATIONS: 2 required Student-Faculty mtgs and 1 in-person class in both Fall '12 and Sp '13 classes is s further means to determine student's understanding of materials; assessed as on-target with SLOs #A-G. PRE & POST SURVEYS: Two quantitative self-reporting surveys (posted online) to measure the levels and frequencies of distress (1-5 scale) and well-being/feeling good about self (1-5 scale) are given in Wks. 1 & 1"19" (optional class in an 18 week course). |
| Learning Outcomes | ALL SLOs |
| Number of Sections | 1 |
| Number of Instructors | 3 |
| Number of Students | 15 |
Data Analysis
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| Data Summary | PRE & POST SURVEYS: Two quantitative self-reporting surveys given in Wks. 1 & 19. 1) Self-reported measure of the levels and frequencies of distress (Now: My Stating Point and Now; The End of this Journey, using a 1-5 scale with 5 = highest level of stress, tension) 1. Level of distress: PRE: 3.0; POST: 1.5 2. One the average, my daily distress level now is: PRE: 2.2; POST: 2.0 3. Nowadays, on a particularly stressful day, I feel: PRE: 3.0; POST: 2.2 2) Self-reported measure of well-being/feeling good about self (Creating Change in My Life , using a 1-5 scale with 5 = Feeling very good about myself and this goal) showed both overall increase and decrease in well-being: 1. Body & spirit awareness PRE: 4.2; POST: 4.5 2. Creating change in my life PRE: 4.5; POST: 4.5 3. Feeling good emotionally PRE: 4.4; POST: 4.5 4. Getting over past negative experiences PRE: 4.2; POST: 4.2 5. Healthy Boundaries PRE: 4.5; POST: 4.0 6. Health Relationships PRE: 4.7; POST: 4.2 7. Life Purpose PRE: 4.2; POST: 4.0 8. Meditation, Self-Reflection PRE: 3.5; POST: 3.8 9. Personal Growth PRE: 4.8; POST: 4.2 10. Self Esteem PRE: 4.4; POST: 4.2 11. Spirituality PRE: 3.4; POST: 4.0 |
| Analysis Summary | SUBJECTIVE MEASURES: All of the students who completed the assessment activities (weekly postings, self-assessment reflections, special assignment reports, midterm paper) indicated through these tools an understanding of gender and sexuality relationship problems (i.e. homophobia; sexism; money, power, sex incompatibility or dysfunctionality) and how to resolve them, as it pertains to themselves and lesbians in general. This was confirmed through direct observation at 2 Student-Faculty mtgs and 1 in-person class. OBJECTIVE MEASURES - Pre & POST SURVEYS: However, the Pre & Post surveys measuring well-being and frequency and level of stress which showed a BOTH a decrease and increase, OVERALL in frequency and level of stress and feelings of well-being. This may be due to the fact that the Sp '13 survey was only completed by 27% of the total class respondents (4 of 15) compared to 65% of the total Fall '12 class (11 of 17). Based on an evaluation of the 4 "post" respondents, 2 showed a remarkable improvement (6 and 17 increased points) while 2 showed a very small deceases (-1 and -3 decreased points). The very low number of respondents in the sample therefore skews the overall findings. |
| Next Steps Planned | While the measures and assessments have positively confirmed Student Learning Outcomes, I believe the measures and assessment tools can be further improved to more easily derive a direct 1-to-1 correlation between measures and outcomes. Therefore: MIDTERM EXAM: I am deleting the Midterm Paper in favor of 3 essay papers which will be required at 3 significant sections of the class. The paper topics will correlate to specific SLOs and therefore, may be a more objectifiable measure of achieving a specific SLO. This will also provide a timely assessment tool that corresponds to the students throughout the entire course of the class. PRE & POST SURVEYS: Currently, the "Post" survey was in the last week "19", which was an "optional, extra credit" class, so I think any of the students who did not need any extra credit points did not even see the survey. Therefore, I will place the "post" survey in the last required week of the class to increase respondent participation. |
| Learning Outcomes | ALL SLOs |
Changes
| Details | In Sp'13, I lengthened the time and place of opportunity to meet with students (2 campuses, increased phone meetings) for a total of 3 faculty-student face-to-face meetings in an online class. |
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| Learning Outcomes | ALL |
Tentative Future Plans
| Term | Spring 2014 |
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| Activities | Implementation of planned changes and reassessment |
| More Details | As stated in my earlier assessment, the current SLOs (which are 7) should be updated and revised down to 3 comprehensive SLOs. No such revisions were being considered by the Curriculum Committee in the past year, 2012-13. With agreement with my Dept Chair, I plan to submit updated SLOs during this school year, 2013-14. MIDTERM EXAM: I am deleting the Midterm Paper in favor of 3 essay papers which will be required at 3 significant sections of the class. The paper topics will correlate to specific SLOs and therefore, may be a more objectifiable measure of achieving a specific SLO. This will also provide a timely assessment tool that corresponds to the students throughout the entire course of the class. PRE & POST SURVEYS: Currently, the "Post" survey was in the last week "19," which was an "optional, extra credit" class, so I think any of the 15 students who completed the class but did not need any extra credit points did not even open "Week 19" and therefore, see the survey. In Fall '13, I will place the "post" survey in the last required week of the class to increase respondent participation. ON-GOING ASSESSMENT: I have also arranged a "buddy" system with another faculty member who teaches the "Gay Male Relationships" class (LGBT 24), as our classes have many similarities and goals. We have spoken and plan to share our Fall 2013 assessment results to improve our classes. |
SLO Details Storage Location
- HARD COPY - In my personal filing system (my office)
- ELECTRONIC COPY - In my electronic filing system (hard drive or web server)
Additional Highlights
The creation of the pre & post surveys was an objective way to measure self-reported changes within each student, and as a class as a whole. This was useful in having an objective means to demonstrate this. I was very pleased and somewhat astonished by the one student who reported a 17 point increase in well-being by the end of the class, as he initially held back in the disclosures of his feelings, history and issues.But along with quantitative measures also come the pitfalls, and in this case, a very low number of respondents skewed the "post" outcomes (though overall, still positive).
As well, dispensing with the midterm paper, but requiring several short papers and reports and planning to discuss them with each student will provide a more objective way to indicate whether the student has achieved the intended outcome. It will also provide a means to measure progress during the course, rather than be solely dependent on the measures taken by only those who complete the course.