SACSCOC Fifth Year Interim Report
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Assessment : 2012 - 2013 : Educational Programs :
Instructional Technology MED
Instructional Technology MED
2 Goals 2 Objectives 2 Indicators 2 Criteria 2 Findings 2 Actions
| GOAL: Mastery Of Procedures, Policies, Planning, And Budgeting For Technology Environments |
| Objective |
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Technology facilitator candidates in the Master of Education in Instructional Technology program will demonstrate mastery of the development and implementation of technology infrastructure, procedures, policies, plans, and budgets for PK-16 schools or business/industry. |
| Indicator |
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Candidates seeking the Master of Education in Instructional Technology degree must complete, during their last semester of the program, a comprehensive examination requiring reflection on broad concepts, theories, and practices presented in the program as related to each of the ISTE Technology Facilitation Standards. Curriculum and Instruction and Computer Science faculty teaching in the program assess the reflections. Candidates are required to pass the comprehensive examination before they are allowed to graduate with their Master of Education in Instructional Technology degree. As a graduate candidate in the College of Education Master of Education in Instructional Technology program, it is expected that candidates will have experiences with PK-16 faculty and technology leaders in diverse settings, and will work with technology support personnel to maximize the use of technology resources by administrators, teachers, and students to improve student learning. These experiences may or may not be directly related to specific course work, and should be a product of the various settings where candidates are employed or sought additional knowledge. In order to demonstrate proficiency in serving as a technology facilitator, candidates are required to: maintain a log and checklist, documenting multiple and varied (diverse) field experiences connected to the Technology Facilitation Standards at the letter and number level (i.e. TF-I.A.1); maintain anecdotal notes, documenting observation of each technology facilitation standard at the letter level (i.e. TF-I.A); and complete written reflections highlighting field and work experiences as they relate to each technology facilitation standard TF-I through TF-VIII. Field and Employment Experiences (FEE) Documentation Log Candidates are expected to seek multiple and varied field and employment experiences working with faculty and technology support personnel to maximize the use of technology resources by administrators, teachers, and students to improve student learning. Although the number of observation hours is unstipulated, candidates are expected to observe several of the Technology Facilitation Standards each semester in the Program, with all standards (at the letter and number level; i.e. TF-I.A.1) having been documented as part of the Comprehensive Examination requirements. Field and Employment Experiences (FEE) Anecdotal Notes During focused field and employment experiences, candidates use an Anecdotal Notes form to take observation notes tied to each Technology Facilitation Standard (at the letter level; i.e. TF-I.A) that describe what is seen, heard, and thought. Field and Employment Experiences (FEE) Technology Facilitation Standards Reflections Using an Observation Protocol and Technology Facilitation Standards Reflection rubric, the candidate writes eight reflections that provide evidence of mastery of each of the Technology Facilitation Standards TF-I through TF-VIII. The candidate is expected to: examine how these experiences could impact professional behavior and enhance development as a technology facilitator; identify future actions related to course readings and objectives for improved teaching practice and professional growth; and reflect on performance of faculty and technology support personnel in these experiences and link experiences to student learning. |
| Criterion |
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At least 85% of candidates during the 2012-2013 academic year will achieve a score of “Indicator Partially Met” or “Indicator Met” on the Technology Facilitation Standards Reflection for Standard TF-VII (Procedures, Policies, Planning, and Budgeting for Technology Environments), with at least 50% of candidates achieving a score of “Indicator Met”. We retired the PowerPoint presentation objective and added this new one. |
| Finding |
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The results from the Comprehensive Examination Field and Employment Experiences Technology Facilitation Standard VII Reflection indicate that the criterion were only partially met for the 2012-2013 assessment cycle. While 90% of the sampled candidate papers scored 4 (Indicator Partially Met) or higher, only 43% scored 8 (Indicator Met). This indicates that while our candidates are able to sufficiently develop and implement technology infrastructure, procedures, policies, plans, and budgets for PK-16 schools or business/industry, more work is needed to ensure that we are producing proficient technology facilitators within the discipline. The complete report detailing our findings is attached. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action |
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| The findings from the Comprehensive Examination Field and Employment Experiences Technology Facilitation Standard VII Reflection were discussed at the end-of-year faculty meeting. In response to these findings, the faculty decided to implement curricular and pedagogical changes designed to further emphasize content knowledge of Procedures, Policies, Planning, and Budgeting for Technology Environments (Standard TF-VII). In particular, the faculty agreed to provide specific opportunities for application of this standard during the Practicum for Technology Facilitation (CIED 5369) and companion Development of Technology Infrastructure in School (CSTE 5338) course. Additionally, program faculty will continually prompt candidates, through content instruction and assignment guidelines, to examine how program experiences are linked to Standard TF-VII. |
| GOAL: Mastery Of American Psychological Association (APA) Writing Style |
| Objective |
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| Technology facilitator candidates in the Master of Education in Instructional Technology program will employ American Psychological Association (APA) Style in formal writing, including internal documentation and works cited. |
| Indicator |
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A common embedded portion of each literature review assignment developed by program faculty will require proper use of APA style, including internal documentation and works cited. |
| Criterion |
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At least 85% of candidates during the 2012-2013 academic year will achieve a score of “Indicator Partially Met” or “Indicator Met” on the APA indicator embedded in the Annotated Bibliography assignment (CIED 5367), with at least 50% of candidates achieving a score of “Indicator Met”. As a result of last year's assessment, we have raised the criterion to 85%. |
| Finding |
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The results from the Annotated Bibliography American Psychological Association (APA) Writing Style assessment indicate that the criterion were only partially met for the 2012-2013 assessment cycle. While exactly 85% of the sampled candidate papers scored 19 (Indicator Partially Met) or higher, only 45% scored 23 (Indicator Met) or higher. This indicates that while our candidates are able to write sufficiently using APA style, more work is needed to ensure that we are producing proficient writers within the discipline. The complete report detailing our findings is attached. |
Actions for Objective:
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| The findings from the Annotated Bibliography American Psychological Association (APA) Writing Style assessment were discussed at the end-of-year faculty meeting. In response to these findings, the faculty decided to list the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition) as a required course text in all courses and assess all research based assignments for proper APA 6th edition style. Faculty will prompt candidates to review basic rules to properly using APA 6th edition (as opposed to 5th edition) style to cite resources, especially in the first courses in the program. Candidates will also be provided with tutorials on proper use of APA 6th edition writing style. |
| Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement" |
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As a faculty, we will encourage students to present at professional development conferences and meetings by reviewing with them any documentation feedback from presentation attendees and through mentoring students in presentation effectiveness. Presentations being completed throughout the Program will be assessed for effective development, including text elements, layout, graphics, and internal/external navigation.
Also, in an effort to increase the percentage of Masters of Education in Instructional Technology candidates who correctly practice proper APA 6th edition formatting skills in formal writing, APA 6th edition formatting in candidate’s formal written work being completed earlier throughout the Program will be assessed as part of their evaluative grades. |
| Update on Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement" |
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During the 2012-2013 cycle, the Master of Education in Instructional Technology program has been able to successfully implement all of its planned actions from the previous cycle. Beginning in the fall semester, presentations completed in all program courses were evaluated for effective development, including text elements, layout, graphics, and internal/external navigation. As a result of sufficient progress, we retired the PowerPoint presentation objective and added one requiring more immediate attention. Additionally, two faculty members met with students planning to present at a state conference in the spring to discuss presentation effectiveness and review their planned presentation. In an effort to increase the percentage of Master of Education in Instructional Technology candidates who correctly practice proper APA 6th edition formatting skills in formal writing, all research-based assignments began being assessed for correct usage of APA 6th edition formatting. A formal writing assignment requiring the proper use of APA 6th edition formatting was also added to the assessments administered during candidate’s first semester in the program. |
| Plan for Continuous Improvement |
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The finding from the 2012-2013 assessment cycle indicated that candidates in Master of Education in Instructional Technology degree program were not performing as expected with regard to content knowledge of Procedures, Policies, Planning, and Budgeting for Technology Environments (Standard TF-VII) and writing using APA style. Faculty will meet during the fall 2013 semester to discuss curricular changes that can be made to reinforce instruction on procedures, policies, planning, and budgeting for technology environments (Standard TF-VII). Decided changes will be implemented into the curriculum beginning during the Practicum for Technology Facilitation (CIED 5369) and companion Development of Technology Infrastructure in School (CSTE 5338) course in the Spring 2014 semester.
To continue to encourage candidates to correctly practice proper APA 6th edition formatting skills in formal writing, the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition) will be a required course text in all courses beginning in the Fall 2013 and all candidates will be provided with tutorials on proper use of APA 6th edition writing style. Formal writing assignments will continue to be assessed for proper APA 6th edition formatting. |