Course Student Learning Outcomes & Assessment Plan ENG 101
Communications Department Level Outcomes
- Provide quality instruction in developmental and transferable courses through emphasis on continued training and professional development for faculty.
- Prepare students to continue their education at four-year institutions or to enter the workforce.
- Offer courses that allow students to develop communication skills and knowledge for personal enrichment or for job advancement.
Course Outcomes Assessed
Students will:
- Communicate a stance on a subject by writing a unified specific thesis for a rhetorically based composition.
- Communicate details of a subject by writing an essay with a unified and clear organization for a rhetorically based composition.
- Locate, critically assess, and correctly integrate primary and secondary sources into a rhetorically based composition.
| Intended Outcome | Means of Assessment | Cirteria for Success | Summary & Analysis of Assessment Evidence | Use of Results and Evidence of Seeking Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLO1: Students will communicate a stance on a subject by writing a unified specific thesis for a rhetorically based composition. | Evaluation 1: Essay with a thesis that carefully directs the ideas of the paper and accurately predicts the structure of the paper administered both at the beginning and the end of the course. | Eval 1: 70% of students’ essays meet a satisfactory level on the rubric, and there is at least a 5% positive student achievement change from beginning to end paper assessed | 81% of students wrote a satisfactory level or above thesis for the beginning paper. 92% of students wrote a satisfactory level or above thesis for the ending paper. Number of Students Assessed : 948 students assessed for a beginning paper and 905 students assessed for an ending paper / 48 sections Annual Summary Shelby: 288/363 (79%) beginning paper 305/341 (89%) ending paper Jefferson: 37/79 (46%) beginning paper 60/70 (85%) ending paper Clanton: 160/174 (92%) beginning paper 154/162 (95%) ending paper Pell City: 51/67 (76%) beginning paper 60/67 (89%) ending paper DE OFF Campus: 228/265 (86%) beginning paper 250/265 (94%) ending paper | Observations/Changes based on previous cycle (18-19): This SLO was changed slightly beginning this new three-year assessment cycle to focus on clear communication and clarifying the type of writing in ENG 101 separate from that done in ENG 102. In this year, there was an 11% improvement illustrating an upward movement in student success. Each campus reports a growth in student success. Proposed strategies of continued rigor and additional workshops from the previous 2018-2019 record aided in this success. Examples of two of the workshops added to target specific assignment topics included focused peer review and a source integration workshop. Examples of rigorous topics that are spaced throughout the semester include various professional and academic writing assignments. Workshops and topics based throughout the semester are seen in this example syllabus. Observations/Changes based on current cycle (19-20) To continue to support students both on-campus and online, the department will make the drafting process with revision more prominent, and will use the JSCC Library Writing Center to support students outside the classroom for a connection to both information on writing and tutors that will supplement the instructor’s primary interaction. For next year’s assessment, instructors will use one additional drafting step in the revision process as seen in the following assignment sheets and syllabus plans. Also, for next year’s assessment, the department will separately assess corequisite paired classes (ENG 099 plus ENG 101). The new disaggregation will allow the department to see if the growth rate is similar to standalone courses (ENG 101). |
| SLO 2: Students will communicate details of a subject by writing an essay with a unified and clear organization for a rhetorically based composition. | Evaluation 2: Essay that includes an introductory paragraph, body, and concluding paragraph. The essay will contain a thesis sentence, show unity in ideas, and reaffirm the main points and tie the paper together. The assessment is given at both the beginning and end of the semester. | Eval 2: 70% of students’ essays meet a satisfactory level on the rubric, and there is at least a 5% positive student achievement change from beginning to end paper assessed | 78% of students wrote a satisfactory level or above unified and clearly organized body in the beginning essay. 