Astro 102 (Astronomy Laboratory) SLO Assessment Completed, Report Pending

Astro 110 (Solar System Astronomy) SLO Assessment Completed, Report Pending

Astro 120 (Stars & Galaxies) SLO Assessment Completed, Report Pending

Chemistry 101 (General Chemistry) SLO Assessment, Spring 2010 (T. Perry)

Course-Level SLO(s) assessed this semester:

1. Dept. SLO #1 Design, construct, and interpret graphs accurately.

2. Dept. SLO #5 Compare and analyze multiple atomic theories and apply mathematical models such as quantum theory to explain the electronic structure of and chemical bonding between atoms.  Apply knowledge of chemical bonding to topics such as shapes and polarity of molecules. Use structure and characteristics of atoms to predict qualitative concepts and trends.

Method of Assessment:

1. Dept. SLO #1 was assessed using the Excel SI exercise in the computer lab.
2. Dept. SLO # 5 was assessed using Unit Exam #3, covering Chapters 6 and 7 from the course text, General Chemistry by Brown, LeMay and Bursten, 11 e.

Analysis of Assessment: 

Results: Grading Scale: 100 %  ≥ A  ≥  90 %  > B ≥  80 %  > C ≥ 70 % > D ≥ 60 % > F

Grades	CHEM 101 Section 1796		CHEM 101 Section 1797
	Excel (SLO #1)	Exam #3 (SLO #5)	Excel (SLO #1)	Exam #3 (SLO #5)
A	4	6	7	3
B	6	3	6	7
C	8	5	1	3
D	0	3	3	5
F	1	2	6	5
Number	19	19	23	23
DNS/A*	2	2	2	2
Average	77.6 %	79.5 %	72.9 %	70.7 %
Std Dev	15.7 %	14.4 %	22.8 %	20.7 %

*DNS/A – Did not submit/absent  

Analysis of Results:

1. Dept. SLO # 1: Students performed well.  It should be noted that those student who received a failing grade received extremely low grades due to handing in very little completed work for the assignment.

2. Dept. SLO # 5: The third lecture exam covers the most abstract material in the course: quantum mechanics and its applications to periodic trends.  More than half the class passed the exam, which is again, encouraging.  Section 1796 outperformed Section 1797 on this exam.

Plan: Indicate if your assessment results reveal a need for course improvement in order to improve student achievement, and what plans your department will make to do so.

Student performance on Dept. SLO # 1 was quite good, especially for an assignment close to the beginning of the term, when course expectations are still new ideas to students.  Student performance on Dept. SLO # 5 was also good.  

Students in Section 1796 outperformed students in Section 1797 on the third exam, but also on all the exams.  Both sections sit the exam simultaneously.  The distribution of the versions was random among the sections; all four versions were given to each section to avoid bias. (This practice is followed for all five lecture exams for the semester, every semester.)  The average exam score for each section for the entire term was about 10 points higher for Section 1796 than for Section 1797 – one section simply contained better students.  

What course(s) will you assess in the following semester?  I will assess CHEM 101 Sections 1158 and 1160 in Fall 2010, and I will assess Dept. SLO #4 (as for Fall 2009, but using a different experiment to avoid bias) and Dept. SLO # 5 (again).

Chemistry 102 (General Chemistry) SLO Assessment Pending

Chemistry 105 (Organic Chemistry) SLO Assessment, Fall 2009 (S. Chamras)

The assessment was carried out for a lecture section of our fall 2009 Chem. 105 class. These students accounted for two-third of our total Chem. 105 enrollments this semester.

Course-Level SLO(s) assessed this semester:  SLO #2: Discern chirality in an organic compound, draw stereoisomers in the standard 3-dimensional conventions, and determine relationships between pairs of stereoisomers drawn in these conventions, including conformational stereoisomers.

Method of Assessment:  Two questions on the final examination addressed the SLO item of interest. 

Analysis of Assessment:  A) Results:

Total # of students	50
Questions	1	2
Correct Answers	33	44
% Correct Answers	66	88
Average % Correct Answer	77

B) Analysis of Results:

The percentages of correct answers vary between the two questions. This is partly due to the fact that question 1 involved more permutations to analyze whereas question 2 was simpler to deduce the answer of. 

The average percentage of 77 is satisfactory, but could be certainly improved.

Plan:  These questions involve three-dimensional visualization by the students.  To exercise this skill students spend approximately one week in the laboratory with molecular models to hone the skill more extensively. To improve performance on such questions, starting Fall 2010 semester more time will be spent practicing this concept with the models in the laboratory.

What course(s) will you assess in the following semester?  In the following semester (Spring of 2010), Chemistry 106 will be assessed.

