1. Getting Started: Beginning the Assessment Cycle in a New STEM Class
An preliminary analysis of student work seeks to begin the assessment cycle.
Greg Carr, MLIS, Lindsay Couzens, Ph.D., and Tondra De ,
Overview
methods
conclusions
The Plan
First Analysis
Becoming embedded in a class is a success that brings challenges. A success for the librarian and the students as time and again research has shown that there are benefits to having a librarian work closely with a class. However, for the librarian it can be difficult to decide where to begin assisting the class. The AiA team decided that examining how well students are doing with a specific information literacy skill would be an excellent place to begin the assessment cycle. An analysis of authentic student products was undertaken to determine if cited sources were relevant to the project topic and if there was any relationship between topics and grades.
Students in SCI 101 Fall 2015 classes were asked in class if they would volunteer their poster and their grade.
Professors provided grades and posters in Spring 2016.
Raters came up with a scoring guide and completed two rounds of interrater reliability testing.
Each poster was assigned a topic based on content.
Each reference was examined to determine if it was scholarly, popular, government or other.
Each scholarly sources was located in Google Scholar or library catalog (if possible).
Each scholarly source was considered relevant if the subject terms or keywords matched the assigned topic.
Students overwhelmingly chose sources that were scholarly and relevant to their topic (97%). Between the in-class activities and the library instruction session, the students were learning how to develop a topic, determine information need (relevant scholarly articles), and were successfully using the sources for their posters. The average grade was 130 out of a possible 150 (87%).
Next Steps
Even though students are doing well with source evaluation, the raters noticed a lot of inconsistencies in the posters. Some of the posters had excellent citation while many others struggled. A few posters used graphs and images but did not correctly cite them. Some did not have any references at all. Going forward, the program coordinator has already agreed with teaching more about citation and will be an instruction focus in the fall. Additionally, the study was a success in that the embedded relationship with the SCI 101 program has developed further. These results will be utilized for the internal campus assessment of the program. The program coordinator continues to seek input on research instruction design and will help with further steps to close the assessment loop.
The Class
SCI Introduction to the University for Science Majors
SCI 101 is a First Year Experience (FYE) program designed to help students make the transition to college life by providing opportunities to explore, discover, and connect with the university and its resources. The course syllabus is focused on three themes whose learning outcomes enable the students to navigate their college careers successfully at UNLV. The first third of the course provides students with a tool kit of necessary college skills including note taking, test taking preparation, organization, and stress management.
results
97 posters
171 students
1103 citations
87% avg. score
17 topics
97% relevant
412 scholarly
The assignment
Ethics Project (210 points)
You and your partner will explore a scientific ethical question or questions.
You and your partner will need to develop a comprehensive understanding
of your case and the issues involved, identify the ethical dilemma presented,
and present to your peers the ethical conclusion.
To achieve this, you and your partner will complete the following project components:
Conduct detailed guided scientific research to find and evaluate scientific
journal articles, book chapters, and government documents.
Create an annotated bibliography to document your research efforts using at least six sources including peer-reviewed and popular sources in APA format. The draft annotated bibliography must be attached to your final annotated bibliography.
Write an abstract summarizing your research on the case to be integrated into your scientific poster. The draft abstract must be attached to your final abstract.
Create a graph that summarizes data collected from your peer-reviewed literature sources that will be included on your poster.
Prepare and present to your peers in a five minute presentation a well-organized electronic poster using power point.
Acknowledgements
This project was only possible with the support my fiancé Brett, Sherman and Finn. Many of my colleagues supported this endeavor and have my eternal gratitude.
This project is part of the program “Assessment in Action: Academic Libraries and Student Success” which is undertaken by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) in partnership with the Association for Institutional Research and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. The program, a cornerstone of ACRL's Value of Academic Libraries initiative, is made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.