Download MCLL Assessment Report 2009-10

Annual Assessment Report to the College 2009-2010
College: HUMANITIES
Department: MODERN AND CLASSICAL LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES
Program: Note: Please submit report to your department chair or program coordinator and to the Associate Dean of your College by September 30, 2010.
You may submit a separate report for each program which conducted assessment activities.
Liaison: VAHRAM SHEMMASSIAN
1. Overview of Annual Assessment Project(s)
1a. Assessment Process Overview: Provide a brief overview of the intended plan to assess the program this year. Is assessment under the
oversight of one person or a committee?
Assessment is under the oversight of one person. Since I was the new MCLL liaison, it took some time for me to acclimate to my new role and
responsibilities and so the 2009-2010 MCLL assessment report pertains only to the Spring Semester 2010 (although I attended all assessment
liaison meetings during the Fall Semester 2009). That said, we chose SLO #4: “Understand the nature of language, its function, structure, and
interactional (social) purposes” and applied it to 400- and 500-level courses.
1b. Implementation and Modifications: Did the actual assessment process deviate from what was intended? If so, please describe any
modification to your assessment process and why it occurred.
The actual assessment process did not deviate from what was intended, although some instructors also addressed the issue of critical thinking,
March 30, 2009, prepared by Bonnie Paller
which was not part of SLO #4. This means that whatever the SLO, critical thinking cannot be dissociated from the whole picture.
2. Student Learning Outcome Assessment Project: Answer questions according to the individual SLO assessed this year. If you assessed an
additional SLO, report in the next chart below.
2a. Which Student Learning Outcome was measured this year?
SLO #4: Understand the nature of language, its function, structure, and interactional (social) purposes.
2b. What assessment instrument(s) were used to measure this SLO?
FREN 405: N/A
FLIT 424: Rubric (attached)
FLIT 485: Rubric (attached)
FLIT 491: N/A
JAPN 401: Rubrics, essay correction key (attached)
SPAN 509: Teacher provided students with written questions and paragraphs taken from the different works read in class. Questions not
attached.
SPAN 560: Same as SPAN 509
2c. Describe the participants sampled to assess this SLO: discuss sample/participant and population size for this SLO. For example, what type of
students, which courses, how decisions were made to include certain participants.
FREN 405: N/A
March 30, 2009, prepared by Bonnie Paller
FLIT 424: One student, a senior with Classics minor, was taught via Individual Study (ten hour-long discussions with instructor, with two papers).
FLIT 485: 23 students in the class, 4 of whom of Russian descent, and 2 of Armenian descent (from Armenia with knowledge of Russian). Of the
remaining 17 students, 7 were Languages and Cultures majors, and the balance of 10 students was majoring in English, Spanish, Marketing,
Humanities, Journalism, and Math. Instructor included all of the students as participants in the SLO.
FLIT 491: N/A
JAPN 401: 15 students. Spring 2010 was their 6th semester to study Japanese. Instructor excluded 2 students, because one of them was a
heritage Japanese learner and the other had studied Japanese two semesters longer than the sample.
SPAN 509: 30 students, 3 of whom in the MA program.
SPAN 560: 32 students, 6 of whom in the MA program
2d. Describe the assessment design methodology: For example, was this SLO assessed longitudinally (same students at different points) or was
a cross-sectional comparison used (comparing freshmen with seniors)? If so, describe the assessment points used.
FREN 405: N/A
FLIT 424: Two papers were written for the course, one of which was assessed based on rubric.
FLIT 485: The assessment of this course is based solely on the end-of-term paper that students have to submit.
FLIT 491: N/A
JAPN 401: Longitudinal assessment in 4th week, 9th week, and 13th week.
SPAN 509: Graduate and undergraduate students were assessed with the same methodology, but always taking into account the more
developed level of critical thinking and analysis of the graduate students.
