Central Washington University
Assessment of Student Learning
Department and Program Report
Academic Year of Report: 2007-8
Department: Anthropology
College: COTS
Program: Primate Behavior & Ecology (PBE)
Check here if your assessment report covers all undergraduate degree
programs: [X]
Check here if your assessment report covers all graduate degree
programs: [Not applicable]
1. What student learning outcomes were assessed this year, and why?
We assessed four student learning outcomes (SLOs) during 2007-8. The courses and
events relevant to these learning outcomes were offered or occurred at about the same
time our assessment plans were finalized, so it made the most sense for us to apply the
assessment plans to those activities.
The following SLOs were assessed:
1. PBE students will have a variety of field experiences that strengthen their career
and/or educational prospects; assessed in Introduction to Primate Laboratory
Procedures (PRIM 220)  Goal is for 100% of PBE students to complete at least
one research-focused class.
2. PBE students will value the humane treatment of nonhuman animals; assessed in
Introduction to Primate Laboratory Procedures (PRIM 220)  Goal is for 100%
of students to complete safety training at the Chimpanzee and Human
Communication Institute.
3. PBE students will be skillful in designing, carrying out, and presenting a facultymentored research project; assessed in presentations and publications occurring
during 2007-8  Goal is for at least one program professor and student to publish
or present research each year.
4. PBE students will exhibit depth and breadth in their knowledge of concepts,
terminology, and theories relevant to primatology; assessed in Pongid Behavior
(ANTH 416)  Goals are for >60% of students to correctly answer subjective
and objective exam questions relating to these topics.
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2. How were they assessed?
2a. What methods were used?
1. We counted the number of students who enrolled in and completed Introduction
to Primate Laboratory Procedures (PRIM 220) as an indicator of students’ initial
exposure to a research experience, and we reviewed student performance on a
behavioral taxonomy test as an indicator of their readiness to begin behavioral
research.
2. We counted the number of students registering in and completing PRIM 220 as an
indicator of students’ exposure to principles of humane captive management.
3. We counted the numbers of professional presentations and publications in the
field of primatology made by PBE program faculty with students. [This list is
based on the Director’s recollections of presentations made during the past year;
in future we will use AARs collected in the fall to count these.]
4. We reviewed the scores earned by Pongid Behavior (ANTH 416) students in their
completion of an examination as an indicator of students’ mastery of important
concepts in primatology. [In future, we will use the instructor’s rubric for the
paper, where one rubric item is specific to the SLO rather than the student’s
overall grade.]
2b. Who was assessed?
We assessed the 17 students enrolled in Dr. Mary Lee Jensvold’s Pongid
Behavior (ANTH 416) class and the 17 students enrolled in Dr. Jensvold’s
Introduction to Primate Laboratory Procedures (PRIM 220) class. The latter class
serves only PBE students; the former class, mostly PBE students and some
anthropology majors.
2c. When was it assessed?
Introduction to Primate Laboratory Procedures (PRIM 220) was offered during
fall 07, Pongid Behavior (ANTH 416) was offered during spring 08, and student
and faculty presentations occurred fall 07 through summer 08.
3. What was learned?
1. All PBE students take Introduction to Primate Laboratory Procedures (PRIM
220), usually during their first fall quarter in the program. In order to be able to
collect behavioral data, students must learn a behavioral taxonomy and be able to
reliably and consistently apply the taxonomy to behaviors observed. This ability is
standard across the discipline of primatology and is a necessary precursor for
scientific study of animal behavior. Students take a behavioral taxonomy test
during the quarter. Three of 17 performed at D or F levels on this test; 4/17 were
in the C range; 8/17 B; and 2/17 A. All 17 students who enrolled in the class
completed it, so we reached our goal of 100% of students exposed to an initial
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research experience, although it appears some had difficulty mastering the
behavioral taxonomy used at CHCI.
2. All 17 of the students originally enrolled in Introduction to Primate Laboratory
Procedures (PRIM 220) successfully completed the class, so we reached our goal
for this SLO.
3. There were eight PBE program faculty during 2007-8. We made at least 20
professional presentations in primatology with undergraduate PBE students as coauthors, for an average across faculty of 2.5 presentations. These occurred at both
regional and national venues: SOURCE, Northwest Anthropological Association,
Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, and American Society of
Primatologists. Three program faculty and several undergraduate students
published peer-reviewed abstracts in American Journal of Primatology. Note that
these are minimum estimates; more complete data will be collected from AARs in
the fall. PBE students and faculty are active contributors to the field of
primatology, and we exceeded our goal for this SLO.
4. Students enrolled in ANTH 416 were tested for their knowledge of concepts,
theories, and methodologies used in primatology. On this exam, 3/17 students
earned Cs, 4/17 Bs, and 10/17 As. We appear to have met our goal for this SLO,
although we did not identify particular questions on the exam that would enable
us to more reliably measure this.
4. What will the department or program do as a result of that information?
1. The Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute uses a challenging
behavioral taxonomy based on many years of research there and with
chimpanzees in general. We will ask students enrolled in Primate Social Behavior
(ANTH 313) to develop a simple behavioral taxonomy at the same time they are
enrolled in Introduction to Primate Laboratory Procedures (PRIM 220) at the
Institute. This may help students acquire the skill of writing effective behavioral
definitions and codes for scientific research. We will assess if students understand
why this is an important skill to develop in Primate Social Behavior with a test
question and the professor’s evaluation of the students’ behavioral taxonomy.
2. Entry and exit survey questions on students’ knowledge of and attitudes toward
the humane treatment of nonhuman primates, along with data on enrollment in
and satisfactory completion of the Introduction to Primate Laboratory Procedures
course will provide a more complete picture of this SLO.
3. We have a strong record of scholarly research conducted with undergraduate
student coauthors, and this will continue to be a hallmark of our program.
4. We will identify particular exam questions in Pongid Behavior (ANTH 416) and
in Primate Social Behavior (ANTH 313) that will enable us to more accurately
assess students’ understanding of major concepts, theories, and methodologies in
primatology rather than using students’ overall exam scores.
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5. What did the department or program do in response to last year’s
assessment information?
We did not collect assessment data before 2007-8.
6. Questions or suggestions concerning assessment of student learning at
Central Washington University
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We will need adequate resources, particularly release time, to be able to engage in
effective assessment. One workload unit reassigned time seems reasonable for
assessing the PBE BS degree; if assessment is being conducted by the program
director, this would be in addition to the time already assigned to directing the
program.
We will need continued institutional support to reach alumni and to administer the
alumni on-line survey we developed in 2007. These data provide a longer term
view of our program.
Submitted by:
Lori K. Sheeran, Ph.D.
Director, Primate Behavior and Ecology program
Associate Professor of Anthropology
X1434
SheeranL@cwu.edu
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