Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) Assessment Report
Course Assessment
Division: Social and Behavioral Science
Discipline/Program:
Psychology
Course Number and Name: PSYCH 001 General Psychology
Program Contact Person: Lorrie Kato__________________________________________
Phone: ____(310) 233-4674___
Reviewed by: Joachin Arias, Ph.D. (SLO Coordinator)
Date: Dec 2014
Attach additional pages as necessary.
Institutional
Course Intended Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
Identify and differentiate
among the major historical
theoretical perspectives
regarding the nature and
origins of psychology.
1, 2, 3
Evaluate empirical studies of
psychological constructs using
basic research methods of
design and APA guidelines.
Means of Assessment
and Criteria for Success
Means:
Summary of Data
Collected
Use of Results
16 sections completed
the assessment. 88% of
students that completed
the assessment scored at
least 70% of above.
Instructors that
conducted the assessment
towards the end of the
course, after several
chances to improve
scientific writing, found
that it increased success
on the assignment.
Allowing the students to
work in groups, which
allowed the instructor
and students to work
together, worked well for
some instructors. Many
More direct instruction on
APA. Increase the number of
brief assignments that
involve reading and
reporting on journal articles.
Plan activities that guide
students through the process
of critically analyzing an
article. Inclusion of more
discussion in class to
enhance critical thinking
skills. Provide handouts on
common grammar errors.
PowerPoint presentations
available for students on
APA style. Use
articles/topics the students
are interested in and can
relate to. Increase awareness
Criteria:
Means: Critically
evaluate a scholarly
research article using
APA guidelines.
Criteria: At least 70% of
students will coherently
and critically evaluate the
research article.
students had limited
exposure to APA when
entering an Introductory
Psychology course.
Students had difficulty
differentiating between
news articles, web
articles, and “peerreviewed” or “scholarly
articles.” Some
instructors noted weak
written and critical
thinking skills. Students
needed considerable
support finding articles
and with APA style.
Develop insight into one’s own
and others' behavior and
mental processes by applying
psychological principles,
theory, and research to
personal, sociocultural, and
organizational issues,
including (but not limited to):
age, race, ethnicity, culture,
gender, gender identity,
socioeconomic status,
disability, and sexual
orientation.
Means:
Demonstrate critical thinking
skills and information
competence as applied to
psychological topics.
Means:
Criteria:
Criteria:
of and encourage students to
use campus resources
(writing center, APA
workshops). Plan a
workshop for instructors on
APA. Work towards having
supplemental instructors in
general psychology courses
to tutor students on APA and
finding empirical articles.
Take students to the
computer lab and
demonstrate how to find
scholarly articles.
Date:
Dec 2013/June 2014
Attach additional pages as necessary.
Institutional
Course Intended Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
Identify and differentiate
2
among the major historical
theoretical perspectives
regarding the nature and
origins of psychology.
1, 2, 3
Evaluate empirical studies of
psychological constructs using
basic research methods of
design and APA guidelines.
Means of Assessment
and Criteria for Success
Means: Responded to
multiple-choice questions
on an exam requiring
students to identify the
major historical
perspectives in
psychology.
Criteria: At least 70 %
of students will be able to
respond accurately to the
questions.
Means: Critically
evaluate a scholarly
research article using
APA guidelines.
Criteria: At least 70% of
students will coherently
and critically evaluate the
research article.
1, 5
Develop insight into one’s own
and others' behavior and
mental processes by applying
psychological principles,
theory, and research to
personal, sociocultural, and
organizational issues,
including (but not limited to):
age, race, ethnicity, culture,
gender, gender identity,
socioeconomic status,
disability, and sexual
Means: Evaluate stress
levels by taking a stress
inventory and provide a
written interpretation of
the score and identify
positive coping skills for
future use.
Criteria: Students will
score at least 70% on a
rubric.
Summary of Data
Collected
8 sections participated in
this assessment. 93% of
completing students
achieved a score of 70%
or better on this
assignment. Students
appeared to be able to
identify the different
theoretical perspectives
based on responses to
multiple-choice
questions.