Chemistry 106 (Organic Chemistry) SLO Assessment Pending

Chemistry 110 (Elements of General Chemistry) SLO Assessment, Fall 2009 (S. Nowinski)

Course-Level SLO(s) assessed this semester:  SLO#1: Solve quantitative chemistry problems and demonstrate reasoning clearly completely as applied to topics such as equilibria, chemical kinetics, electrochemistry, and solutions. Integrate multiple ideas in the problem solving process;  SLO#2:  Apply models of atomic behavior to explain general properties of matter such as colligative properties of solutions, crystal field theory, collision theory, and entropy;  SLO#3:   Integrate concepts of equilibria, electrochemistry, and thermodynamics to explain the spontaneity and direction of chemical reactions.  SLO#4:  Analyze experimental data sets and graphs to obtain quantities related to kinetics,equilibrium, and acid-base chemistry

Method of Assessment:

Final Exam – Which is cumulative (See Table Below).

SLO number Exam Question Number Comments

1 1, 4A, 6, 7 Problem Topics: Kinetics, Equilibria

2 5, 8 Problem Topics: Acid-Base

  Chemistry, Entropy

3 10 Integrates solution chemistry,

  electrochemistry  thermodymanics.

4 3, 4B Problem Topics: Kinetics,

  LeChatelier’s Principle.

Analysis of Assessment: What do these results tell you about your students'

achievements on the targeted SLO(s)?

SLO number Exam Question Number Average Score on question(s) 

(max = 10)

1 1, 4A, 6, 7 6.6

2 5, 8 7.2

3 10 4.9

4 3, 4B 8.1

Plan: Indicate if your assessment results reveal a need for course improvement in order to improve student achievement, and what plans your department will make to do so.

SLO#1: Spend more lecture time stressing quantitative problem solving skills.

SLO#2: Adjust Supplemental Instruction Assignments to include more problems involving integrative problem solving skills.

What course(s) will you assess in the following semester?  Chemistry 110

Chemistry 110 (Elements of General Chemistry) SLO Assessment, Spring 2010 (S. Nowinski)

Course-Level SLO(s) assessed this semester:  SLO#1:  Use dimensional analysis to solve quantitative problems and check answers to make sure that they are physically reasonable as applied to areas such as unit conversions, stoichiometry, and gas laws;  SLO#2:  Apply IUPAC naming rules to acids, salts and molecular compounds;  SLO#3:  Clearly explain qualitative chemical concepts and trends; and SLO#4:  Write and predict the products of chemical reactions. Classify chemical reactions as to type.

Method of Assessment:

SLO number Exam Question Number Comments

1 2, 7, 11 Problem Topics: Dimensional Analysis, Gas

Laws, Stoichiometry

2 4 Problem Topic:  Nomenclature

3 5, 13(a) Problem Topics: Trends in Periodic Table, 

Chemical Bonding

4 6 Problem Topic: Reactions

Analysis of Assessment: What do these results tell you about your students'

achievements on the targeted SLO(s)?

SLO number Exam Question Number Average Score on question(s)

(max = 10)

1 2, 7, 11 6.4

2 4 6.5

3 5, 13(a) 6.8

4 6 8.3

Plan: Indicate if your assessment results reveal a need for course improvement in order

to improve student achievement, and what plans your department will make to do so.

Write new lab manual making sure it contains more exercises which will give the student

more practice in problem solving applicable to all of the SLO’s listed in this report when

compared to the lab manual we currently use.

What course(s) will you assess in the following semester?  Chemistry 110

Chemistry 120 (Fundamentals of College Chemistry:  Inorganic) SLO Assessment, Spring 2010 (D. Edgar & A. Oganesyan)

Course-Level SLO(s) assessed this semester:  SLO #1:  A student will be able to sketch structural formulas for simple molecules and identify their geometric shapes using the VSEPR theory.

Method of Assessment:  On the final exam students were asked to sketch the (Lewis) structural formula of a molecule and determine its geometric shape according to the VSEPR theory.

Analysis of Assessment: What do these results tell you about your students' achievements on the targeted SLO(s)? 

57% of the class got the structure and shape correct. Another 26% made minor errors while drawing the structure but identified the proper geometric shape for their structure. A total of 83% of the class was able to apply the VSEPR theory of molecular shapes correctly.

Plan: Indicate if your assessment results reveal a need for course improvement in order to improve student achievement, and what plans your department will make to do so.

We are satisfied with the results and will continue to teach the VSEPR theory of molecular shapes using lecture, 3-D models, homework and laboratory worksheets.

What course(s) will you assess in the following semester? Chemistry 120, Fall 2010.  I plan to examine a different SLO for chemistry 120.

Chemistry 121 (Fundamentals of College Chemistry:  Organic and Biochemistry) SLO Assessment, Fall 2009 (A. Oganesyan)

Course-Level SLO(s) assessed this semester: SLO #1:  Given the IUPAC names for organic reactants, students will identify or draw the structural formulas and for the reaction, predict products, provide organic structures and their IUPAC names.  

