News

World History Association: ROOTS panel in Belgium

Roots of Contemporary Issues (RCI) faculty Jesse Spohnholz, Karen Phoenix, Aaron Whelchel, and Instruction and Assessment Librarian Corey Johnson presented at the annual meeting of the World History Association, in Ghent, Belgium, on July 4, 2016. The four presented in a panel, “Teaching Historical Understanding of Contemporary Global Issues at Washington State University: A Model for General Education,” laying […]

Categories: [ROOT], Spotlight

Using Assessment to Inform Decision-making in [CAPS] Courses: 2015 [CAPS] Course Assessment Pilot

As part of the 2015 UCORE Capstone [CAPS] Course Assessment Report pilot, [CAPS] instructors were asked to describe if they planned to make any changes to their course, assignments, or assessment. Overall, 54% of instructors indicated that they planned to make changes to improve the [CAPS] course. 

Assignment Design Workshop: Registration Deadline April 25

WSU faculty teaching senior culminating academic experiences (often called capstones) for an undergraduate degree or UCORE are invited to a unique summer opportunity to explore integrative learning and assignment design. WSU is proud to host a two-day workshop with Dr. Patricia Hutchings, senior scholar with the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) and previously […]

Assessing Student Learning in [CAPS] Courses: 2015 UCORE Capstone [CAPS] Course Assessment Pilot Results

As reported in the 2015 [CAPS] Course Assessment Reporting Summary of Key Evidence for UCORE (PDF), pilot assessment results indicated that 79% of students met or exceeded expectations at the graduating undergraduate level for Critical & Creative Thinking, 79% for Communication, 81% for Information Literacy, and 81% for Depth, Breadth & Integration of Learning.

Student Learning at the First-Year Level: AY 2014-15 Roots of Contemporary Issues [ROOT] Final Papers Assessment Project Results

As reported in the AY 2014-15 [ROOT] Final Papers Assessment Summary of Key Evidence for UCORE (PDF), assessment results indicated that 97% of first-year students partially met, 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 Critical & Creative Thinking. Additionally, 96% […]

Using Science Literacy Concept Inventory (SLCI) Results to Inform Decision-making at Multiple-levels

Faculty have used results from the Science Literacy Concept Inventory (SLCI) in a variety of ways to inform and improve their science literacy instruction including adapting assignments and more explicitly addressing science literacy concepts in instruction. Academic degree programs have used the data to compare students at different academic levels. At the institutional level, SLCI […]

Assessing Critical Thinking and Information Literacy at WSU: AY 2013-14 Roots of Contemporary Issues [ROOT] Final Papers Assessment Project

As reported in the AY 2013-14 [ROOT] Final Papers Assessment Summary of Key Evidence for UCORE (PDF), assessment results indicated that 97% of History 105 students performed at the “Developing First Year-Level” or higher on their ability to select and evaluate primary and secondary sources appropriate to a research paper and critically evaluate the nature […]

Science Literacy at WSU: 2014 Science Literacy Concept Inventory (SLCI) Pilot Results

As reported in the 2014 Science Literacy Concept Inventory Summary of Key Evidence for UCORE (PDF), pilot assessment results indicated that seniors scored higher than freshmen on all twelve science literacy concepts. This difference was true of both science majors and non-majors. 

Assessing Critical Thinking and Information Literacy at WSU: AY 2012-13 Roots of Contemporary Issues [ROOT] Pilot Final Papers Assessment Project

With WSU’s new General Education program (UCORE) inaugurated in 2012-13, the Roots of Contemporary Issues Final Papers Assessment Project was piloted for the first time, to provide [ROOT] faculty with information for program improvement, as well as assess student learning on two of the WSU Learning Goals (Critical & Creative Thinking and Information Literacy). Reported […]