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Quality Undergraduate
Education
Geoffrey Habron
MSU Sociology Department
Retreat May 10, 2006
Outline
• Office of Faculty and Organizational
Development Resources
• What is quality education?
• A concrete assessment example
But first a concern…
“That's a fine idea in practice, but it will
never work in theory.” – Harry Perlstadt
A Theoretical Framework for Change:
Choices within Constraints
“The new institutionalism that is the focus of this essay is about the
body. Its fundamental assertion is that actors pursue their interests
by making choices within constraints. This assertion can be
expanded to identify three characteristic elements of the theory.
First, it holds that actors are boundedly rational in the sense that
they pursue a broad set of self interests, but with limited knowledge
and cognitive capacity. Second, institutions are defined as the rules,
combined with their enforcement mechanisms, that constrain the
choices of actors. These rules include the laws of states, the policies
of organizations, and the norms of social groups. Third, institutions
ideally constrain actors such that their best choices are consistent
with the collective good, enabling, for example, mutually profitable
exchange between actors.” (Ingram and Clay 2000:525-526)
Ingram, P. And K. Clay. 2000. The choice-within-constraints new
institutionalism and implications for sociology. Annual Review Of
Sociology 2000. 26:525–46
Office of Faculty and
Organizational Development –
Choices…
• Dr. Patty Payette
• What is quality education? How do we know?
– Literature; research; SoTL
• Resources provided
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Seminars/workshops
Fellowships
Assessments
Web links
• Suggestions for retreat follow-up
Quality Education: Levels of Analysis
•
•
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•
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General Undergraduate Education
Sociological Education (ASA)
MSU Boldness by Design
MSU Department of Sociology
Course level (SOC 361)
Second, institutions are defined as the
rules, combined with their enforcement
mechanisms, that constrain the choices
of actors. These rules include the laws of
states, the policies of organizations, and
the norms of social groups. (Ingram and
Clay 2000:525-526)
I. General
7 Principles of Undergraduate
Education
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Encourage student-faculty contact;
Encourage cooperation among students;
Encourage active learning;
Give prompt feedback;
Emphasize time on task;
Communicate high expectations; and
Respect diverse talents and ways of
learning. Chickering, A. and Z. Gamson. Seven Principles for Good Practice in
Undergraduate Education.' American Association for Higher Education, 1986.
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/
7princip.htm
http://www.byu.edu/fc/pages/tchlrnpages/7princip.html
Backward Design
• Stage 1: Identify desired outcomes
and results.
• Stage 2: Determine what constitutes
acceptable evidence of competency
in the outcomes and results
(assessment).
• Stage 3: Plan instructional strategies
and learning experiences that bring
students to these competency levels.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J.(1998). Understanding by design.
Alexandria, VA:Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development.
http://pixel.fhda.edu/id/six_facets.html
http://www.ubdexchange.org/resources.html
II. Sociology
Meeting the Challenge of
Teaching Sociology in the
Twenty-First Century
Report of the Task Force on the
Undergraduate Major:
Liberal Learning and the Sociology Major .
American Sociological Association.
January 2005.
<http://www.asanet.org/governance/LiberalLearningUpdate.pdf>
• There is a wealth of research, theory, and
practical ideas on important approaches to
teaching and learning in higher education should
inform discussions about, and choices made for,
the sociology major and curricular or
pedagogical reforms. Three of these are briefly
discussed here:
– learning-centered instruction,
– deep learning, and
– best practices.
Pg. 44
Student-centered Learning
(ASA)
• With such an approach, the impact on student
learning is the key variable in all course,
department, and institutional decisions. From
this perspective, we must consider, for example,
student variables and diversity, the impact of the
environment on learning, learning styles, and the
scaffolding for learning. Covering the content is
not the important objective in this paradigm;
rather, it is nurturing student learning.
Pg. 44
Deep Learning (ASA)
• Relates previous knowledge to new knowledge;
• Relates knowledge from different courses;
• Relates theoretical ideas to everyday
experience;
• Relates and distinguishes evidence and
argument;
• Organizes and structures content into a coherent
whole; and
• Emphasis is internal, from within the student
• Deep learning clearly implies increasing
integration among topics, courses, and out-ofclass experiences.
Pg. 44
Pop Culture View of Student College Experience
Closer to Fine – Indigo Girls
I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains
I looked to the children, I drank from the fountain
There's more than one answer to these questions
pointing me in crooked line
The less I seek my source for some definitive
The closer I am to fine.