SPAN 560: Graduate students were assessed by giving them a 15-page paper at the end of the term in addition to the short papers written in
class. Each student had the opportunity to present an analysis of an article from a journal or other source, and discuss its application to any of
the texts read in class. Thus, the methodology incorporated the assessment of undergraduate and graduate students. Seniors had to write
March 30, 2009, prepared by Bonnie Paller
reaction papers, do a presentation of an article on the subject, and take a midterm exam. Graduates had to turn in reaction papers, do a
scholarly article presentation, and apply its theory to one of the works read during the semester, take the midterm exam, and turn in the final
term paper.
2e. Assessment Results & Analysis of this SLO: Provide a summary of how the data were analyzed and highlight important findings from the
data collected.
FREN 405: N/A
FLIT 424: One student, of highest quality and competence, was able to work without direction.
FLIT 485: The purpose of the end-of-term essay is to compare two books, Heart of A Dog by Bulgakov and Fur Hat by Voynovich, and to show
how the communist society changed in the Soviet Union in fifty years. Instructor evaluates the ability of students to analyze the material,
incorporate critical sources into their essay, and articulate clearly.
FLIT 491: N/A
JAPN 401: See #4 in attachment.
SPAN 509: From the data collected on the performance of the class, almost all students did well except for 3 students, who did poorly on the
tests, did not quite understand the information, and did not meet the instructor in office for assistance. The rest did a good job by finishing
their assignments in a timely fashion, and by relating and connecting the scholarly articles with their written essays.
SPAN 560: From the data collected on the performance of senior and graduate students, both groups did well except for 8 seniors, who did
poorly on the exam, and did not quite understand the article they read. The rest did a very good job by finishing their assignments in a timely
fashion, and by relating and connecting the scholarly article with the work they applied the theory to.
2f. Use of Assessment Results of this SLO: Think about all the different ways the results were or will be used. For example, to recommend
changes to course content/topics covered, course sequence, addition/deletion of courses in program, student support services, revisions to
program SLO’s, assessment instruments, academic programmatic changes, assessment plan changes, etc. Please provide a clear and detailed
description of how the assessment results were or will be used.
FREN 405: Since this class deals only with langue/language (French/English), the problem that surfaces all the time is in the translation of
idiomatic expressions from French to English. The majority of American English speakers have a lot of difficulty with these expressions. The
solution is that they all should use a French dictionary of idiomatic expressions. By the same token, native French speakers have the same
March 30, 2009, prepared by Bonnie Paller
problem, and therefore should use an English dictionary of idiomatic expressions. A third difficulty arises from the fact that some students do
not see the difference in spelling in French and English.
FLIT 424: Assessment results will not be used because of a recent University decision that makes the teaching of individual study courses
impossible. This course has not been able to meet minimum enrollment number. Moreover, the strategic plan for the Classics Section has to be
altered because of the prohibition of Independent/Individual Study courses. The Classics Minor is probably defunct. Mostly/entirely GE Service
courses only will be offered in the future (CLAS 101L, FLIT 150, CLAS 315, and possibly FLIT 350 occasionally). It is unlikely that any 400-level
courses will be offered. Classics has no 500-level course.
FLIT 485: Instructor plans to use the assessment results to evaluate the number of examples from Russian literature that she can teach and the
level of depth of explanations that she needs to provide. A key objective of the MCLL is to imbue students with an appreciation of the cultures
of other countries. Improving the course effectiveness will advance this objective.
FLIT 491: This is a course required of all Languages and Cultures majors in the last semester of their studies. In the Capstone Seminar students
are required to engage in a senior project, such as a research paper or a creative performance, that demonstrates the integrated knowledge,
understanding, and linguistic skills they have gained in the course of studies in the Major. In other words, that project represents the
culmination of their studies in the Languages and Cultures Major. Most majors choose to write a research paper of 15-20 pages. They are
expected to use their target language in conducting research, but write the paper in English. Of the 50 Capstone Papers that have been
submitted in the past 7 semesters since Spring 2007, 6 dealt with the nature of language, its functions, structure, or interactional (social)
purposes. For the topics that most students choose, however, language does not have much relevance. Therefore, SLO #4 is not measured with
the students taking FLIT 491.