8 sections participated in
this assessment. 76% of
completing students
achieved a score of 70%
or better on this
assessment. Some
students struggled with
APA format, writing
skills, and critical
thinking.
12 sections participated
in the stress assessment.
93% of students achieved
a score of 70% or better
on this assessment. The
students reported
enjoying the assignment
since it was applicable to
their lives. Students also
enjoyed learning about
positive coping skills.
Use of Results
Students appeared to do well
on this assessment.
Instructors will continue to
utilize discussion, lectures,
and reading material to cover
these concepts. In the future,
assessments will include
short-answer or discussion
questions to assess students’
comprehension at a deeper
level.
Instructors will provide more
APA resources, allow
students to practice APA
format, and will scaffold the
assignment into smaller
pieces, allowing students to
make corrections and
improve.
Future assignments will
include more activities that
are applicable to student
lives to enhance student
learning.
orientation.
1, 3, 4
Demonstrate critical thinking
skills and information
competence as applied to
psychological topics.
Means: Critically
evaluate a scholarly
research article and
personal stress levels
using APA guidelines in a
written assignment.
Criteria: At least 70 %
of students will be able to
respond accurately to
questions.
8 sections participated in
an in-class group
assignment. 83% of
students achieved a score
of 70% or better on this
assignment. Students had
some difficulty critically
evaluating the article, but
were more successful
with interpreting their
stress scores.
Instructors will include more
discussions to stimulate
critical thinking about
psychological research and
topics.
Date: June 11/June 12
Attach additional pages as necessary.
Institutional
Course Intended Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
1. Demonstrate understanding
of the nature, origins of
1
psychology.
2
2. Compare and contrast the
major theoretical perspectives
Means of Assessment
and Criteria for Success
Means: In one
paragraph, students will
explain how psychology
is different from
philosophy.
Criteria for success: at
least 70% of students will
be able to discuss
similarity of questions,
methodological
differences, and/or will
discuss the methods used
by each discipline
Summary of Data
Collected
Data collected during
Fall 10 and Spring 11
Results: A total of 11
classes participated. On
average, 82% of students
were able to coherently
state the difference
between psychology and
philosophy.
Means: 2-part class
activity that includes: 1.
identifying the major
concepts for each of 5
traditional psychological
perspectives. 2. compare
and contrast two of them.
Criteria for success: 70
% of students will be
able to use the correct
terminology for each of
the perspectives
presented. In addition,
70% of students will
correctly use the
corresponding
terminology when
comparing and
Combined with SLOs 3
and 5. Data collected
Fall 11 & Spring 12. A
total of 9 classes
participated. 4 classes
used this activity as a
take home-activity.
Results: 75% of
participating students
were able to provide
satisfactory responses.
Use of Results
Since students respond fairly
well to this activity, the
department has decided not
to implement changes at this
time.
Using this activity as takehome improved success rate.
It may be that performing
this activity outside the
classroom gives students
more time to think about the
answers and consult the
textbook and class notes.
contrasting 2
perspectives.
Combined with SLO # 2
2
3. Discuss historical trends
1
4. Apply the scientific method
to psychological constructs
using basic research methods of
design and interpretation
Means: 10 multiple
choice questions.
Criteria: success = 70%
correct responses to each
question.
Fall 11 Results:
students’ performance
has not changed from
previous assessment.
2
5. Evaluate major
psychological concepts and
empirical findings.
6.Synthesize and integrate
psychological principles and
apply these to personal, social,
and organizational issues
Combined with SLO # 2
See SLO 2.
Means: Students will
write a report that (1)
will identify one habit
they would like to change
and write a behavioral
analysis by establishing a
baseline for the
frequency that the
behavior occurs; (2)
students will describe a
reward schedule to
increase the behavior or
an aversive schedule of
reinforcement (such as
snapping a rubber band
around the wrist.)
Criteria for success:
students will turn in a
report that accurately
describes the use of
reinforcement schedules
and will be rated as
satisfactory (70%
Combined with SLO # 8.