I went to see the doctor of philosophy
With a poster of Rasputin and a beard down to his knee
He never did marry or see a B-grade movie
He graded my performance, he said he could see through me
I spent four years prostrate to the higher mind, got my paper
And I was free.
http://www.indigogirls.com/lyrics/byalbum/indigo.html
Best Practices
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Encourage student-faculty contact;
Encourage cooperation among students;
Encourage active learning;
Give prompt feedback;
Emphasize time on task;
Communicate high expectations; and
Respect diverse talents and ways of learning.
Pg. 45
Refers to 7 principles of undergraduate learning
ASA Senior Survey Findings
• Some ideas for potential outcomes and
assessment indicators
Overall Satisfaction with Outcomes of Sociology Programs
% Very satisfied
• Note link to best practices
Michigan
State
(n=14)
Doctoral
Programs
(n= 860)
Overall satisfaction with
experiences
57.1
69.0
Access to necessary
technology
85.7
68.5
Ease in seeing faculty
outside class*
50.0
63.4
Quality of teaching*
42.9
60.9
Getting courses needed to
graduate
50.0
60.0
Interaction with fellow
majors*
28.6
52.8
Undergraduate advising
28.6
46.9
Career advising
28.6
13.4
7.1
8.7
Graduate school advising
Ten learning activities participated in by Graduating
Sociology Majors
% Participating as part of Sociology Major
Michigan
State
(n=14)
Doctoral
Programs
(n= 860)
How to work in a group
21.4
32.0
Internship
21.4
29.0
Community Political
Volunteer
21.4
26.4
Service Learning
14.3
24.5
Sociology club [AK∆]
21.4
17.2
Career related mentor
networking
14.3
16.7
Faculty mentoring
7.1
16.2
Faculty research program
7.1
13.8
Dept honors program
7.1
11.3
Prof sociology meetings
7.1
7.4
Top Eight Skills Gained by Graduating Sociology Majors
% Strongly Agreeing
Michigan
State
(n=14)
Doctoral
Programs
(n= 860)
Identify ethical issues in
research
64.3
67.5
Develop evidence based
arguments
78.6
65.3
Evaluate different
research methods
71.4
63.9
Write report for non
sociologists
50.0
63.6
Form causal hypotheses
71.4
59.6
Use computer for bib
references
50.0
57.9
Interpret results of data
gathering
42.9
55.6
Use statistical software
SPSS SAS etc
42.9
35.9
Six Conceptual Abilities of Graduating Sociology Majors
% Strongly Agreeing
Michigan
State
(n=14)
Doctoral
Programs
(n= 860)
Basic sociological
concepts
85.7
86.6
People’s experiences vary
92.9
85.2
Current sociological
explanations
85.7
85.5
Society from alternative
critical
100.0
80.8
Basic sociological
theories/paradigms
85.7
76.2
Social Inst & impact on
individuals
71.4
75.4
MSU Boldness by Design
• http://strategicpositioning.msu.edu/default.asp
Boldness Principles
• http://strategicpositioning.msu.edu/Design_Glance.asp
Enhancing the Undergraduate Experience:
Task Force Recommendations
1. Enhance the first year experience; assist students in making a
strong academic and social transition, and in creating appropriate
expectations about their undergraduate education
2. Promote the improvement of and rewards for successful
college teaching
3. Articulate, target and expand opportunities for undergraduate
students to develop cultural competencies.
4. Promote and integrate more active and applied learning in
undergraduate education
5. Modify the undergraduate curriculum and related policies so
that our goals for undergraduate liberal learning are met
6. Enhance the physical environment in ways that support learning for
the students, faculty and staff at MSU
7. Continue the review of graduate programs and graduate teaching
and the mentoring of graduate students.
http://strategicpositioning.msu.edu/documents/BbDImperative1_002.pdf
G: addresses mostly choices, but few constraints
Report of the Working Group on Improving
Undergraduate Education:
Goals for Liberal Learning
1. Integrated Judgment
2. Advanced Communication Skills (both writing
and speaking)
3. Cultural Competence (addressed in
recommendation 2)
4. Analytical Thinking
5. Literacy in Science and Mathematics
6. Effective Citizenship
III. MSU Sociology
MSU SOC Undergraduate Mission
• Illustrate sociological perspectives
• Help students develop skills in critical
thinking
• Introduce and explain strategies and
methods for conducting sociological
research
GH: Need to reframe in terms of
outcomes and add explanation for
terms e.g. critical thinking
Gold and Pyle. 2005. MSU Sociology Department assessment plan.