JAPN 401: The number of chapters covered may be reduced, and more instruction on writing and advanced grammar (ACTFL Advanced and
above level) is definitely needed.
SPAN 509: By looking at the performance of Spanish 509 students, the instructor opines that the major challenge is to make them read and
appropriately analyze the readings from a critical standpoint. Instructor also believes that by evaluating critical thinking with an eye to
improving the analytical skills of students is very important in preparing them to understand more complex readings. Similarly, writing in the
target language is a problem for some students. They have the right ideas but are often unable to express themselves properly. The instructor
recommends emphasis on the importance of the formal aspects of the language through more rigorous methodologies, and the addition of a
course on the theoretical and methodological approaches to literature.
SPAN 560: By looking at the performance of SPAN 560 students, the instructor finds that the major challenge is to make them analyze the texts
from the critical point of view. Instructor believes that by evaluating thinking with an eye to improving what the student has learned
March 30, 2009, prepared by Bonnie Paller
constitutes a major step toward making them well-cultivated intellectuals. The instructor recommends adding a critical thinking course from a
literary perspective, or creating an additional course in the Spanish Section that has to do with a basic introduction to Literary Theory. The MCLL
has such a course at the graduate level, but a beginner course is needed to teach students basic thinking skills from the outset. The MCLL
program’s strategic plan incorporates an objective that will turn students from being “unreflective thinkers” into “advanced thinkers.” This is
already being achieved by providing students with the learning tools in the classroom such as the SLO’s and also by teaching them to recognize
the need for regular practice in reading, questioning, and setting intellectual goals for themselves. The ideal learning process would be one
through which students will learn self-disciplined thinking that would allow them to grasp ideas and concepts as well as learn how to infer and
interpret them without falling into “egocentric thinking.”
Some programs assess multiple SLOs each year. If your program assessed an additional SLO, report the process for that individual SLO below. If
you need additional SLO charts, please cut & paste the empty chart as many times as needed. If you did NOT assess another SLO, skip this
section.
2a. Which Student Learning Outcome was measured this year?
2b. What assessment instrument(s) were used to measure this SLO?
2c. Describe the participants sampled to assess this SLO: discuss sample/participant and population size for this SLO. For example, what type of
students, which courses, how decisions were made to include certain participants.
2d. Describe the assessment design methodology: Was this SLO assessed longitudinally (same students at different points) or was a crosssectional comparison used (comparing freshmen with seniors)? If so, describe the assessment points used.
March 30, 2009, prepared by Bonnie Paller
2e. Assessment Results & Analysis of this SLO: Provide a summary of how the data were analyzed and highlight important findings from the
data collected.
2f. Use of Assessment Results of this SLO: Think about all the different ways the results were (or could be) used. For example, to recommend
changes to course content/topics covered, course sequence, addition/deletion of courses in program, student support services, revisions to
program SLO’s, assessment instruments, academic programmatic changes, assessment plan changes, etc. Please provide a clear and detailed
description of each.
3. How do your assessment activities connect with your program’s strategic plan?
Our most recent assessment activity focused on SLO #4: “Understand the nature of language, its function, structure, and interactional
(social) purposes, which indubitably connects with our strategic plan and informs us as to whether or not we are meeting our goal of
strengthening and improving the linguistic and cultural competencies of our students to meet the needs of the local and global
communities.
4. Overall, if this year’s program assessment evidence indicates that new resources are needed in order to improve and support student
learning, please discuss here.
Although, as indicated above, new courses are deemed desirable by some faculty to improve critical thinking especially, no new resources are
currently needed for their implementation. In the case of JAPN 401, Japanese newspapers, literature books, and documentaries on a variety of
topic are needed.
March 30, 2009, prepared by Bonnie Paller
5. Other information, assessment or reflective activities not captured above.
N/A
6. Has someone in your program completed, submitted or published a manuscript which uses or describes assessment activities in your
program? Please provide citation or discuss.
N/A
March 30, 2009, prepared by Bonnie Paller