Fall 10 & Spring 12
Results: 9 classes
participated with almost
80% of participating
students reaching the
satisfactory criteria.
2
See SLO # 2.
There is an ongoing, robust
within-department discussion
on how to improve student
performance on this critical
SLO. The psychology
department is still exploring
options.
Since students have already
demonstrated proficiency in
applying behavioristic
concepts to their own lives,
the department is exploring
the possibility of changing to
another area of application
such as stress related
concepts and coping
mechanisms.
expected) or
unsatisfactory.
4
7. Recognize and analyze the
complexity of sociocultural and
international diversity
Means: Students will
write a short essay on
sociocultural and /or
international diversity
explaining how different
their lives would have
been growing up in
another culture. In their
essays students are
expected to use any of
the concepts associated
with this topic including
cultural relativity, norms,
collectivism,
individualism,
stereotype, etc.
Criteria for success:
at least 70% of the
students will correctly
apply in their essays any
of the concepts cited
above.
The data were collected
in the Spring 11, & 12.
Results: 70% of
participating students
reached the satisfactory
criteria. However, it was
noted that some students
held ethnocentric views
defeating the purpose of
the activity.
5
8. Develop insight into their
own and others' behavior and
mental processes and apply
effective strategies for selfmanagement and selfimprovement
Combined with SLO # 6
See SLO 6.
Assessing this SLO
continues to be a bit of a
challenge. The consensus
among instructors is that we
have not found yet the right
tool. The discussion is
ongoing.
Date: September 2010
Attach additional pages as necessary.
Institutional
Course Intended Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
1. Demonstrate understanding
of the nature, origins of
1
psychology.
2
2. Compare and contrast the
major theoretical perspectives
Means of Assessment
and Criteria for Success
Means: In one
paragraph, students will
explain how psychology
is different from
philosophy.
Criteria for success: at
least 70% of students will
be able to discuss
similarity of questions,
methodological
differences, and/or will
discuss the methods used
by each discipline
Summary of Data
Collected
A total of five classes
participated in the Fall
2009.
Results: On average, at
least 80% of the students
per class were able to
identify and discuss the
differences between
psychology and
philosophy.
Means: 2-part class
activity that includes: 1.
identifying the major
concepts for each of 5
traditional psychological
perspectives. 2. compare
and contrast two of them.
Criteria for success: 70
% of students will be
able to use the correct
terminology for each of
the perspectives
presented. In addition,
70% of students will
correctly use the
corresponding
terminology when
comparing and
Combined with SLOs 3
and 5. See attached graph
showing the percent of
satisfactory responses
from 2 participating
instructors. Our criteria
for success, at least 70%
satisfactory responses,
were met in almost all
participating classes. Psy
1-123 reached 68 %
satisfactory responses.
Use of Results
This activity was straight
forward and easy to
implement. Some instructors
chose to implement this
activity as “take-home,”
others asked students to write
a paragraph in class. No
differences between takehome and in-class activities
were detected.
Discussions with students in
Psy 1-123 revealed that
although they understood the
activity they would have
liked more time to complete
it. Students suggested that
this activity should be a takehome rather than a class
assignment.
contrasting 2
perspectives.
Combined with SLO # 2
2
3. Discuss historical trends
1
4. Apply the scientific method
to psychological constructs
using basic research methods of
design and interpretation
Means: 10 multiple
choice questions.
Criteria: success = 70%
correct responses to each
question.
See attached graph
showing item analysis of
aggregate data from 2
participating instructors.
Although there was
marked improvement
from the Fall semester (3,
6, & 9) failed to reach
our set minimum criteria
of success (70%).
2
5. Evaluate major
psychological concepts and
empirical findings.
6.Synthesize and integrate
psychological principles and
apply these to personal, social,
and organizational issues
Combined with SLO # 2
See SLO 2.
Means: Students will
write a report that (1)
will identify one habit
they would like to change
and write a behavioral
analysis by establishing a
baseline for the
frequency that the
behavior occurs; (2)
students will describe a
reward schedule to
increase the behavior or
an aversive schedule of
reinforcement (such as
snapping a rubber band
around the wrist.)
