M.S. Education
Assessment in Major
Submitted by Renee Chandler, Program Director
2008
Submitted October 1, 2009
Table of Contents
Overview ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................2
Program Description ................................................................................................................................................................................................2
Enrollment Data .......................................................................................................................................................................................................3
Enrollment in the MSE program. .............................................................................................................................................................................3
Alumni Follow-up Survey .......................................................................................................................................................................................6
Communicating Assessment Data with Constituencies ...........................................................................................................................................8
Utilization of Assessment Data ................................................................................................................................................................................8
Advisory Board Members ........................................................................................................................................................................................8
Conclusions and Action Plan ...................................................................................................................................................................................9
MSE AIM Report 2008
Page 1
Overview
The University of Wisconsin-Stout School of Education (SOE) has gathered assessment data gathered from fall semester 2003 through December
2008 on its Teacher Education programs. Performance data for students in the MSE program who are seeking teaching certification is included in the
program reports for each certification program (i.e., Special Education). Unfortunately, there is very little data regarding student performance in the
MSE program. As noted in the final section of this report, future efforts will be made to collect more meaningful data that can be used to make
program decisions and improve student learning. This report contains data from follow-up surveys and the 2008-2009 Fact Book produced by the
Office of Budget, Planning, and Analysis. This report also describes how assessment data will be distributed to constituencies and how their input
will inform future planning.
Program Description
There are two programs that are offered under the umbrella of our Master’s in Education (MS in Ed.) program: online and on campus. Both program
options are 30 credits minimum to complete the degree.
The online program allows students to strengthen their professional skills and graduate with a master’s in education with a professional development
focus. The online master’s in education is offered to students in a cohort format. Each student is expected to follow the cohort to completion, which is
a two-year rotation, typically culminating with their Plan B thesis.
The other option, our on campus program, has two options. The first option is the professional development focus, which is the same offered to the
online students, though the on campus students take courses during evenings, weekends, and summers. If they request it, some students have been
allowed to add into the online cohorts for coursework when the on campus section was too small to offer in a given semester so as not to delay
graduation. In rare cases, substitutions have been made to facilitate student progress toward graduation. The second option for the on campus students
is to either receive additional teacher certification(s) or to receive an initial teacher license in the following programs: Early Childhood Education,
Family and Consumer Sciences Education, Science Education, Special Education (CD or Cross-Categorical). Those who already have a teaching
license, depending on their initial license, can enroll in the Reading Education (offered in the online format) and Early Childhood Special Education
licensure programs. Each licensure or certification is additional credits beyond the required master’s in education 30 credit minimum, though every
attempt is made to provide a streamlined program, while meeting the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction requirements.
MSE AIM Report 2008
Page 2
Enrollment Data
Enrollment in the MSE program has steadily increased in recent years. Admission and graduation data is presented in Figures 1-4.
Figure 1 shows the increase in new students admitted in Fall semesters 2006 (N=21) through 2008 (N=40). This 90% increase is even more
significant in light of the information in Figure 2 which shows that we are not only admitting more students, but we are maintaining high standards,
as the percent of students admitted in good standing has risen from 81% to 92.5%. Our fall 2008 semester enrollment totaled 132 students (Figure 3).
This is an increase of over 500% since 2004. Finally, we are not only enrolling students in the MSE program, but the number of students actually
graduating from UW-Stout with MSE degrees has increased 138% from 2006-2007 (N=13) to 2007-2008 (N=31).
Figure 1
MSE AIM Report 2008
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Figure 2
Figure 3
MSE AIM Report 2008
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Figure 4
MSE AIM Report 2008
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Alumni Follow-up Survey
Results from the UW-Stout One-Year Follow-Up Survey and the Program-Specific survey are summarized in the tables below. The return rate on
these surveys has been disappointingly low such that statistically meaningful conclusions cannot be drawn. The few students who did respond gave
responses that indicated a general satisfaction with their experiences as MSE students at UW-Stout.
