Draft Revised SLO description June 23, 2015 IV. Desired Student Learning Outcomes:
The focus of the MT Engage QEP is on enhancing student academic engagement. This will be
accomplished by creating a culture of academic engagement for students at the university.
Through a process of course redesign and faculty professional development, faculty will enhance
their existing courses using high impact, engaging pedagogy. MTSU is committed to student
success. This effort is consistent with the University’s mission and purpose statement which
reads, “MTSU fosters a student-centered environment conducive to lifelong learning, personal
development, and success” and “challenges students through diverse teaching methods.”
The student learning outcome for MT Engage, to be derived through this process of academic
engagement, is integrative/reflective thinking. Students will use integrative thinking and
reflection to demonstrate the ability to make connections across multiple contexts and
educational experiences. Reflection and integrative thinking are metacognitive processes that
enable students to “learn how to learn from experience” by analyzing their thoughts or insights
about the impact of an event or experience on their lives and future goals. Successful reflection
facilitates self-awareness, as well as personal and professional growth.
Integrative thinking and reflection are not only forms of academic engagement, but also
academic skills that can be developed through any number of high impact pedagogies, including
first-year seminars and experiences, common intellectual experiences, learning communities,
undergraduate research, diversity/global learning, service learning/community-based learning.
MT Engage students will develop in the appropriate use of integrative/reflective thinking and
self-assessment about their academic experiences and personal and professional development
within this culture of engagement, as well as in their ability to make connections across multiple
academic contexts and educational and personal and professional experiences. The following
student indicators will be used to assess students’ integrative/reflective thinking:
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The ability to connect relevant experiences and academic knowledge (connections to
experience),
The ability to make connections across disciplines and perspectives (connections to
discipline),
The ability to adapt and apply information to new situations (transfer),
The ability to use effective, appropriate, and various forms of communication to enhance
the quality of their assignments (effective and integrated communication), and
The ability to demonstrate a developing sense of self as a learner, building on prior
experiences to respond to new and challenging contexts, especially as it relates to their
personal and professional development (self-assessment and reflection).
The MTSU MT Engage QEP has two program goals:
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To foster a culture of engaged learning
To improve student retention, progression, & graduation.
Draft Revised SLO description June 23, 2015 X. Assessment Assessment of Student Learning Data will be collected using rubrics and surveys to assess the student learning outcomes. Incoming freshmen will be the first target group participants—particularly those enrolled in UNIV1010. Pilot testing will begin Fall 2015 in select UNIV1010 courses and select general education courses. Students who enroll in predetermined MT Engage pilot sections of UNIV1010 and general education courses will complete the Pre-­‐Program survey (see Appendix xx) and the End of Course survey (see Appendix xx) as part of the pilot; students enrolled in UNIV1010 will not know whether their section of the course is part of the pilot study prior to enrolling in the course. Instructors of those pilot sections will assign both WTC and BTC assignments that will be graded using a modified version of the AACU Value rubric on Integrative/Reflective Thinking rubric (See Appendix XX). WTC and BTC assignments used during the pilot will be assessed to determine which ones will be part of the standard MT Engage UNIV1010 sections of the course beginning Fall 2016 (instrumental for course redesign for Fall 2016). Also, students in those classes will start creating their ePortfolios using the proposed template. During Spring 2016, faculty who participated in the pilot will report on their WTC and BTC assignments (pros and cons), usage of the rubric, and experience with the ePortfolio. A course outline for UNIV1010 will be distributed to all faculty teaching MT Engage sections of the course in Fall 2016. Data from the surveys will be analyzed for validation purposes. Any changes to the piloted surveys will be made at this time. In Year 1, baseline data for students’ learning outcomes will be collected Summer 2016 using incoming freshmen who are on campus to participate in orientation and register for Fall 2016 courses (e.g., CUSTOMS). Students at each CUSTOMS session will be asked to complete the Pre-­‐
Program survey on the computer prior to enrolling in courses; this survey specifically addresses students’ past experiences with reflective and integrative thinking. Advisors will encourage all students to enroll in at least one MT Engage course during Fall 2016. All UNIV 1010 courses will be offered as MT Engage using the course outline developed during Spring 2016. This is especially important because most of the instructors for UNIV 1010 are adjuncts or administrators and staff who only teach that course and often only one section. Thus, without have a course outline and a common syllabus that specifies options for WTC and BTC assignments and requires that as part of the class, as well as specific reflective activities designed to enhance student personal and professional development, there would not be uniformity in the offering of that course. In addition to UNIV 1010, other approved sections of MT Engage courses will be offered during Fall 2016, as well.