Criteria for success:
students will turn in a
report that accurately
describes the use of
Combined with SLO # 8.
See attached graph
showing the percent of
satisfactory responses
from 2 participating
instructors. Our criteria
for success, at least 70%
satisfactory responses,
were met in all
participating classes.
2
See SLO # 2.
There was marked
improvement from the Fall
semester in some of the
problematic items suggesting
that instructors have made
strides in helping students
understand these difficult
concepts. In discussions
with students they suggested
that item # 6 needs to be
changed since it is confusing.
Results from this activity
show that when students
understand psychological
concepts they are able to
apply these concepts to their
own lives and gain new
insights into their behaviors.
reinforcement schedules
and will be rated as
satisfactory (70%
expected) or
unsatisfactory.
4
7. Recognize and analyze the
complexity of sociocultural and
international diversity
Means: Students will
write a review in
response to a video or an
article dealing with
sociocultural and /or
international diversity.
In their discussion
students are expected to
use any of the concepts
associated with this topic
including cultural
relativity, norms,
collectivism,
individualism,
stereotype, etc.
Criteria for success:
at least 70% of the
students will use
correctly in their review
any of the concepts cited
above.
The data were collected
in the Spring 2009.
Results: On average,
80% of the students or
more were able to discuss
some aspect of
sociocultural and /or
international diversity in
their reviews. One
instructor showed the
video “A class divided,”
one instructor assigned
the article “On being
sane in insane places,”
and all others asked
students to find an article
pertaining to the topic.
5
8. Develop insight into their
own and others' behavior and
mental processes and apply
effective strategies for selfmanagement and selfimprovement
Combined with SLO # 6
See SLO 6.
SLO # 1 Assessment Tool:
CLASS ACTIVITY
Instructors and students alike
found this activity very
interesting. The rubric used
was originally created for an
article review and the
instructor who showed the
video had to adapt it. Most
instructors liked having
flexibility in the rubric. Two
instructors found that some
of the items were repetitive
and suggested changes to it.
Presently, students’ reviews
are being further assessed via
inter-rater reliability. Once
results are in the department
will work on corrections (if
any) to this rubric.
SLO # 1: Demonstrate understanding of the nature, origins of psychology.
Means of assessment:
In one paragraph, students will explain how psychology is different from philosophy.
Criteria for success: at least 70% of students will discuss similarity of questions, methodological differences, and/or will discuss the methods used
by each discipline
SLO # 7 Assessment Tool:
Psychology 01 - SLO # 7: Recognize and analyze the complexity of sociocultural and international diversity
For this project you will search for an article that deals with some aspect of sociocultural diversity in humans. You will spend some time selecting
the best possible article and then review and report the findings from it. There are many articles and very interesting cases in print and online. You
should not focus on psychological journals that present very technical information. On the other hand, keep in mind that information derived from
Wikipedia is not an acceptable source of articles for a college paper. The goal of this project is for you to identify and discuss issues related
sociocultural diversity and relate this information to what you have learned in class. You will choose one article (the one that interested you the
most) and describe the following:
(1) The purpose of the article and the issue(s) discussed,
(2) the type of article: opinion, research, review, critique,
(3) the point the author is trying to make,
(4) the arguments used to support the point,
(5) evaluate the article and discuss whether you agree or disagree with the author,
(6) report any other piece of information from the article that you found interesting or important,
(7) relate the information to what you have learned in class and to sociocultural and or international diversity.
(8) reference the article at the end of your review.
At the most general level topics associated with sociocultural diversity may include sexuality, race, ethnicity, age, etc. More specific topics may
include immigration, homosexuality, prejudice, discrimination, etc. You may go to the campus library to find articles or you may access the library
web site from home and do your research from home.
Helpful hint: An A paper should have addressed all seven points outlined above. If you find an article that does not help you answer these points,
then, you have the wrong article. An article that is only a paragraph or a page long is not going to be helpful.