Adviye Tolunay
Student Learning Outcome Assessment Report
Developmental Psychology
Spring 2013
Tell us about the section(s) you assessed.
One section of PSY 9 (Developmental psychology). Daytime, face-to-face class on the
Moreno Valley College campus.
Which SLO from the Course Outline of Record (COR) does this project assess?
Understand how psychological development consists of key integrated dimensions biological, cognitive and psychosocial - that occurs in defined life stages; i.e. Infancy,
Adolescence, Middle Adulthood.
Why did you choose that SLO?
SLOs for this class were revised since the last assessment period as the psychology
discipline updated its Course Outline of Records. The SLO that was assessed prior to
these changes, which focused on the students’ learning of social and environmental
factors influenced human development, was “Analyze social and institutional factors,
which are relevant to development in adulthood.” I chose to assess an SLO that was
similar in it’s objective.
What specific topic does this project focus on?
Based on the feedback I received from the students who took this course in the previous
semesters, I know that many students have difficulty comprehending Bronfenbrenner’s
Ecological Theory, which identifies the five environmental systems (microsystem,
mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem) that influence human
development. The students particularly struggle with defining the five layers of the
environment, and discussing their relation to the three major areas of human
development (physical, cognitive, and socioemotional).
Describe your inquiry strategy, including the assessment tool, scoring criteria, and
timeline.
In the mid-term exam of Spring 2012, I asked the students to answer two of the three
short-essay questions of their choice. One of the questions asked students to explain
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of development. Specifically, they were asked to
explain the five layers of the environment (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem,
macrosystem, chronosystem) and how they may effect and child’s physical, cognitive, and
social development. Responses to the short-essay question about Bronfenbrenner’s
Ecological Theory on midterm exam were recorded and analyzed. I also reviewed the
number of students who chose to answer this particular question in relation to the total
number of students in class to assess students’ confidence level with this topic.
What were the results? Based on the results, what goal was set?
In the mid-term exam of Spring 2012, 22 out of 42 students chose to answer this question,
and 13 of them (64%) received satisfactory results (3, 4, or 5 points out of 5). In the final
exam of Spring 2012, I asked all students to answer a multiple-choice that required them
to identify the microsystem. During the analysis of the scores, I counted the number of
students who gave the correct answer. The percentage of students who answered the
question regarding Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory in the final exam was
81.57%. Even though most students did well in identifying a specific aspect of the
environment in a multiple-choice question format, my goal was to increase the number of
students who chose to answer the short-essay question that focused on how the five layers
of environment influence various aspects of human development. In the mid-term exam
of Spring 2013, my objective was see at least 75% of the students receive successful
scores (at least 3 points out of 5) for this question.
What modifications to the curriculum were made?
An interactive lecture was designed to cover this topic. I first explained the basic
principles of the theory, highlighting how different aspects of our environment can
influence our physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development. I provided several
examples to the components of each layer to elaborate on the topic. Then I asked the
students to engage in a 10-minute writing activity, in which they explained the different
social agents they have on the five layers of their environment by providing specific
examples. Then they spent 5 minutes sharing their examples in pairs, and highlighting the
similarities and differences in the examples they provided for each layer.
Describe your re-inquiry strategy, including the timeline and results.
I asked the students to complete an online practice test and to go over the review
questions handed out at the beginning of the semester to prepare for the mid-term exam.
After administering the final exam, I counted the number of students who chose to answer
the question and received satisfactory scores. Thirty-two out of 41 students (73%)
answered the question regarding Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory in the mid-term
exam. This shows that more number of students felt confident in choosing to answer this
question, which suggests that there is an increased level of learning of this particular
topic. Of the 32 students who answered this short-essay question, 28 (87.5%) received at
least 3 out of 5 points (7 students got 3 points, 10 students got 4 points, 11 students got 5
points).
How have you shared this project with your colleagues?
I will share the results of this project with my discipline members in our Fall 2013
meeting.
Next step and timeline. Will you assess this course again focusing on a different
SLO? Will you assess a different version of this course-hybrid, online, evening, 8
week, etc.? Will you assess a different course? If so, which SLO will you address?
I am planning on assessing a different SLO on the 2013-2014 Academic Year, since I am
satisfied for the results I achieved regarding this SLO.