General Education Annual Course Assessment Form
Course Number/Title HIST 155
GE Area V
Results reported for AY 2010-11
# of sections 2 # of instructors 1
Course Coordinator: E. Bruce Reynolds
E-mail: bruce.reynolds@sjsu.edu
Department Chair: Patricia Evridge Hill
College: Social Sciences
Instructions: Each year, the department will prepare a brief (two page maximum) report that documents the
assessment of the course during the year. This report will be electronically submitted, by the department
chair, to the Office of Undergraduate Studies, with an electronic copy to the home college by September 1 of
the following academic year.
Part 1
To be completed by the course coordinator:
(1) What SLO(s) were assessed for the course during the AY?
Learning objective two: “identify the historical context of ideas and cultural traditions outside the
U.S. and how they have influenced American culture.” In this course, the fulfillment of objective
two involves study of the impact on the U.S. of the economic and political ideas that developed in
19th century Europe in the wake of the Enlightenment: liberalism, social Darwinism, socialism,
Marxism -- and, in the twentieth century, fascism. Much emphasis is placed on the roles these
conflicting ideologies played in the great conflicts of the last century and the rise of the U.S. to
global superpower status. Also covered is the post World War I economic rise of Asia and its
impact on the U.S. Finally, another relevant topic is the large-scale immigration of people from
various cultures to the United States, the domestic opposition to such immigration, and the issue of
assimilation versus multi-culturalism.
(2) What were the results of the assessment of this course? What were the lessons learned from the
assessment?
These standards were assessed through the mid-term essay exam and were a significant focus of
class discussion. The results of the mid-term exam can be statistically evaluated. For the mid-term
the students are given three essay topics in advance and must prepare to write essays on any one of
the three. All must then write on the topic drawn at the beginning of exam period. Of the 71
students during the 2010-11 school year completing the mid-term exam, 15 (21 percent) scored
lower than 75%. Since the final exam follows a similar format, one of the purposes of the mid-term
is to enable students to better realize the degree of preparation necessary to pass the final exam. I
think the results are within expected parameters and believe the exam serves its intended purposes
well.
(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.)
In my opinion – supported by student feedback -- the course is working well. I believe I maintain
appropriate standards and have effective assessment methods. Therefore no significant changes are
planned.
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?
Yes. PEH 9/1/11