MA336 Assessment- Fall 2013 Addendum
MA336 was assessed in Spring 2013 through a multiple-choice instrument administered to students in
all sections. MA336 instructors met to discuss the results. The following suggestions were offered,
recommending starting with #4, #8, and, to some degree, #5.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Increase emphasis on teaching for conceptual understanding
Use low-stakes assignments with questions on concepts
Consider textbook with extra emphasis on concepts
Explore a list of learning outcomes for the course
Consider increasing uniformity of sections perhaps though a departmental midterm or partly uniform final
Increase awareness of existing practices perhaps through sharing of finals or other assessment instruments used
for grading
7) In future assessments, consider including items with more emphasis on computation
8) Form a subgroup to discuss and collect data on strategies and best/practices for shifting more emphasis on
conceptual understanding.
In Fall 2013, MA336 instructors were informed of work done and were invited to follow-up discussions.
All Spring 2013 instructors were also Fall 2013 instructors. Through in-person meetings and email
communications the following were proposed. In-person meetings took place on October 23rd and on
October 30th
A: The course syllabus recommends a single textbook. This may signal a “departmental preference” for
the course in the direction of this book, particularly to the many new members of the department.
Based on conversations with MA336 instructors, such a signal would be misleading. It was proposed to
increase the number of recommendations with textbooks that place more emphasis on concepts. This
action would address #3 from above, and could serve as a step towards #1. Related tasks and deadlines
(March 2014) Recommend additional textbooks
(Aug 2014) Update the syllabus
B: Several broad course-level learning objectives are listed in the catalogue and in the syllabus. The
curricular commonality among MA336 sections consists of the learning objectives, the
recommendation of textbook, and recommendations for section coverage. In response to #4 and to #5
it was proposed to:
a) Rewrite the course objectives so to a) reduce vagueness and b) make them useful in setting
a direction of the course that increases emphasis on conceptual understanding, while still
supporting the general education objectives
b) Compile a list of learning outcomes. It was proposed to limit the list initially to learning
outcomes encompassing items found in the Spring 2013 assessment.
c) Restructure the syllabus to follow an objective-based outline rather than a book-section
based timeline. Once alternative textbooks are identified, append the syllabus to reflect
recommended coverage based on those books.
Related tasks and deadlines:
(Spring 2014) Draft revised course objectives
(Spring 2014) Draft list of learning outcomes for descriptive statistics
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MA336 Assessment- Fall 2013 Addendum
C: It was proposed to reassess on the same material, with different questions, in Spring 2014. Most
Spring 2014 instructors are likely to have been Spring 2013 or Fall 2013 instructors. To help reduce
bias, it was proposed that all Spring 2014 faculty be given advanced noticed regarding the nature of
the assessment. Related tasks and deadlines:
(Fall 2013) Inform Spring 2014 instructors
(Feb 2014) Prepare assessment instrument for Spring 2014
(April 2014) Administer assessment
D: Regarding #5 and #6, it was recommended to compile a set of questions and assignments reflecting
the course objectives and learning outcomes. Such a list could be used as the basis for a departmental
course assessment. In questions regarding concepts, the wording of the questions plays a particularly
important role. It should be made clear to potential users that the wording should be adjusted to the
style they prefer. Related tasks and deadlines:
Although preliminary work may begin, this step would need to be informed by the revisions of
course objectives and learning outcomes
Sincerely,
Kostas Stroumbakis,
Related literature:
1) American Statistical Association http://www.amstat.org/education/index.cfm
2) Guidelines for assessment and instruction in statistics education (GAISE)
http://www.amstat.org/education/gaise/
3) GAISE College Report http://www.amstat.org/education/gaise/GaiseCollege_Full.pdf
4) Woodard & McGowan (2012) Redesigning a Large Introductory Course to Incorporate the GAISE
Guidelines; Journal of Statistics Education Vol. 20, Num. 3
www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v20n3/woodard.pdf
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