Assessment Report Standard Format
July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010
PROGRAM(S) ASSESSED ___Anthropology______________________
ASSESSMENT COORDINATOR __R. Riordan
______________
YEAR ___2______ of a _____2____YEAR CYCLE
1. ASSESSMENT MEASURES EMPLOYED
Briefly describe the assessment measures employed during the
year.
Marker questions were used in Archaeology courses (by Krieg and
Riordan) and in Biological Anthropology courses (Bellisari)
Exit interviews were conducted with eight graduating seniors
(Riordan)
Portfolios from four students were reviewed by faculty
2. ASSESSMENT FINDINGS
List the objectives and outcomes assessed during the year, and
briefly describe the findings for each.
Objectives: 1. Preparing students for employment that utilizes
social science skills (e.g. as archaeologists, forensic specialists, social
services administrators, consumer researchers, etc.).
2. Preparing students for graduate and professional
training.
Findings: Exit interviews reveal that two graduating students have
moved into the local workforce, two are currently pursuing work in
cultural resource management archaeology with an intention to apply
to graduate programs next year, two were admitted to Wright State
graduate degree programs, one is pursuing opportunities to do field
research overseas in primatology, and one student applied to an MA
program in anthropology but we were not informed of her acceptance
status.
Outcome #1. Students will master an undergraduate level of knowledge
concerning human origins, adaptive behavior, and biological diversity.
Findings: Marker questions in two sections of the introductory
course in biological anthropology (ATH 241).
89% and 86% of students correctly answered a question
about the evolutionary implication of universal DNA code; and 90%
and 95% correctly answered a question about the general trend of
human evolution. An 80% correct rate is accepted as demonstrating
mastery of the concepts.
Outcome # 2. Students will master an undergraduate level of knowledge
concerning the appearance and detection of archaeological sites.
Findings:
Marker questions were used in one section (Spring 2010)
of the introductory archaeology course produced a mixed response
with respect to performance in the previous year.
A question concerning the application of radiocarbon
dating was correctly answered by 69.4% of students; a question
dealing with nonprofessional collection of artifacts was correctly
answered by 100%; a second question dealing with the discovery of a
major Western US site with important heritage links was correctly
answered by 83.3%. An 80% correct rate is accepted as demonstrating
mastery of the concepts.
Two essay questions used in the Archaeological Field
Methods course (ATH 368) concerned the application of systematic
survey techniques to the process of site discovery and were correctly
answered in A or B-graded responses by 75% and 91.6% of students.
An essay question used in the summer Field School in Archaeology
(ATH 369) concerned the discovery of features within an excavation
context and was answered in A or B-graded responses by 100% of the
students. (A or B-graded responses on essay questions is the
threshold used to evaluate mastery of content.)
Outcome # 4. Students will be able to write coherent and substantive
research papers and reports.
The review conducted of Portfolios demonstrated that
these students had clearly mastered the ability to write forceful,
economical, and substantive papers that were also well-documented.
Scoring of the papers was conducted using a 10-point scale; on
grammatical ability the students averaged 9.33; on the force and
appropriateness of the arguments employed they averaged 9.09; and
in the area of providing suitable documentation they averaged 9.58.
One of the students had particularly improved during her tenure at
WSU, since all of the faculty members had worked with her to improve
earlier papers. The submitted sample exhibited a great deal of
improvement over her earlier efforts.
3. PROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS
List planned or actual changes (if any) to curriculum, teaching
methods, facilities, or services that are in response to the
assessment findings.
None
4. ASSESSMENT PLAN COMPLIANCE
Explain deviations from the plan (if any).
None
5. NEW ASSESSMENT DEVELOPMENTS
Describe developments (if any) regarding assessment measures,
communication, faculty or staff involvement, benchmarking, or other
assessment variables.
We have one new adjunct instructor teaching the ATH 242 course, and
Spring 2010 was her first time teaching. She is using the marker
question data to examine how she is conveying information in her
class.