90% of students wrote a satisfactory level or above unified and clearly organized body in the ending essay. Number of Students Assessed : 948 students assessed for a beginning paper and 905 students assessed for an ending paper / 48 sections Annual Summary Shelby: 292/363 (80%) beginning paper 314/341 (92%) ending paper Jefferson: 26/79 (33%) beginning paper 61/70 (87%) ending paper Clanton: 156/174 (90%) beginning paper 146/162 (90%) ending paper Pell City: 45/67 (67%) beginning paper 55/67 (82%) ending paper DE OFF Campus: 225/265 (85%) beginning paper 243/265 (92%) ending paper | Observations/Changes based on previous cycle (18-19): This SLO was changed slightly beginning this new three-year assessment cycle to focus on clear communication and clarifying the type of writing in ENG 101 separate from that done in ENG 102. Student success rate from the first to the last paper improved by 12%, illustrating students’ ability to more fully develop and organize coherent, cohesive, developed essays with structured introductions, bodies, and conclusions. Each campus reports a growth in student success. Strategies from the previous year aided in this achievement. Instructors were provided a grading commentary article from the English department virtual UWRITE Conference to assist with feedback to students; instructors used a guide on the library website, A Writer’s Handbook, which has an essay writing outline and graphic organizer for writing workshops; and instructors used peer review throughout the semester. Observations/Changes based on current cycle (19-20): The drafting process with revision will be more prominently used as seen in wording in example syllabuses for this SLO as students seek to understand how to engage with their first drafts and increase the cohesiveness of their organization and detail throughout a paper. Instructors will use the JSCC Library Writing Center to support students outside the classroom for a connection to both information on writing and tutors that will supplement the instructor’s primary interaction. Some faculty will use additional resources provided from the English department’s UWRITE Conference committee’s conference guide in the web resources link, namely UNC’s Tips &Tools site describing methods for paragraph developing and revising and reorganizing drafts. For next year’s assessment, instructors will use one additional method for their drafting processes as shown in a further syllabus example. Also, for next year’s assessment, the department will separately assess corequisite paired classes (ENG 099 plus ENG 101). The new disaggregation will allow the department to see if the growth rate is similar to standalone courses (ENG 101). |
| SLO 3: Students will locate, critically assess, and correctly integrate primary and secondary sources into a rhetorically based composition. | Evaluation 3: Essay with an ability to analyze a work or idea that involves research and the incorporation of both primary and acceptable secondary sources, properly documented according to MLA standards. | Eval 3: 70% of students’ essays meet a satisfactory level on the rubric for at least one composition using primary and secondary sources. | 86% of students achieved a satisfactory level or in locating, assessing, and integrating sources in one composition essay. Number of Students Assessed : 905 students assessed for one paper with primary and secondary sources / 48 sections Annual Summary Shelby: 306/341 (90%) Jefferson: 47/70 (67%) Clanton: 132/162 (81%) Pell City: 55/67 (82%) DE OFF Campus: 242/265 (91%) | Observations/Changes based on previous cycle (18-19): This SLO was changed slightly beginning this new three-year assessment cycle to focus on critical thinking and clarifying the type of writing in ENG 101 separate from that done in ENG 102. Student success rate from the 2018-19 year to this year improved by 6%. Several instructors used assignments to add more use of sources to papers as evidenced by the attached assignments used throughout the semester. Jefferson campus instructors noted devoting less time to citation work in multiple papers and the results reflect this difference. Instructors note use of example papers with sources used as part of their teaching materials (some of which can be found in The Writer’s Handbook guide on the JSCC library in the Appendix of Example Papers). Helpful resources on the JSCC library Research Page also aid in teaching use of sources. Observations/Changes based on current cycle (19-20): Efforts will be made to standardize instruction in citation work in multiple assignments. For next year, instructors will give students at least two or more assignments that deal with finding, integrating and citing sources. Also, for next year’s assessment, the department will separately assess corequisite paired classes (ENG 099 plus ENG 101). The new disaggregation will allow the department to see if the growth rate is similar to standalone courses (ENG 101). |