Roots of Contemporary Issues [ROOT] Assessment

Introduction

UCORES’s Roots of Contemporary Issues [ROOT] courses provide a common foundational first-year experience that prepares students to understand the world around them using historical approaches, sources, and modes of communication. [ROOT] courses advance designator student learning outcomes associated with five of the WSU Undergraduate Learning Goals (Critical Thinking, Information Literacy, Written Communication, Diversity, and Integrative Learning) by asking students to explore and understand the historical and global roots of various issues facing the world today. Incoming first-year students complete HISTORY 105 to satisfy [ROOT], while HISTORY 305 is intended to fulfill the [ROOT] requirement for transfer students.

Assessment

Roots of Contemporary Issues [ROOT] Assessment is intended to provide [ROOT] faculty with information for program improvement, as well as gauge student learning on [ROOT] designator learning outcomes (and associated WSU Undergraduate Learning Goals) at the first-year level. Currently in transition, [ROOT] Assessment previously included the Final Papers Assessment (aligned with Critical Thinking, Information Literacy, and Integrative Learning) and the Diversity & Inequality Papers Assessment (aligned with Diversity and Written Communication), where [ROOT] faculty evaluated a random sample of student’s papers from all campuses using a faculty-developed rubric. The Roots of Contemporary Issues program, in collaboration with the WSU Libraries and Office of Assessment for Curricular Effectiveness (ACE), coordinates the assessment, reporting, and data analysis for these Roots of Contemporary Issues Assessment projects. 

Evidence of Student Learning

Results of Roots of Contemporary Issues [ROOT] Assessment are compiled to provide a summary of student learning on [ROOT] designator learning outcomes (and the associated WSU Undergraduate Learning Goals) at the first-year level. Click on the links below to explore recent results of Roots of Contemporary Issues [ROOT] Assessment. For more summaries of results from Roots of Contemporary Issues [ROOT] Assessment, see Results of [ROOT] Assessment.)

• Information Literacy, Integrative Learning, and Critical Thinking Achievement at the First-Year Level: AY 2020-21 Roots of Contemporary Issues [ROOT] Final Papers Assessment Results As reported in the AY 2020-21 [ROOT] Final Papers Assessment Summary of Key Evidence for UCORE (PDF), assessment results indicated that, on average, 78% of first-year students met or exceeded expectations at the first-year undergraduate level at the end of their UCORE first-year experience [ROOT] course on rubric outcomes related to Information Literacy. Additionally, 88% […]
• Diversity and Written Communication Achievement at the First-Year Level: AY 2019-20 Roots of Contemporary Issues [ROOT] Diversity & Inequality Papers Assessment Results As reported in the AY 2019-20 [ROOT] Diversity & Inequality Papers Assessment Summary of Key Evidence for UCORE (PDF), assessment results indicated that, on average, 75% of first-year students met or exceeded expectations at the first-year undergraduate level at the end of their UCORE first-year experience [ROOT] course on rubric outcomes related to Diversity. Additionally, […]
• Assessing Student Learning at the First-Year Level: AY 2018-19 Roots of Contemporary Issues [ROOT] Final Papers Assessment Results As reported in the AY 2018-19 [ROOT] Final Papers Assessment Summary of Key Evidence for UCORE (PDF), assessment results indicated that, on average, 67% of first-year students met or exceeded expectations at the first-year undergraduate level at the end of their UCORE first-year experience [ROOT] course on rubric outcomes related to Information Literacy. Additionally, on […]

Uses of Assessment

The Roots of Contemporary Issues Steering Committee and program faculty review results of Roots of Contemporary Issues [ROOT] Assessment and suggest actions for improved assessment or use to inform decision-making. The Roots of Contemporary Issues program also works closely with the WSU Libraries’ research services librarians to use assessment to develop and refine information literacy curricula. For more information about this partnership, see Research Services Librarians Conduct and Use Information Literacy Assessment.

Below are some examples of how student learning evidence from Roots of Contemporary Issues [ROOT] Assessment contributes to decision-making intended to support student learning and quality undergraduate education.

• Final Papers Assessment Project Participation Influences Teaching and Learning in UCORE First-Year Experience [ROOT] Courses Participation in assessment offers ways for faculty to think about student learning in the curriculum and about how to support it most effectively in their own classes. For example, rubric use and participation in norming sessions can deepen a common understanding of program goals among faculty, and, over time, can help focus instruction and improve […]
• Using Final Papers Assessment Project Results to Improve UCORE First-Year Experience [ROOT] Courses The Final Papers Assessment Project results provide Roots of Contemporary Issues [ROOT] faculty with information about students’ grasp of program outcomes. In this way, rubric scores from student papers evaluated by program faculty can be used to direct and improve instruction.