UW-Stout Graduate One-Year Follow-Up: MSE Program
(1=Very Dissatisfied 2= Dissatisfied 3=Satisfied 4=Very Satisfied)
1. Writing Effectively
2. Speak or Present Ideas Effectively
3. Listen Effectively
4. Utilize Computing and Digital Technology
5. Use Analytic Reasoning
6. Solve Problems Creatively
7. Critically Analyze Information
8. Appreciate and Understand Diversity
9. Develop Global Perspective
10. Organize Information
11. Make Decisions
12. Consider the Ethics of My Profession
13. Work in Teams
14. Lead Others
15. Understand Statistics
16. Identify Future Career Options
17. Develop Resume/Portfolio
18. View Community Service as My Social Responsibility
19. Mentorship by Faculty
20. Program Instruction
21. Availability of Faculty
22. Course Availability (In Terms of Program Sequence)
23. Academic Advising
MSE AIM Report 2008
Year Graduated
2006
N
Mean
3
3.00
3
3.00
3
3.00
3
3.00
3
3.33
3
3.00
3
3.33
3
3.00
3
3.00
3
3.33
3
3.00
3
2.67
3
3.00
3
2.67
3
2.67
3
3.00
3
2.67
3
2.67
3
3.00
3
3.67
3
3.00
3
2.67
3
3.33
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MSE Program Specific Follow-up Survey
(1=Strongly Disagree 2= Disagree 3=Agree 4=Strongly Agree)
Please rate the degree the program prepared you to:
Year Graduated
2006
N
Mean
5
3.20
6
3.33
6
3.50
6
3.17
6
3.33
6. Analyze, evaluate, and revise one’s own teaching and make judgments
about the appropriateness of various teaching methods in various contexts.
6
3.50
7. Use and evaluate educational technologies appropriate to one’s own
practice.
6
3.17
8. Analyze the philosophy and principles underlying organization and
operation of schools.
6
3.17
9. Interpret educational research and conduct applied research to improve
teaching and learning.
6
3.17
1. Explore the personal, historical, philosophical, sociological,
psychological, multicultural, and political influences on educational
practice from an organizational and personal perspective.
2. Analyze current issues and trends in education in the context of
educational research and historical foundations of education.
3. Examine personal practice to reflectively develop a personal
philosophy and practice of education in one or more areas of educational
specialization.
4. Examine how various orientations to curriculum integrate the
theoretical, instructional, and educational modes of discourse.
5. Plan, evaluate, and revise curriculum used in one’s own practice.
MSE AIM Report 2008
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Communicating Assessment Data with Constituencies
Data will be communicated to faculty members through informal and formal means. Program faculty will receive copies of the Assessment in the
Major report and will be asked to provide feedback that will facilitate meeting the needs of the students in the program. Program advisory board
members also receive a copy of and discuss the assessment in the major report. At the fall meeting of the year the document will be summarized and
discussed as to their recommendations for improvement.
Utilization of Assessment Data to Improve Courses and the Program
At this point, the data that is available is not conducive to drawing adequate conclusions about course and program improvement. More data will
need to be collected in upcoming years to make informed decisions. This data will be collected in the form of portfolio assessment and additional
surveys (see number 1 in Conclusions and Action Plan).
Advisory Board Members
The Advisory Board for fall 2009:
Dr. Alan Block, CEHHS/SOE
Kara Wensink, graduate student in the program
Amy Gullixson, Extension
Paula Wainscott, Professional in the field
Dr. Kimberly Martinez, CEHHS/SOE
Joan Vandervelde, SOE
Sandy White, Outreach Services
Our first meeting of the year is scheduled for October 14, 2009.
MSE AIM Report 2008
Page 8
Conclusions and Action Plan
Based on a review of the available data, I have identified the following issues that I will address in the next year:
1. To ascertain the effectiveness of the MSE program, more data needs to be collected in the form of portfolio assessment, student ratings, and
alumni and employer surveys. I will work with the instructor(s) of EDUC-790 (Professional Portfolio) to determine a meaningful way to
collect data from the portfolio that all students in the MSE program complete. A new survey will be developed to collect anonymous ratings
of the program by current students. A new follow-up survey has been developed and measures will be taken to increase the response rates on
follow-up surveys.
2. We have an increasing number of students who wish to pursue the MSE with certification in Early Childhood Education (ECE). I will work
with Kari Merritt, ECE program director, to investigate the possibility of developing an ECE cohort similar to the one currently in place for
our Cross-Categorical certification in Special Education.
3. With input from the Program Advisory Committee, I will pursue the development of new courses and programs that will meet the needs of
the community and schools (i.e., an autism certificate program).
Respectfully submitted,
Renee Chandler
MSE Program Director
MSE AIM Report 2008
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