Curriculum Improvement in Practice-Oriented Biology and Computer Science Programs Using Student Portfolios

Northeastern University, Boston MA

Investigators

Abstract

This project moves the assessment of practice-oriented science education from indirect to direct measures of student learning. Northeastern University is a major research university with a long tradition of practice-oriented education. Through its well-established cooperative education program, most students alternate periods of full time course work with periods of full time paid employment relevant to their major. Even in on-campus settings science education has moved beyond the traditional classroom, where instructors maintain direct oversight over students, to include new forms of lab instruction, collaborative research projects, and independent study. Both the cooperative education model and the other new forms of instruction raise questions about what is learned in each setting, how the acquired skills can be assessed, and how this learning can be integrated into the overall curriculum. The College of Computer Science and the Biology Department of the College of Arts & Sciences at Northeastern University have surveyed students and their co-op employers to evaluate student skills and determine where and how they were learned. The two units have become campus leaders in assessing learning to improve curricula and teaching. Building on this base, this project develops portfolios for students to showcase and archive their work. Student learning is then evaluated according to well-defined rubrics that set standards of measurable progress toward proficiency in desired learning goals. The portfolios are stored in digital form on computer servers (so-called electronic portfolios) to facilitate communication between the various learning environments. Development of rubrics to evaluate student learning in different settings is the first major task of the project. This process requires in-depth, facilitated discussions among academic faculty, co-op faculty, employer supervisors and experienced students. The second task is the designing of the portfolio system prototype following the recommendations of the rubric development teams and working with an outside database and web-front-end designer. The portfolio is piloted during the third year of the project, using 200 students in Computer Science co-op preparation classes, and 200 Biology students from all five years of their program. During the last two months of each year the project team reviews progress by consulting with curriculum committees, employer groups, student groups and an Advisory Committee formed for this project. After the final evaluation the results are disseminated to the University Community and to the wider audience of scientists and educators. The process of rubric development and portfolio construction can be used as a model to understand the relative contribution of different settings to desired student learning outcomes, and as a vehicle for regular review and improvement of curriculum. The model can be used in a variety of settings with a broad range of students; for instance to help improve skills and clarify goals for students who are the first in their family to attend college and students for whom English is their second language.