COURSE ASSESSMENT REPORT (CAR)
Revised 08/15/2012
Course Prefix, Number and Title: PSY 101-General Psychology
Division/Unit: School of Liberal Arts/Social Sciences
Submitted by: Kevin Dugan
Contributing Faculty:
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Complete and electronically submit your assessment report to your Department Chair/Coordinator/Director. As needed, please attach supporting documents and/or
a narrative description of the assessment activities in your course.
Course Outcomes
In the boxes below, summarize
the outcomes assessed in your
course during the year.
Assessment Measures
Assessment Results
In the boxes below, summarize
the methods used to assess course
outcomes during the last year.
In the boxes below, summarize
the results of your assessment
activities during the last year.
Students completed a
“conceptual” and an
“application” quiz for chapter 5.
Mastery was defined as earning a
65% on each quiz, and individual
results were also examined.
Moreover, the results were
broken down and examined by
courses taught by full-time
faculty, part-time faculty, and all
faculty combined. Last,
individual items were examined
to ascertain strengths and
weaknesses of curricula across
all classes.
On the conceptual chapter 5 quiz
in FT faculty classes, the average
score was 70%, in PT faculty
classes – average score of 67%,
with an overall average of 68%.
On the application chapter 5
quiz, the class average across FT
faculty classes was 72%, across
PT faculty classes was 66%, for a
total average across all classes of
68%. The specific questions that
less than 70% of the students
answered correctly reflected
under-developed comprehension
on the following concepts:
Continuity vs. stages in
developmental theories, cognitive
processes occurring in stranger
anxiety, the importance of
cognitive development in the
moral development theory of
Kohlberg, the myths of the empty
nest syndrome and the mid-life
Use of Results
Effect on Course
In the boxes below, summarize
how you are or how you plan to
use the results to improve student
learning.
Based on the results of this
assessment, will you revise your
outcomes? If so, please
summarize how and why in the
boxes below:
These results will be shared with
all full and part-time psychology
faculty (only the total percentage
scores) to show what areas our
students seem to be learning
well, and what areas they need
support with. A meeting with all
full-time faculty will be held
during the professional
development or first week of
school to brainstorm and draft
proposals to support curricula in
these identified areas, with
various suggestions offered to
faculty of how to support student
learning in these content areas.
Also, although not specifically
“measured” in a quantitative
sense, on several of the items that
were below 70% correct answer
rate, students were asked to
respond based on known research
The identified content areas on
items where students will be
shared with all faculty, with ideas
generated by the full-time
psychology faculty to support
these constructs and teaching
methodology. All psychology
faculty will be encouraged to
develop expanded content and/or
instructional methods to address
these content areas.
Outcome #1
Students will demonstrate an
understanding of major theories
in Psychology, which includes
understanding and identifying
key concepts in the following
theories/areas: Learning,
Personality, Neuroscience,
Developmental, Cogntive and
Motivation/emotion. One of the
chapters identified for assessment
for the Fall 2011 term was
Chapter 5 (Developmental
Psychology).
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COURSE ASSESSMENT REPORT (CAR)
Course Prefix, Number and Title: PSY 101-General Psychology
Division/Unit: School of Liberal Arts/Social Sciences
Submitted by: Kevin Dugan
Contributing Faculty:
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Course Outcomes
Outcome # 2
Students will demonstrate an
understanding of major theories
in Psychology, which includes
understanding and identifying
key concepts in the following
theories/areas: Learning,
Personality, Neuroscience,
Developmental, Cogntive and
Motivation/emotion. One of the
chapters identified for assessment
for the Spring 2012 term was
Chapter 11 (Emotions, Stress,
and Health).
Assessment Measures
Students completed a
“conceptual” and an
“application” quiz for chapter 11.
Mastery was defined as earning a
65% on each quiz, and individual
results were also examined.
Moreover, the results were
broken down and examined by
courses taught by full-time
faculty, part-time faculty, and all
faculty combined. Last,
individual items were examined
to ascertain strengths and
weaknesses of curricula across
all classes.
Assessment Results
Use of Results
crisis, the definition of “social
clock,” applications of
evolutionary psychology,
application of the formal
operations stage of cognitive
development according to Piaget,
the last three stages of
psychosocial development
according to Erikson, and the
relationship between cohabitation
and later divorces rates.
data, and not offer an “intuitive”
answer. Increasing effort in
supporting students respond more
from a discipline/critical thinking
rather than an “intuitive” frame
of reference will be made.
On both the conceptual and
application chapter 11 quizzes in
FT faculty classes, the average
score was 74%, in PT faculty
classes – average score of 65%,
with an overall average of 68%.
The specific questions that less
than 70% of the students
answered correctly reflected
under-developed comprehension
on the following concepts:
relationship between facial
expressions, emotions, and
genetics; the 3 main components
of emotion; Autonomic Nervous
System functioning and emotion;
Gender differences in empathy
skills; definition of catharsis;
definitions and applications of
the General Adaptation
Syndrome; relationship between
These results will be shared with
all full and part-time psychology
faculty (only the total percentage
scores) to show what areas our
students seem to be learning
well, and what areas they need
support with. A meeting with all
full-time faculty will be held
during the professional
development or first week of
school to brainstorm and draft
proposals to support curricula in
these identified areas, with
various suggestions offered to
faculty of how to support student
learning in these content areas.
Page 2
The same observation made
above regarding intuitive vs.
research based
analysis/responding processes
Effect on Course
The identified content areas on
items where students will be
shared with all faculty, with ideas
generated by the full-time
psychology faculty to support
these constructs and teaching
methodology. All psychology
faculty will be encouraged to
develop expanded content and/or
instructional methods to address
these content areas.
COURSE ASSESSMENT REPORT (CAR)
Course Prefix, Number and Title: PSY 101-General Psychology
Division/Unit: School of Liberal Arts/Social Sciences
Submitted by: Kevin Dugan
Contributing Faculty:
Academic Year: 2011-2012
Course Outcomes
Assessment Measures
Assessment Results
arousal and performance;
physiological features of stress
and the autonomic nervous
system; the guilty knowledge
test; applications of the Adaption
and Relative Deprivation
Principles; Cognitive appraisal
and experience of stress.
Use of Results
Effect on Course
applies as well to the student
responding to the chapter 11
quizzes.
Please enter your name and date below to confirm you have reviewed this report:
Title
Name
Date
Dept. Chair/Coordinator/Director
Click here to enter text.
Click here to enter a date.
Dean
Armida Fruzzetti
8/10/2012
Vice President of Academic Affairs & Student Services
John G .Tuthill
8/24/2012
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