January
MSU SOC
Undergraduate Principles
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Student responsibility for learning
Active learning and research skills
Doing sociology
Team learning
Computers
GH: some of these seem like
outcomes e.g. research skills,
Job skills
computers.
Life skills
World as a classroom
Integrate graduate and undergraduate education
Gold and Pyle. 2005. MSU Sociology Department assessment plan.
January
Next Steps
• Individual course adjustments
– e.g. 7 principles, backward design
• Departmental curriculum adjustments
– backward design
SOC 361 example
•
•
•
•
Contemporary Communities
Fall 2005
Geoffrey Habron
68 students
Third, institutions ideally constrain actors
such that their best choices are consistent
with the collective good, enabling, for
example, mutually profitable exchange
between actors.” (Ingram and Clay
2000:525-526)
SOC 361 Outcomes
•
•
•
•
•
Approaches to study community
Levels of complexity
Community Change
Community Development
Links to external institutions and factors
Outcome Proficiency
•
•
•
•
•
•
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
– Define, name, list
– describe, explain,
arrange
– illustrate, demonstrate
– diagram, compare,
criticize
– organize, propose,
manage
– argue, assess, defend
SOC 361 Structure
Outcomes
Approaches
Weekly
Assignments
15%
Complexity
Flexible
5%
Change
Field Project
15%
Doing sociology,
research skills,
world as classroom
Development
Lecture
External
Group Project
10%
Participation
15%
Portfolio
15%
Exams
30%
Best Practices
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Encourage student-faculty contact; (SIRS)
Encourage cooperation among students;(presentations)
Encourage active learning; (field project, presentations)
Give prompt feedback; (final feedback)
Emphasize time on task; *
Communicate high expectations; and *
Respect diverse talents and ways of learning.
(flexible 5%, presentations)
Pg. 45
* Missing in SOC 361
Deep Learning (ASA)
• Relates previous knowledge to new knowledge;
• Relates knowledge from different courses;
• Relates theoretical ideas to everyday
experience;
• Relates and distinguishes evidence and
argument;
• Organizes and structures content into a coherent
whole; and
• Emphasis is internal, from within the student
• Deep learning clearly implies increasing
integration among topics, courses, and out-ofclass experiences.
Pg. 44
Final Field Project Creativity
Relates previous knowledge
to new knowledge
• Humorous look at bowling leagues
• Historical and census analysis of
hometown
• Fairy tale depicting deeply personal
critique of hometown Relates and distinguishes evidence and argument
• “Bridging the gap: the connections
between the restaurant community and the
field of social work”
integration among topics, courses, and out-of-class experiences
Relates theoretical ideas to everyday experience
Organizes and structures content into a coherent whole
Field Project Reflections
• “It was not until I began collecting research
for this field project on my own community
that I truly understood how to take charge
of my education outside of a classroom
setting. By making use of the tools that we
are all equipped with, I was able to turn my
everyday observations into an educational
experience” (student a)
Relates theoretical ideas to everyday experience
Field Project Reflections
• “People do not usually process or analyze
the information that they gather from their
observations and it is simply lost. A major
concept behind learning is to be an active
learner. Active learning means taking any
situation and turning it into a valuable and
educational experience on your own
terms.” (student a)
Emphasis is internal, from within the student
Needs
• Capacity
– Structural
– Cultural
– Capital:
•
•
•
•
Human
Social
Financial
…
Enhancing the Undergraduate Experience:
Task Force Recommendations
1. Enhance the first year experience; assist students in making a
strong academic and social transition, and in creating
appropriate expectations about their undergraduate education
2. Promote the improvement of and rewards for successful
college teaching
3. Articulate, target and expand opportunities for undergraduate
students to develop cultural competencies.
4. Promote and integrate more active and applied learning in
undergraduate education
5. Modify the undergraduate curriculum and related policies so
that our goals for undergraduate liberal learning are met
6. Enhance the physical environment in ways that support
learning for the students, faculty and staff at MSU
7. Continue the review of graduate programs and graduate
teaching and the mentoring of graduate students.
http://strategicpositioning.msu.edu/documents/BbDImperative1_002.pdf
G: addresses mostly choices, but few constraints
Faculty Startup Costs
• Faculty
–
–
–
–
–
–
Letting go
Diligent monitoring of tension
Organization, instructions
Structure: assignment status; load; teaching style
Culture: routine, expectations, habitus
Agency: choice, decisions, motivation