Physics Department
PH 110
Course Assessment Spring 2010
Student Learning Outcomes
The overall results were acceptable with between 67% and 75% achieving good or excellent on every
learning outcome. The results did vary from section to section and questions were raised as to the
appropriateness of the outcomes and the tasks. The department will reevaluate the learning outcomes in
the fall of 2010 and modify them if needed. Instructors have been asked to look more closely at the tasks
they are using to assess the learning outcomes.
General Education Objectives
The objectives addressed by this course are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
write, read, listen and speak clearly and effectively,
use analytical reasoning skills and apply logic to solve problems,
use quantitative skills and mathematical reasoning to solve problems,
use information management skills effectively for academic research and lifelong learning,
integrate knowledge and skills in major field and across disciplines,
differentiate and make informed decisions about issues based on value systems (ethical,
philosophical, religious, cultural , political),
use personal and collaborative skills for personal growth and to establish constructive
relationships in a diverse society,
recognize historical processes in the formation of ideas, cultural movements, political institutions,
economic trends and social structures and
identify concepts and methods of the mathematical, physical and biological sciences and make
judgments about contemporary issues in science and technology.
The overall results were acceptable for all of the general education objectives (67% or more achieving
god or excellent) except for “identify concepts and methods of the mathematical, physical and biological
sciences and make judgments about contemporary issues in science and technology.” Only 57%
achieved good or excellent on this objective. More analysis is required as the lower success rate may be
due to the fact that this objective is not directly connected to any specific learning outcome.
PH 110: Course Outcomes
Describe the nature, scope, and evolution of the Universe, and where the Earth and Solar
System fit in.
State and use some crucial astronomical quantities.
State and use Kepler’s Laws.
Demonstrate an understanding of the notion that physical laws and processes are universal, that the
world is knowable, and that we are coming to know it through observations, experiments, and theory (the
nature of progress in science).
Describe the scientific method.
Explain the meaning of uncertainty in science.
Relate some subjects from physics (e.g., gravity and electromagnetic radiation) to astronomy.
Use mathematics to solve simple problems involving physical laws.
Describe topics related to the history of astronomy and the evolution of scientific ideas (science
as a cultural process).
Show familiarity with the night sky and describe how its appearance changes with time and
position on Earth