Development of Faculty Collaboratives to Assess Achievement of Student Learning Outcomes in Critical Thinking in Biology Core Courses

Csu Fullerton Auxiliary Services Corporation, Fullerton CA

Investigators

Abstract

The Department of Biological Science at California State University Fullerton (CSUF) is implementing a major curricular revision of the biology major's program in fall 2002. Planning for this revision involved the majority of the 24 faculty in the department working as collaborative teams and was based on explicit identification of student learning outcomes for the entire curriculum and for each of the four new core courses that replace the eight core courses previously offered. Faculty worked in groups called Teaching Collaboratives, according to their expertise, to develop the four new core courses. The new core courses incorporate active learning and inquiry-based activities in both the lecture and laboratory sections. The Faculty Collaboratives are now developing and adapting assessment instruments and techniques (such as those developed at Kean University, Reid, B et al, 1992, "Outcome Assessment as a Context for Evaluating the Biology Curriculum", BioScience, 42:536-542) for critical thinking and problem-solving skills, linked to the major concepts and themes within the courses. Faculty teaching the same core courses (members of the Teaching Collaboratives) are sharing their assessment items and developing new ones with the guidance of assessment software and in collaboration with an assessment consultant and process facilitator. In addition, sample student work resulting from these assessment items are being examined by the Teaching Collaboratives to identify strengths and weaknesses of the assessment items and of the learning environment. The end result is development of: an informed faculty; an electronic system for gathering the data to monitor the impact of curricular changes on student achievement, attitudes, and retention; and an accessible but secure database that allows faculty to share assessment items and to monitor student profiles throughout the biology program.