Dr. David Rohall and Glenda Harrison: Utilizing New Technology to Improve Writing Quality in Online Sociology Courses

Dr. David Rohall, Department Head of the Sociology and Anthropology Department in the College of Humanities and Public Affairs and Glenda Harrison, per course faculty member, received an Assessment Grant for their project, Utilizing New Technology to Improve Writing Quality in Online Sociology Courses. This project plans to evaluate whether or not new technologies will be an option for future courses, if student writing improves with the additional assignments, and how students react to those additional writing assignments.

Dr. Rohall explains that he and Ms. Harrison “are working together assessing new technology in grading written assignments for introductory sociology courses. This technology promises the utilization of complex rubrics to auto-grade essay questions. Given the large size of these courses, the technology may allow instructors to incorporate more writing assignments without increasing instructor workloads.

The assessment includes a natural experiment in which students from a first block online class will have received a regular treatment while the second block course will replace traditionally-graded assignments with auto graded ones. The goal is to see if students’ satisfaction with the course and their learning outcomes vary by the treatment.”

The Office of Assessment is excited to see how the Sociology and Anthropology Department is assessing student learning through this research to offer the best possible program for its students.