|PROGRAM OVERVIEW||PROGRAM GOALS||CRITICAL PERFORMANCES||STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT||COURSE SEQUENCE|
This Student Outcome Assessment Plan is structured around five areas drawn from the UNI Academic Program Review and Student Outcomes Assessment Manual (p. 39). They are:
1. Assessment Philosophy:
The Department of Curriculum and Instruction offers graduate study and degree programs with a variety of emphasis options in both on-campus and distance learning settings. Students experience their coursework in collaborative and interactive settings. Personal attention and authentic task-based activities are emphasized in both on-campus and distance learning settings. Graduate students enrolled in the Elementary Education MAE Program develop a solid foundation in both theory and practice.
The course sequence requires students to display an array of skills and understandings that reflect professional competencies. These competencies provide a lens through which the faculty can assess the degree to which the program is achieving its outcomes. The professional competencies include:
2. Student Outcomes and Professional Competencies:
The student outcomes for the MAE in Elementary Education Program are drawn from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. These outcomes are premised on the NBPTS CORE PROPOSITIONS. See Program Goals for a complete listing of student outcomes with specific definitions of each.
The clustering of student outcomes and professional competencies as illustrated below, provides the basis for program assessment.
APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE: Developing a growing body of understandings that informs professional decisions.
LEADERSHIP: Demonstrating the ability to apply effective practices and to articulate the meaning of such practices across diverse audiences for unique and specific purposes.
3. Frequency of Assessments:
The typical sequence for the program is based on a two-year cycle. The Typical Course Sequence identifies courses offered in each term. Throughout the program, Critical Performances are conducted for purposes of teaching but also as a means for assessing student progress in achieving program goals. These performances scheduled throughout the program, include the following:
4. Assessment Methods:
Critical performances are drawn from various points in the program of study. They correspond directly to aspects of the profession that teachers encounter on a daily basis. Linked to every day classroom practice, selected critical performances extend beyond the expectations of the undergraduate program and require students to display an array of skills and understandings that reflect professional competencies. These competencies include the following:
5. Methods of Evaluating and Interpreting Results:
As students progress in the program, faculty annually review student performances to assess the degree to which students are achieving program goals as articulated on the Student Outcomes and Professional Competencies Rubric. These assessments are based upon the data collected through critical performances. This data allows for continuous program improvement as successive cohort groups move through the program.
Specifically, program faculty will follow the steps outlined below to proceed with program assessment. This program assessment is founded on the student outcomes and the professional competencies identified above: