       |
|
|
 |
History Closing the loop 2007 Desired Outcome: All students are expected to show proficiency in writing and mastery of course content. Advanced Students are also expected to be able to conduct research and interpret primary sources. Students are assessed according to their demonstration of these skills. Data Collection: For History 359 assignments were assessed to gauge student performance in:
Interpretation of the Data: Students writing remained fairly consistent throughout the semester. Most were able to structure paper with clear introductions, conclusions and thesis statements Many struggled with issues of grammar, voice and sentence construction Students lacked an understanding of the proper tone to use in academic writing Students showed vast improvement in their understanding of American history. Many displayed an excellent grasp of major issues and conflicts of the time period and integrated their knowledge into the second paper Students illustrated that they learned from a variety of sources Many students made connections between events in recent history and present day history Students generally proficient in analyzing primary source materials. Some students not able to move beyond purely literal interpretations Some students were able to conduct a more nuanced analyses suggesting how particular texts masked social realities or revealed ambivalences and contradictions in the culture Many students conducted very astute film analyses observing the ways that films reveal and allay cultural tensions In the oral history project some students commented thoughtfully on the advantages and disadvantages of using personal recollections as historical source material. Overall, students made progress in their understanding of post-1945 American history and in their ability to analyze primary sources. Changes to implement : Think about ways to improve student writing – perhaps through close analysis of professional historians’ work or class sessions devoted to the techniques or historical writing.
|
|
