Humanities
Purpose
The Humanities General Education Program provides for the study of literature, fine arts, film, language, and philosophy which allows students the opportunity to learn specific methods for critically evaluating human values and conduct within historical and cultural contexts.
Educational Objectives
- Foster intellectual curiosity, global knowledge, critical thinking, personal responsibility, and ethical and cultural awareness.
- Prepare students to use language effectively.
- Establish a framework for students to develop an aesthetic appreciation for fine arts.
- Prepare students to be responsible citizens, lifelong learners, and world-ready leaders in their chosen fields.
Expected Student Learning Outcomes
Students from this program will be able to:
Articulate significant social, literary, and political perspectives found in humanities in such areas as class, ethnicity, gender, sex, and cultural orientation.
Produce a significant amount of interpretive and analytical writing, using appropriate organization, argument, support, vocabulary, documentation and grammar.
Read and discuss humanistic works critically with significant reference to structure, metaphor, symbolism and subtext.
Develop creative individual expression with fine arts, music or writing.
Explain how historical and social contexts influence various types of artistic expression.
Identify and discuss universal themes reflected in the humanities.
Summary of Student Learning Outcomes
During the 2007-08 academic year, the Humanities faculty formally assessed the student learning outcomes summarized below. Additional details can be found in the attached assessment report and in department assessment records.
Student Learning Outcome #1: Articulate significant social, literary, and political perspectives found in humanities in such areas as class, ethnicity, gender, sex, and cultural orientation.
Strengths: Students demonstrated strengths in exposing the importance of class, literary connection, cultural relevance, and broad social perspectives.
Areas needing improvement: Student performance was weakest with regard to ethnic, sex, gender contrasts, and political perspectives.
Action plan: As noted below, the faculty reassessed SLO #1, articulating significant social, literary, and political perspectives found in humanities in such areas as class, ethnicity, gender, sex, and cultural orientation. Overall assessment scores improved substantially over fall term 2007 scores. No further action is required at this time.
Student Learning Outcome #2: Produce a significant amount of interpretive and analytical writing using appropriate organization, argument, support, vocabulary, documentation and grammar.
Strengths: Students demonstrated strength in analysis of complex ideas in writing.
Areas needing improvement: The weakest part of this SLO is students' inability to support an argument with quotes and/or examples from the text.
Action plan: As noted below, the faculty implemented new teaching strategies with supporting an argument and re-assessed this outcome. Students demonstrated proficiency upon re-assessment. No further action is required at this time.
Additional Assessment of Critical Thinking
Strengths: Lower division students demonstrated acceptable proficiency in identifying the problem or issue, recognizing contexts and stakeholders, formulating a personal perspective and recognizing perspectives of others, and drawing implications or conclusions.
Areas needing improvement: Students demonstrated less than acceptable proficiency in identifying and evaluating assumptions and in identifying and evaluating evidence.
Action plan: With regard to identifying underlying assumptions, the in-class exercises, wherein student bring in outside sources to share with their teams, will include directions on recognizing the underlying assumptions. With regard to identifying and evaluating evidence, the professor will stress the importance of "rigorously" evaluating the information in discussion and will provide paper excerpts to the class, demonstrating this behavior.
Changes Resulting from Assessment
Student Learning Outcome #1: Articulate significant social, literary, and political perspectives found in humanities in such areas as class, ethnicity, gender, sex, and cultural orientation.
During spring term, 2008, we reassessed SLO #1, articulating significant social, literary, and political perspectives found in humanities in such areas as class, ethnicity, gender, sex, and cultural orientation. Following the winter term 2008 assessment plan, ENG 266 faculty placed more emphasis on the issues of Native American ethnicity. Faculty-led discussions, course readings, and films revealed issues involving the disenfranchisement of native people and the destruction of native cultures within the Indian Boarding School Program, the reservation system, and U.S. government land policy. Students worked in groups to develop their own presentations and written responses to the course material. A rubric was used to determine student progress (exceptional - no apparent progress). Overall assessment scores improved substantially over fall term 2007 scores.
Student Learning Outcome #2: Produce a significant amount of interpretive and analytical writing using appropriate organization, argument, support, vocabulary, documentation and grammar.
During winter term, 2008, we reassessed SLO #2, analyzing the students' ability to appropriately support an argument with quotes and/or examples from the text. Student work from HUM 148, Introduction to the Humanities II, was examined to determine student progress during winter term. Ninety students completed a number of formal papers during the term, receiving meticulous feedback on their written work. The King Lear/Ran essay assignment, given the 6th week, was used to specifically measure student progress on the use of support in an analytical paper. A rubric was used to determine student type (freshmen-senior), as well as a 5 point scale to determine student progress (excellent-missing).
Following the fall assessment plan, HUM 148 (winter) faculty placed greater emphasis on how to appropriately support an argument. Faculty led a discussion and provided students with examples of student work which properly supported an analytical argument, using quotes and/or examples from the text. The overall scores improved substantially in every case.