Dr. Rhonda Stanton
Assistant Professor, Program Coordinator for Professional/Technical Writing, English

To see more funded grants, check out our Internal Assessment Grant page.

Conclusions Reached Based on a Review of a Sample of Essays

a) Data

In accordance with our assessment plan, we reviewed a sample of Documented Reports – three of various quality from each of 11 course sections, for a total sample size of 34. (One section was over-represented). We used a rubric to evaluate various aspects of the writing, based on the specific SLO’s we chose to assess.

b) Conclusions reached regarding the next steps for the course

Based on the data collected, we noted student difficulties in correctly providing attribution for source material in their documents. The ethical use of sources is a significant component in the 221 curricula, so we will examine ways to improve and perhaps expand pedagogy in this area. In addition, students in general did not use an appropriate amount of source material, either borrowing too heavily or insufficiently backing up their arguments. In other areas, we found the student work to be adequate to meet course goals.

Any Items Chosen for Action — Items chosen by the faculty for action

As mentioned earlier, the ethical use of source material and the techniques (such as signal phrases) that enable this need to be reinforced. We will also focus on improving student understanding of the need for sources in their report writing.

Follow-Up Plans

We did not see the need for any fundamental changes to the curriculum for ENG 221. We will encourage faculty to share ideas for teaching the ethical use and integration of source material and emphasize the need to focus more on this in future semesters.

Our sample size was relatively small (although we feel it was representative of our student work as a whole); this will be addressed in the future assessments by implementing a more timely and structured process.

The next annual assessment will use a different document type (proposal) that is part of the 221 curricula, enabling us to get a broader perspective on the effectiveness of the course.

Materials from F2017 and S2018 will be collected for assessment and submission in F2018. The assignment (document type) collected will be a proposal.

The SLO’s are 3.1 and 3.2.

1. “demonstrate consideration of context, audience, and purpose with a clear focus on the assigned tasks.” (Learning Outcome 3.1)

You’ll learn to identify different types of audiences and analyze their needs for information in
various situations.

2. “demonstrate consistent use of important conventions particular to specific disciplines and writing tasks, including organization, content, presentation, and stylistic choices.” (Learning Outcome 3.2)

You’ll develop documents such as instructions, proposals, abstracts, and informal and formal reports with the right format, structure, and content for specific professional situations

Recommendations for Items that Need Action at Higher Levels than the College

None at this time.