IV - Orange Coast College
SLOs-- Planning & Results
2009-2010
Program Name: ___Biology____________
Program Lead: ______Farah Sogo__________________________
Type of Outcome:  CSLO _______________X PSLO _Biology Department (please check type of outcome)
(Identify Course)
(Identify Program)
Institutional Learning Outcomes: Communication; Thinking Skills; Global Awareness; Personal Development & Responsibility
Program Mission
Statement
Intended Outcomes
The Biological Sciences
department mission is to
 instill a desire in our
students to learn more
about the biological
sciences,
 encourage critical
thinking about how life
functions in the natural
world, and
 help students become
scientifically literate
citizens who can make
informed decisions
about biologically
related issues.
What will students be able to think,
know, do, or feel because of a given
educational experience in a course or
a program?
List all SLOs/PSLOs
Which ISLO is outcome linked to?
Means of Assessment &
Criteria for Success
Analysis of Data
Collected
What are the specific assessment tools
that will establish the degree & extent
of what is to be achieved? Use the
Assessment Toolbox – Part 1 to help
you determine the best assessment
method to use. It can be accessed on
the OCC portal, Program Review
Committee site, Assessment Toolbox
tab.
Summarize findings vis-à-vis
outcomes, means of assessment, &
criteria for success. Include your
process for determining who
participated in the assessment and
the sample size.
What is the criterion for success?
SLO #1:
After completing courses in
the Biological Science
program, students will be
able use the scientific method
to design, carry out,
summarize, evaluate tests of
biological hypotheses using
modern laboratory equipment
and present their findings in
a written laboratory report.
The assessment took place in
Biology 181, Biology 210, and
Biology 185. All three courses
had the assessment take place
in the laboratory portion of
their course. Each had
assignments appropriate for
their subject matter that
required the students to
1) Design and carry out an
experiment in laboratory using
What do the data tell us about your
process in terms of goals,
outcomes, and means of
assessment, defined criteria for
success, implementation process,
and data collection?
In Biology 181, 210, and
185, the percent of students
that met the criterion for
success were 94.7%,
92.4%, and 90.1%
respectively.
Sample size was as follows:
Biology 181- The
assessment included 152
students spanning 9
sections of Biology 181L.
Use of Results
Include any resources on Doc. V
What do the data tell us about
program improvement:

What, if anything, do we
need to do at the program
or course level to improve
student learning or
service?

What resources are
necessary?
The success of this assessment
indicates that we should
continue to offer assignments
which allow the student to
make scientific choices and
analysis by carrying out
experiments in which in
whole or in part they have
designed.
The resources required to
maintain excellence in this
the scientific method. All
assessments were carried out
during the Spring of 2009
2) Provide a full written report
summarizing their findings.
Biology 181: The students
designed, carried out, and
summarized their findings in
the form of a report involving
experiments in yeast to
determine the location of
invertase. Assessment was
based on the score each
student received on their
laboratory report.
Biology 210: The students
designed, carried out, and
summarized their findings in
the form of a report involving
experiments in which
unknown bacteria were
evaluated and identified.
Assessment was based on the
score each student received on
their laboratory report.
Biology 185: The students
designed, carried out, and
summarized their findings in
the form of a report involving
experiments on seed
germination and growth.
Assessment was based on the
score each student received on
their laboratory report.
Biology 210: The
assessment included 66
students spanning 3
sections of Biology 210L.
Biology 185: The
assessment included 71
students spanning 3
sections of Biology 185L.
The data indicate that the
Biology program is meeting
the goals of this PSLO with
great success.
area is access to computers
with internet, access to
databases that allow students
to download current scientific
literature, maintain lab sizes
of 30 or less (an increase of
lab size would make labs such
as these impossible to carry
out), and have access to
writing clinics and tutoring as
English is a second language
for many of our students.
The criterion for success was
for 70% of the students that
completed their respective
courses would score 70% or
higher on their laboratory
report
SL0 #2:
After completing courses in
the Biological Science
program, students will be
able to describe the
biological processes that
occur within or among
organisms (e.g., protein
synthesis, cell-to-cell
communication, digestion,
reproduction, nutrient flow
through an ecosystem).
The assessment took place
during Spring 2010 in Biology
100, Biology 181, Biology
185, Biology 221, and Biology
283. All the assessments took
place as written answer or
multiple choice questions
during lecture or final exams.
