General Education Annual Course Assessment Form
Course Number/Title: KIN 101, Sport in America
GE Area
S
Results reported for AY 2010-2011
# of sections 5 # of instructors 3
Course Coordinator: Matthew A. Masucci
E-mail: matthew.masucci@sjsu.edu
Department Chair: Shirley Reekie
College: CASA
Part 1: To be completed by the course coordinator:
(1) What SLO(s) were assessed for the course during the AY?
Fall 2010 – SLO #3: “Students will be able to describe social actions which have led to greater
equality and social justice in the U.S. (i.e. religious, gender, ethnic, racial, class, sexual orientation,
disability, and/or age).”
Spring 2011 – SLO #4: “Students will be able to recognize and appreciate constructive interactions
between people from different cultural, racial, and ethnic groups within the U.S.”
(2) What were the results of the assessment of this course? What were the lessons learned from the
assessment?
Fall 2010 – SLO #3 (Assessment Data: 2 sections, 83 students)
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Assessment: One way students demonstrated mastery of SLO #3 was by successful completion of a written
final research paper called “Social and Political Actions in the Arena” (required by all instructors). The
student’s final research paper is directly focused on social and political actions. Students were asked to
identify an individual or group in sport that has been subjected to some form of oppression or injustice,
being careful to outline the larger societal processes that are involved, and to describe particular social
actions taken by that group in their fight for greater equality. The students were expected to incorporate at
least five primary research articles, from a number of academic disciplines, in support of their thesis.
Moreover, students were expected to outline the positions of those who attempted to thwart the
implementation of these social actions as well as to relate how the struggle for equality and justice related
to the larger social and cultural context. The instructor makes it clear that students are to articulate how
structured inequalities in the society at large can influence and shape sporting practices.
o Assignment guideline: In the paper, students should also outline the arguments made by those who
attempted to resist change. Students should attempt to tie whatever issues they raise with larger
social issues outside of sport, and describe how the actions taken by the chosen individual or group
have or have not affected American society and culture. Some suggested topics might involve
individuals or groups that have been confronted by oppressive or unjust practices/policies related to
issues of race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or age. Students are
also encouraged to draw from the entire history of American sport for this assignment.
Lessons Learned: Using the Social and Political Actions in the Arena paper as the primary measure of
successful mastery of SLO #3; 84% of the students completed the assignment with a grade of C or better.
Despite seeming to comprehend the issues related to the intersection of social inequality, sport and social
justice, some of the papers tend to focus more on bibliographic information rather than critical analysis. In
addition, the mechanics of solid research writing and integration of source material are often lacking.
Spring 2011 – SLO #4 (Assessment Data: 3 sections, 109 students)
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Assessment: The “Critical Sport Autobiography” paper is a common assignment that is used across all
sections as the primary means to demonstrate successful understanding of SLO #4. The critical sport
autobiography paper affords an opportunity (for many students) to articulate the idea that sporting
practices can provide a unique opportunity to interact in a positive and constructive way with people from
diverse social and cultural backgrounds. One theme that is often reflected in the papers is how close
interactions with people from dissimilar backgrounds necessarily gave students pause with respect to
assumptions and stereotypes of these different groups.
As an additional in-class assignment that addresses SLO#4, students were asked to reflect on assigned
readings from the text and critically assess (in writing and then small group discussions) how sport can unite
particularly diverse groups in a certain regional location (the Oakland Raiders, for example) or in the nation
at large (the Olympics, for example). Conversely, students were asked to evaluate the negative or short-lived
impact this sort of regionalism or nationalism might have.
Lessons Learned: Using the Critical Sport Autobiography paper as the primary measure of successful mastery
of SLO #4; 93% of the students completed the assignment with a grade of C or better. With guidance from
the instructors, students have been better able to frame the autobiography in terms of how sport has
personally facilitated interactions between diverse groups. Some students also see how certain sport
experiences have perpetuated inequality and exclusion (based on limited resources, for example).
Moreover, some students seem to have difficulty with the technical writing elements of the paper.
(3) What modifications to the course, or its assessment activities or schedule, are planned for the
upcoming year? (If no modifications are planned, the course coordinator should indicate this.)
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Throughout the semester, it seems important to discuss the expectations for the paper(s), and to highlight
how the issues that are discussed in the class are historically, politically, socially and economically situated.
Connecting these fundamental concepts to how the students’ papers should be written may be beneficial in
order to draw a direct link between comprehension and communication of ideas. Another strategy the KIN
101 instructors employ is regular discussion of pedagogical techniques. Not only do these conversations
serve a practical purpose--to exchange tips and techniques about teaching the material (what works and
what does not)-but an added benefit is to foster a community of support among the instructors, thus
enhancing “buy-in” for working toward the larger aims of Area S. Lastly, the course coordinator has created
an electronic repository of resources that is available to all KIN 101 instructors.
Part 2
To be completed by the department chair (with input from course coordinator as appropriate):
(4) Are all sections of the course still aligned with the area Goals, Student Learning Objectives (SLOs),
Content, Support, and Assessment? If they are not, what actions are planned?
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Yes, all sections of the course are aligned with the Area S Goals, SLOs, Content, Support, and Assessment.
This is facilitated by using a common green sheet and textbook. Two common assignments are required in
all sections of the course: A Critical Sport Autobiography, and the final Scholarly Research Paper. Since only
four instructors regularly teach KIN 101, coordination of the course has been fairly uncomplicated. The
instructors meet formally and informally to share teaching strategies, discuss alignment with GE objectives,
and plan assessment of the class. As new instructors begin to teach KIN 101, a formal orientation will help
to maintain the current level of consistency. Moreover, the departmental general education committee
frequently discusses the need and value of further harmonizing course content and assessment among
instructors.