Have formal Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) or Student Learning Outcomes (SLOS) been developed?
Yes.
Published where? (website)
See English SLOs, Curriculum Matrix, and Rubrics. SLOs are also published in the UH Hilo Student Catalog for English.
Do PLOs include or imply link to Core Competency? (AY 2022-2023: Written Communication)?
Yes.
Process of Core Competency Assessment:
Course (400- level)
ENG 430 Pacific Islands Literature, cross-listed with WS 431. For Fall of 2022, the Course was also designated as Writing Intensive (WI)
Assignment
Students will write and research an academic argumentative 6-8 page double-spaced paper where they will pick a topic of interest either geographically located (Tonga, Samoa, Marshall Islands, etc.) or thematic (Pacific Indigeneity, gender, class, religion, colonialism, settler colonialism, Indigenous epistemologies, etc.) or a combination of both and incorporate primary source to analyze. Primary source may be any medium (art, play, film, television show, stand-up comedy, spoken word, literature), but must be by an Indigenous Pacific producer. Reference the list of primary readings from the syllabus. The primary source must be a creative text that the class has not analyzed. STUDENTS will be required to do research and find one outside secondary source that must be an academic source to supplement THEIR analyses. Students will be making an argument on how their theme or region is represented in their choice of primary source and must use other course texts and secondary sources to support the analysis.
Type of Student Artifact
Research paper
Rubric or other instrument
GE Rubric for Written Communication
Data (measurement of the competency)
Two readers from the department but serve on the Assessment Support Committee served as evaluators and read twelve (n = 12) papers using the Written Communication Rubric (WC) and the Writing Intensive Rubric (WI). Readers noted part of the problem for some students in terms of thesis is that they are obviously trying to directly answer the writing prompt without necessarily trying to synthesize their thoughts before developing a thesis-driven argument. And once a student starts off without a main argument, then rest of the paper seems to just ramble about with ideas and texts strung in random fashion. Although this assessment did not address information literacy, it was clear most students were having a very hard time using secondary sources, and that difficulty impaired their ability to sustain coherent logic at the paragraph and, in some cases, at the sentence level.
Action Taken in Response to the Data (What will you do in response to the Findings?)
The department recognizes that courses like ENG 430 pose challenges because they support other degrees outside of the major. This makes adhering to SLOs challenging. Most if not all of the non-majors are unlikely to have taken ENG 300 Intro to Literary Studies, which covers the kinds of theoretical analyses and academic writing necessary for the major; ENG 300 is required for most upper division English courses with the exception of ENG 430. The department will be hosting a larger discussion among teachers of 200- and upper division WI designated courses to discuss scaffolding writing skills at which time they plan to work with the director of Kilohana to flesh out ideas.
Date of Last Program Review
2015 (program review is slated for 2023-2024)