Each course tested an aspect of
this SLO as follows:
The courses that met the
criterion were: Biology
221, Biology 181 (Sogo),
Biology 283
Biology 100: Protein synthesis
and reproduction- 15 multiple
choice questions were
administered during a lecture
exam. Only the online section
of the course participated in
the assessment.
The sample sizes for each
assessment were as follows:
Biology 181
(Bialecki):Cell/Cell
Communication- A written
question on this topic was
administered during the 2nd
lecture exam.
Biology 181 (Bialecki): The
assessment included 69
students. The average score
for the question 42.5%.
Biology 181 (Sogo): Cell/Cell
Communication- A written
question on this topic was
administered during the 2nd
lecture exam.
The courses that did not
meet the criterion were:
Biology 181 (Bialecki),
Biology 100
Biology 100:the assessment
included 37 students. The
average score for the
questions was 60.3%
Biology 181 (Sogo): The
assessment included 129
students. The average score
for the question was 72.2%.
Biology 185:
Biology 221: The
The mixed results of this
assessment indicate that our
students find this material
challenging and need
additional instruction.
Analysis of the courses that
did not meet the criterion are
as follows:
Biology 181- This course has
no Biology prerequisite and
has an 18.6% attrition rate
(according to the latest
program review). It is
therefore important to take
into account when the course
is assessed. Many of the
students that eventually drop
do poorly on the assessment,
leaving questions blankresulting in a “0” score. This
dramatically affects the
average. For example in
Sogo’s Biology class, 14
students received a “0” on this
question of which 7 of them
dropped. Overall, 17 students
that received less than 70%
dropped the course.
Using the early alert system
may help get struggling
Biology 185:
Biology 221: Urine
Formation- 3 multiple choice
questions on this topic were
administered on the final
exam.
Biology 283: TranscriptionA written problem was given
on their 2nd exam that covered
this topic
The criterion for success was
that of the students
participating in the assessment,
the average class score will be
70% or higher.
assessment included 190
students in both lecture
sections for this course..
The average score for the
questions was 73%.
Biology 283: The
assessment included 29
students. The average score
for the question was 80.7%
students the help they need.
Encouraging students to use
the Writing Center could give
them the confidence to at least
attempt an answer. Increasing
the English prerequisite could
improve the average writing
skills of those that enter the
class. In addition, more
reading assignments may
allow students to practice
scientific reading so that they
might be more prepared for
the language encountered in
textbooks and exams.
Biology 100 (online):
Spending more time
addressing biological
processes and/or monitoring
student understanding prior to
an actual exam could improve
the outcome. Without
comparison with a “live”
class, it is difficult to assess
whether the online forum
(which puts more
responsibility of time spent on
subjects on the student)
contributed to the outcome.
Biology 221, and 283 met the
SLO criterion. However,
some of these assessments
were very close to the 70%
cut off. It may be prudent to
lower the cut off percentage
for this PSLO to account for
dropped students that leave
assessment questions blank.
Overall, as a department the
following resources will help
us to improve the outcome of
this PSLO.
1) More Full-Time faculty.
For example Biology 100 is
almost void of Full-time
faculty. Our current program
review demonstrated an
immediate need to repopulate
and increase our Full-time
faculty. Since the review, we
have had yet another
retirement without
replacement. An increase
would allow us to organize
and to make the changes
necessary to improve this
SLO.
2) Smaller class size.
Our current program review
clearly showed that the larger
the class size, the lower the
success and retention of the
students. Since it is
predominantly the students
that drop that do poorly on the
assessment, the data indicate
that class size reduction could
improve the outcome.
SLO #3
After completing courses in
the Biological Science
program, students will be
The assessment took place
during Spring 2011 in Biology
100 (online section), Biology
182, Biology 280, Biology
The percent of students that
received a passing grade or
higher on this assessment
was 77.6%, when each
Analysis and reflection of the
overall results as well as
achievement on specific
questions led to the following
able to describe the
variations observed in
organisms and explain how
populations have evolved
through time.
282, Biology 210, and Biology
185. Each of the assessments
will take place requiring essay,
short answer, or multiple
choice during lecture or final
exams. All assessments
included a variety of questions
regarding evolution and
organismal variation.
course is weighted
equally*. This indicates
that the criterion for success
was met for this PSLO.
The criterion for success was
that of the students
participating in the assessment,
the average class score will be
70% or higher.
An alternative method of
analysis that weights each
student equally** also
indicates that the criterion
for success was met for this
PSLO at 77.0%.
