Review Assessment Report

Part 1: Contact & Program Identification

Report Year and Contact Information
Academic Year	Modified By	Date Modified
2020-2021	[email protected]	2021-11-10T23:37:23.089Z

School	Name of Program	Courses
MSE	PHYS Science Gen Ed	PHYS 1310,PHYS 1230,PHYS 1230L,PHYS 1310L,PHYS 1115,PHYS 1115L

Part 2: Program Summary

Provide a high level review of the program to include highlights, successes, challenges, significant changes, and significant resources needed to support the program
Our general education program aims to develop scientific habits of mind and scientific reasoning in our students. Mastery of the skills assessed as part of our general education assessment program are part of a larger framework we have designed to help students become proficient in basic scientific inquiry and reasoning as well as critical consumers of science journalism and media. Fall 2020 we began offering many of our general education courses online for the first time as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students in the online course that we used for our general education assessment this year, PHYS 1230/1230L, demonstrated competency with all 9 essential skills, suggesting our transition to online as been successful.

Provide a high level review of the program to include highlights, successes, challenges, significant changes, and significant resources needed to support the program

Our general education program aims to develop scientific habits of mind and scientific reasoning in our students. Mastery of the skills assessed as part of our general education assessment program are part of a larger framework we have designed to help students become proficient in basic scientific inquiry and reasoning as well as critical consumers of science journalism and media. Fall 2020 we began offering many of our general education courses online for the first time as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students in the online course that we used for our general education assessment this year, PHYS 1230/1230L, demonstrated competency with all 9 essential skills, suggesting our transition to online as been successful.

Part 3: Data Review

	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Annual number of graduate awards is greater than 10	n/a	n/a	n/a
Number of declared majors	n/a	n/a	n/a
Average Class Size	22.4	21.3	23
Annual Average Class withdrawal rate is 30% or below (SAGE 35%)	15%	15%	13%
Annual C-Pass rate for coursework is 60% or above	75%	77%	76%
Average class fill rate at 60% or above capacity within a term or over a year	74%	71%	75%
Graduate Transfer to 4-year Schools	n/a	n/a	n/a
Full-time Faculty Coverage by Section	57%	62%	44%

Summarize how your program met or did not meet the target measures based on the data above
For the past 3 years, our physics general education program has hit all target measures.

Part 4: Program Learning Outcome Analysis

Learning Outcome	Population or Course(s) Assessed	Description	Summary of Assessment Results
Analysis of quantitative arguments: Interpret, analyze, and critique information or a line of reasoning presented by others.	PHYS 1230/1230L	In-class Activities	Forty-one students were assessed and 97.6% passed the assessment. The average score was 2.95 on a scale of 0 - 3.
Application of quantitative models: Apply appropriate quantitative models to real-world or other contextual problems.	PHYS 1230/1230L	In-class Activities	Forty-two students were assessed and 52% passed the assessment. The average score was 1.76 on a scale of 0 - 3.
Collaboration skills, teamwork, and value systems.	PHYS 1230/1230L	In-class Activities	Students take part in weekly collaborations. Our online students participate in weekly discussion boards while our face-to-face students work together in groups during lab. All sections assessed during Fall 2020 were online. Forty-four students were assessed during discussions that took place over the two-week class activity. The first week, 84.1% of the students passed and the average score was 2.4 on a scale of 0 - 3. The second week, 86.4% of the students passed and the average score was 2.4 on a scale of 0 - 3.
Communication/Representation of Quantitative Information: Express quantitative information symbolically, graphically, and in written or oral language.	PHYS 1230/1230L	In-class Activities	Forty-two students were assessed and 94% passed the assessment. The average score was 2.8 on a scale of 0 - 3.
Evidence acquisition: Identify and gather the information/data necessary to address the problem or question.	PHYS 1230/1230L	In-class Activities	Forty-two students were assessed and 79% passed the assessment. The average score was 2.4 on a scale of 0 - 3.
Evidence evaluation: evaluate evidence/data for credibility (i.e. bias, reliability and validity), probable truth, and relevance to a situation.	PHYS 1230/1230L	In-class Activities	Forty-two students were assessed and 81% passed the assessment. The average score was 2.2 on a scale of 0 - 3.
Problem setting: Delineate a problem or question. Students state problem/question appropriate to the context.	PHYS 1230/1230L	In-class Activities	Forty-two students were assessed and 74% passed the assessment. The average score was 2.0 on a scale of 0 - 3.
Reasoning/conclusion: Develop conclusion, solutions, and outcomes that reflect an informed, well-reasoned evaluation.	PHYS 1230/1230L	In-class Activities	Forty-one students were assessed and 95% passed the assessment. The average score was 2.8 on a scale of 0 - 3.
Sustainability and the natural and human worlds.	PHYS 1230/1230L	In-class Activities	Forty-one students were assessed and 98% passed the assessment. The average score was 2.7 on a scale of 0 - 3.

Interpretation of Assessment findings
All nine of the gen ed essential skills (ES) were assessed using an in-class lab in PHYS 1230L. The lab addresses the underlying causes of climate change and possible solutions. It's a two-week activity with varied tasks that require students to do research, interpret graphs, make calculations, evaluate statements, and draw conclusions, all while working in groups. Each ES was graded using a rubric with possible scores of 0, 1, 2, or 3 points. Labs like this one make up the majority of the course grade, so we chose a score of 2 (67%, or roughly 70%, a C) to be the cut point for passing a particular assessment. Our students passed all nine assessments, with pass rates for each ES ranging from 52% to 98%--all but one ES had pass rates of 74% or higher. The ES with the lowest pass rate was ES 9, which required a moderately complex calculation using constants with unfamiliar units. Although the students as a whole demonstrated competency with all 9 ES, students were the weakest applying the quantitative model.

Interpretation of Assessment findings

All nine of the gen ed essential skills (ES) were assessed using an in-class lab in PHYS 1230L. The lab addresses the underlying causes of climate change and possible solutions. It's a two-week activity with varied tasks that require students to do research, interpret graphs, make calculations, evaluate statements, and draw conclusions, all while working in groups. Each ES was graded using a rubric with possible scores of 0, 1, 2, or 3 points. Labs like this one make up the majority of the course grade, so we chose a score of 2 (67%, or roughly 70%, a C) to be the cut point for passing a particular assessment. Our students passed all nine assessments, with pass rates for each ES ranging from 52% to 98%--all but one ES had pass rates of 74% or higher. The ES with the lowest pass rate was ES 9, which required a moderately complex calculation using constants with unfamiliar units. Although the students as a whole demonstrated competency with all 9 ES, students were the weakest applying the quantitative model.

Part 5: Additional Action Plan in Support of Student Learning (If Appropriate)

Upcoming Year	Changes Planned for the upcoming year	Data Motivating this change
2021-2022	Increase emphasis on unit analysis when working with equations.	ES 9 was our lowest passing skill, with 11 of the 42 students (26%) losing a point on their score due to incorrect units. These students were able to use the quantitative model to get the correct numerical value, but were unable to analyze the units correctly.
2021-2022
2021-2022

Please select all of the following that characterize the types of changes described in the above action plan

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