EXAMPLES OF COMPLETED MINI-GRANT PROJECTS
The descriptions below come from the grant applications for projects that were funded and
completed.
Creating Assessment Benchmarks for Physics Undergraduates, 2007-2008
The Physics Department proposes to create and test assessment instruments to measure physics
knowledge at the start and end of the freshman year, and the sophomore, junior, senior years (four
sets of pre- and post-exams). These tests will provide valuable feedback to course instructors and
will allow on-going improvements in the physics program. The feedback from annual measures will
also provide a context for discussion of how best to improve course assessment in the Physics
major curriculum. We believe that these instruments might well be of interest to the broader
physics community nationally. Project Leader: Cliff Chancey, Physics Department Head, on behalf
of the Physics Assessment Committee.
Using e-Portfolios for Assessment, 2007-2008
Faculty in the Department of Communication Studies were invited to participate in a one-day
workshop devoted to using e-portfolios housed on WebCT as a means of collecting and assessing
student work. Faculty were offered $50 to attend the workshop. Many opted to have the $50 used
to supplement travel funding for the year. Staff in Instructional Technology and faculty in
Communication Studies and Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services made presentations
to the faculty. Presentations focused on helping faculty to better understand how to use WebCT in
classes, how to use WebCT for grading and record keeping, and how to use WebCT for collecting
and storing information for student outcomes assessment purposes. Project Leader: April
Chatham-Carpenter, Communication Studies.
Portfolio Assessment for Pre-Service Non-Licensure Youth Theatre/Drama Education
Majors, 2007-2008
Methods of Teaching Drama and Theatre has been designated a “capstone” experience for
theatre majors completing the Youth Theatre/Drama Education emphasis area, the theatre degree
that prepares students to teach drama/theatre in non-school or extra-curricular school based
settings. Because these students are not pursuing licensure, other means of assessing their
teaching development, such as student teaching, Teacher Work Sample, etc., are not available.
Therefore, the portfolio project central to this course, is the primary tool for evaluating student
outcome achievement for these majors as it serves to provide evidence of student learning linked
to following department outcomes: lesson design and development; evaluation and assessment,
and professional reflection. As the majority of course work for this major is taught by the same
person, a team of “outside reviewers” is critical in assuring that portfolio assessment authentic,
reliable and unbiased. Monies from the mini-grant will defer the expense of duplicating the nine
portfolios that will be submitted this semester, and provide a small honorarium to each of the three
outside reviewers to compensate them for their time, input and expertise. Project Leader: Gretta
Berghammer, Department of Theatre.
Examples of UNI Assessment Mini-Grant Projects, December 2014—page 1 of 3
Theatre Juries: Continuing Outcomes Assessment, 2007-2008
In order to increase our assessment ability as well as to further student growth in performance, the
Performance Committee of the Theatre Department proposes to hold juries for junior and senior
performance area students (acting). These juries will be composed of two audition monologues
and a portfolio presentation which will then be assessed by the Performance Committee with
feedback provided to the student in the form of an oral assessment. This activity will enable the
department to further track student outcomes achievement in performance. Project Leader:
Cynthia Goatley, Department of Theatre.
Assessment of the Academic Learning Center and Its Subsidiaries, 2008-2009
This project is phase one in the assessment of the Academic Learning Center and its subsidiaries.
Funds are being requested for a departmental retreat to be held during December 2008 to develop
department assessment plans and strategies and to develop procedures for regular assessment of
the Academic Learning Center between academic program reviews. Project Leaders: Kathleen
Peters and Latricia Hylton, Academic Learning Center.
SOA Workshops for CHFA, 2008-2009
Two one-hour workshops are being designed and delivered by members of the CHFA SOA
Committee. They are sponsored by the CHFA SOA Committee and will be open to any faculty
member in CHFA who would like to attend. The first workshop will cover the process of selecting a
published assessment instrument and the second will focus on designing assessment instruments
and tools. Both will based upon material found in the MAGNA Online Seminar materials. Project
Leader: Laura Terlip, Department of Communication Studies.
LAC Category Review: Assessment of Oral Communication Skills, 2010
As part of the LAC Category 1 Review Process, faculty members have worked to embed
assessment where appropriate into exams in 48C:001. In addition, a pre-test, post-test measures
related to communication anxiety has been put into place this semester, and faculty will examine
NSSE data and data from the graduating senior survey as part of the SOA process. However, it is
critical that authentic assessment take place to determine if students are leaving with basic
communication competency as outlined in the SLO for the course. To accomplish this, sections of
the course have been randomly selected and arrangements have been made to digitally record
final persuasive speeches. Course instructors will apply the assessment rubric but multiple raters
are needed to complete this part of the analysis. This minigrant is a request to compensate
graduate students for serving as raters. Project Leader: Laura Terlip, Department of
Communication Studies.
Astronomy Exam Questions – Classification for Learning Outcomes, 2010-2011
I currently have over 2700 questions that I use for Astronomy instruction (EARTHSCI 1100),
usually randomized in four on-line unit tests during the semester. I would like to identify for each
question specific learning outcomes for the course and LAC Category in order to measure learning
Examples of UNI Assessment Mini-Grant Projects, December 2014—page 2 of 3
outcomes. This is particularly valuable in comparing learning for the two versions of the course –
the traditional lecture setting, and an entirely on-line version of the course. Funds requested will
provide salary for a student to work through this large archive. Project Leader: Siobahn Morgan,
Earth Science.
Developing Outcome Measures for Health Promotion Graduate Program, 2012-2013
This project will involve an undergraduate student working with the Chair of the Health Division and
the Graduate Student Advisor to develop a before/after survey designed to focus on student
outcomes tied to competencies as developed by the Society for Public Health Education’s,
SOPHE and the American Association for Health Education’s, AAHE -- National Commission for
Health Education Credentialing, NCHEC. NCHEC administers a competency based examination
for masters level health educators-- the Certified Master Health Educator Specialist, (C.M.H.E.S.).
Project Leader: Catherine Zeman, Health Division, HPELS.
LAC Category Review: Assessment of Cornerstone Writing & Speaking, 2012-2013
It is critical that authentic assessment take place to determine if students are leaving with basic
communication competency as outlined in the SLO for both Category 1A & 1B, as delivered in the
Cornerstone course. This minigrant is a request to compensate adjunct faculty for assessing a
randomly selected group of projects from this course, as a group, outside of class. Project Leader:
April Chatham-Carpenter, Department: Communication Studies.
Program Assessment of Writing Processes, 2012-2013
This assessment examines LAC 1A Student Outcomes 2a and 2b, which focus on students’
knowledge and use of writing processes. English 1005 instructors are collection all documents
produced by students for one resarh-based project in Spring 2013. Documents will be organized
individually to produce a snapshot of the writing processes and their effects. One round of
assessment will enumerate program-wide data (e.g., avg. number of drafts, types of writing within
process, etc.). A second round of assessment will randomly sample across sections and inquire
into specific qualities which may include integration of research, significance, and degrees of
revision. This grant is solely adequately train and fund raters for the assessment. Project Leader:
David Grant, Languages and Literatures.
Examples of UNI Assessment Mini-Grant Projects, December 2014—page 3 of 3