* %= (68.4 + 72.4 + 91.0+
78.7) +75.5 + 71.9)/ 6
courses= 77.3%
** %= (45/301)72.4 +
(48/301)78.7 + (21/301)91
+ (19/301)68.4 +
(96/301)75.5 +
(72/301)71.9= 75.3 %
The breakdown for each
participating course is
below:
Biology 100 (online
section):the assessment
included 45 students and
involved 12 multiple choice
questions embedded in an
exam. The average score
for the questions was 72.4%
Biology 182: The
assessment included 48
students and involved 4
multiple choice questions
ideas that may help improve
student success:
1. Focus on presenting the
scientific method behind
evolution and not just
evolution as a collection of
facts to be memorized and
“believed”.
2. Improvement on the
wording of the questions so
that students can answer the
questions to the best of their
ability.
3. Computational a research
tools that give the students an
opportunity to explore these
ideas further in a laboratory
setting.
4. Consider redesigning
Biology 185 to include more
evolutionary biology.
Specific resources that would
assist in maintaining and
improving student
achievement for this PSLO
are:
1. Computer software
programs that allow students
to explore evolutionary
concepts and population
dynamics by manipulating
data and assessing the
outcome, research tools to
and one short answer
question embedded in an
exam. The average score
for the questions was
78.7%.
Biology 280: The
assessment included 21
students and involved 6
essay exam questions. The
average score for the
questions was 91%.
Biology 282: The
assessment included 19
students and involved a
single essay exam question.
The average score for the
questions was 68.4%.
Biology 210: The
assessment included 96
students and involved a
single essay exam question.
The average score for the
questions was 75.5%.
Biology 185: The
assessment included 72
students and involved a
essay exam questions and
multiple choices questions
embedded on a class exam.
The average score for the
questions 71.9% when the
multiple choice and the
essay questions are
weighted equally.
allow students to gather data
on organisms in the area such
as binoculars, porometers and
Shermann Live Traps
2. Student and faculty access
to more peer-reviewed
scientific journals
3. Have field trips funded and
the timeline for the paperwork
involved for fieldtrip requests
be more flexible to allow for
the spontaneity required for
biological occurrences that are
not predictable.
4. Parscore scanner with
software that allows us to
determine more than just the
average student achievement.
Knowing how many students
meet PSLO criteria would be
more valuable.
SLO #4
After completing courses in
the Biological Science
program, students will be
able to perform literature
searches using scientific
databases to enhance their
understanding of biological
concepts.
A rubric will be used to assess
this PSLO in: Bio 181, 182,
185, 220H, 221, 282 in the fall
2008 semester. Success will
be measured as 70% of all
students who complete the
course will be able to
1) Find and cite a
scientific article
acceptably (vs.
unacceptably)
2) Relate the
information as
appropriate in a
written assignment
acceptably (vs.
unacceptably)
Of students assessed
individually, in total 244 of
297 (82.1%) students across
four courses successfully
met the criteria set by the
department.
The department is pleased
with its students’ performance
on this PSLO; we exceeded
our cutoff by 12%.
Maintaining accessibility of
computers, teaching computer
labs, and network access is
essential to maintaining our
success. We believe that our
students would have an even
higher success rate if they had
access to peer-reviewed
discipline-specific scientific
journals in the library at OCC.
Some academic dishonesty
was discovered during the
assessment, and maintaining
and enhancing plagiarism
detection software
accessibility is important.
IV - Orange Coast College
SLOs – Assessment Plan
Program Name: Biological Sciences Department
PSLO
1. The Biological Science program, students will be able use the scientific
2009-2010
Prior
Assessment
Year
Spring 2009
PSLO Assessment Calendar
2009-2010
2010-2011
Fall
Spring
Fall
Spring
2009
2010
2010
2011
method to design, carry out, summarize, evaluate tests of biological hypotheses
using modern laboratory equipment and present their findings in a written
laboratory report.
2. After completing courses in the Biological Science program, students will
be able to describe the biological processes that occur within or among
organisms (e.g., protein synthesis, cell-to-cell communication, digestion,
reproduction, nutrient flow through an ecosystem).
3. After completing courses in the Biological Science program, students will
be able to describe the variations observed in organisms and explain how
populations have evolved through time.
4. After completing courses in the Biological Science program, students will
be able to perform literature searches using scientific databases to enhance their
understanding of biological concepts.
X
X
Fall 2008
2011-2012
Fall
Spring
2011
2012