SACSCOC Fifth Year Interim Report
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Assessment : 2012 - 2013 : Educational Programs :
Biology BA/BS
Biology BA/BS
1 Goal 2 Objectives 2 Indicators 2 Criteria 2 Findings 2 Actions
| GOAL: Effectively Deliver A Core Curriculum |
| Objective |
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Students will demonstrate a mastery of the core fields in biology: Botany, Zoology, Cell Biology, Microbiology, Genetics, Ecology and Evolution. |
| Indicator |
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All graduating seniors will take an exiting Biology Assessment Exam (BAE), written by the Biology Faculty. We will analyze the BAE scores from the following areas: botany, zoology, cell biology, microbiology, genetics, evolution & ecology to evaluate whether students have a significant level of understanding of each of these fields. |
| Criterion |
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All Biology majors will be expected to score significantly better than a failing grade in all core areas: botany, zoology, cell biology, microbiology, genetics, evolution and ecology. |
| Finding |
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49% of all graduating seniors in Biology took the departmental exit exam. Based on this results from this exam, on average graduating seniors scored significanlty higher than expected at random on all major core areas. This indicates students knowledge of core concepts in Biology increased during their training in the Department of Biological Sciences. See attachement for additional data and analyses |
Actions for Objective:
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We will make a concerted effort to reach additional students so more in depth analyses can be conducted. We also will visit results as a faculty and try to develop a method to decrease the number of questions missed per section. |
| GOAL: Effectively Deliver A Core Curriculum |
| Objective |
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| Students will demonstrate an understanding of the general nature of scientific knowledge and how scientific knowledge is gained (the scientific method). They also will be able to critically evaluate scientific data to draw informed conclusions. |
| Indicator |
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All graduating seniors will take the Biology Assessment Exam (BAE). We will use BAE exam scores from analytical questions to evaluate a student’s understanding of the scientific method and critical thinking. |
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All Biology majors will be expected to score significantly better than failing on analytical questions related to the scientific method and critical thinking. |
| Finding |
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On aveage student scored better (missed fewer qeustions) on questions that did not involve critical thinking. The number of questions missed was consitantly greater for questions that involved critical thinking. Students missed fewer questions that required graphical interpretatio but missed more questions requiring analytical calculations. See attachements for further data and analyses. |
Actions for Objective:
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We will work as a faculty to address lower scores in critical thinking questions and discuss adopting methodology for increasing those scores. Specifically, faculty will be encourage to address critical thinking and analytics in the classroom, and will be asked to increase the number of critical thinking and analytical questions in course tests and final exams. |
| Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement" |
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Biology was unable to address the objectives stated in this program because funding prevented the administration of costly exit exams.
Currently, the biology assessment committee is in the process of devising a new assessment tool, using an exam designed in house. This is addressed in the 2012-13 goals and objectives. |
| Update on Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement" |
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The biology department implemented a new assessment exam. This exam was written and admistered by biology faculty. Statistical tools were used to determine if exam results were significanlty greater than failing. The strengths of this exam are that it is an inhouse test that focuses on specific topics and content the biology faculty find importatn. A short coming of this exam is that it is not a national test, therefore our results can't be compared to national averages. However, we (biology faculty) felt this was a justifiable trade-off as national standards are often biased and not specific enough to be useful at the departmental level.
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| Plan for Continuous Improvement |
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We will develop a departmental assessment committee.
The goals of the committee this year will be: 1. establish sub committees within each core area. 2. review questions within each core area 3. balance the number of factual knowledge questions and critical thinking questions. 4. create a broader range of question difficulties that will aid in analysis. 5. plan a mechanism to increase test turnout. |