B.S. Chemistry & B.A. Chemistry Bioscience
Have formal Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) or Student Learning Outcomes (SLOS) been developed?
Yes, “Goals for Student Learning in the Major”
Published where? (website)
Do PLOs include or imply link to Core Competency? (AY 2019-2020: Information Literacy)?
The Department defers to the GE goals as stated on the GE website.
Process of Core Competency Assessment:
Course (400- level)
CHEM 431
Assignment
Students will write a report about a laboratory experiment that measured the quinine concentration in tonic water using fluorescence spectroscopy. The report must be 2.5 – 6 pages of written text but include several figures that increase overall page length. The report must include at least three references from peer-reviewed journals and these references should be cited in the same format used for Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Similar to a formal scientific manuscript, the report must include the following sections: Title, Abstract, Introduction, Experimental, Results and Discussion, Conclusions, and References
Type of Student Artifact
A 2-6 page lab report.
Rubric or other instrument
GE Rubric for Information Literacy
Data (measurement of the competency)
The department evaluated seven (n = 7) reports using two blind readers from within the department. Students showed the greatest weakness in Evaluating Resources (average = 2.31) and Integrating Sources (2.57)—these scores are in the same areas identified in the 2015-2016 assessment as needing improvement.
Action Taken in Response to the Data (What will you do in response to the Findings?)
It is important to analyze the variation among students as well as the different scores associated with each rubric category of information literacy. Papers 1, 2, and 3 all had average scores around 3 or higher (2.94 – 4 ); while papers 4, 5, 6, and 7 all had scores around 2 (2.06 – 2.25). Therefore, the first course of action will be to provide additional instructional support for students with the lower overall scores. This will be done by asking the students to consult with a writing tutor at the Kilohana Academic Success Center and/or submit a rough draft to the instructor for review prior to submitting the final draft. Currently, a rough draft is required for this course for only the first paper submitted, but it is optional for later submissions. Among rubric categories, the highest average score (3.00) was in “Appropriateness of Sources”; students recognize that they need to seek out peer-reviewed science journals as their source. “Document Conventions” scores (2.93) were also relatively high, but students need to be reminded of the citation style they are supposed to use. The scores for “Integrating Sources” (2.57) and “Evaluating Sources” (2.32) were lower. In the future, students will be given more detailed instruction and examples on how to evaluate the credibility of sources as well as how to integrate sources into their writing to support the main argument.
Date of Last Program Review
2014-2015
See Program Reviews for the College of Natural and Health Sciences reports.