Method of Assessment: Exams.

Analysis of Assessment: Every student improved in their ability to recognize the structure by given name and to draw the structure of a given compound and determine the products of chemical reaction.  Final exam scores revealed nearly every student achieved competence in the areas assessed. 

The grade  point average for the SLO area 1 which was identification of names and structures of organic compounds was 3.43 (B).  The majority of students were successful in recognizing functional groups and substituents.  The area of weakness was identification of carbonyl functional groups and numbering within aromatic ring.  

The grade point average for the SLO area 2 which was identification of the products of  the reaction was 2.76 (high C). The students had difficulty identifying the products of hydrolysis of esters and amides, and recognizing the productsof addition to unsaturated hydrocarbons (Markovnikov’s rule). The main area of concern was selective oxidation and reduction of alcohols, aldehydes and ketones.

Plan: The results of assessment revealed that every student improved in the areas assessed.  However, to achieve better results I will emphasize on the following areas: 

• Give students more problems on long chain carbohydrates.
• Emphasize the order of placing substituents (alphabetical).
• give more examples of geometrical isomers.
• work on identification of functional groups (carbonyl compounds in particular).
• For aromatic compounds, concentrate on parent names and the numbering order.
• Offer more problems on oxidation/reduction of alcohols and aldehydes/ketones.
• Re-evaluate SLOs next semester.

The best way to achieve this results is to include recitation sessions in every lab period.  The number of wet labs is reduced to suit this requirements.  The students will have more time to go over homework problems, some practice exams, etc. We also changed the book for Chem-120/121 which gives the material in more concise manner.

What course(s) will you assess in the following semester?  Chem 121.  I will reassess the same SLO with implementation of my new plan and compare the results.  In addtion, I will assess another SLO in the area of biochemistry: Differentiate composition, properties, and chemical reactions of the biologically important compounds: Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins, and Nucleic Acids.

Geology 101 (Physical Geology) SLO Assessment, Fall 2009 (J. Leland & Wayne Henderson)

Course-Level SLO(s) assessed this semester:  SlO#1:  Students will be able to discuss the theory of plate tectonics.

Method of Assessment:  Homework assignment & Class work/homework assignment

Analysis of Assessment: J. Leland:  Out of 50 students for which final grades were given, 38 students completed the assignment and 12 did not complete the assignment.  Of the 12 that did not complete the assignment, 8 of them (67%) received an F as a final grade in the course.  In total, 11 students failed the course (out of 50)—so 3 of the students who did turn in the assignment failed, but they appear to have stopped submitting work shortly after that assignment.

W. Henderson:  My results are similar to Dr. Leland’s. Out of 36 students 26 did and 10 did not complete the assignment. Of the 10 that did not complete the assignment, 8 of them (80%) received an F as a final grade in the course. 12 students out of 36 failed the course in total, so 4 students who completed the assignment failed. As with Dr. Leland’s class, 3 of these students stopped attending the class shortly after this exercise. 

Plan:  J. Leland:  These data point to a predictor—the turning in of homework assignments—for success in the class.  This is really no surprise and will be an interesting thing to look at again.

W. Henderson:  I concur with Dr. Leland’s assessment that completing homework strongly correlates with performance in the class.

What course(s) will you assess in the following semester?  Geology 101

Geology 102 (Environmental Geology) SLO - NOT PRESENTLY OFFERED

Geology 103 (Geology of California) SLO - NOT PRESENTLY OFFERED

Geology 104 (Field Geology) SLO - NOT PRESENTLY OFFERED

Geology 105 (Historical Earth Science) SLO - NOT PRESENTLY OFFERED

Geology 111 (Physical Geology Laboratory) SLO Assessment Pending

Geology 112 (Environmental Geology Laboratory) SLO - NOT PRESENTLY OFFERED

Geology 120 (Earthquakes) SLO - NOT PRESENTLY OFFERED

Oceanography 115 (Oceanography) SLO Assessment, Fall 2009 (P. Pal)

The assessment was carried out for two sections of our Fall 2009 Oceanography 115 Class, (sections #5090 & #7698) They together accounted for almost one half of our total Oceanography 115 enrollment this semester:

Course-Level SLO(s) assessed this semester:  SLO#1:  Students will be able to discuss the ocean as a major influence on weather and climate;  SLO#2:  Students will be able to demonstrate understanding of the physiography and formation of the ocean basins; and SLO#3:  Students will be able to discuss the factors that affect the coastal habitat.

In terms of the GCC Core Competencies, these SLOs address the areas of (i) information competency, (ii) critical thinking, and (iii) global awareness and appreciation.

Method of Assessment: The assessment was conducted through the class-tests. The instructional strategy was to divide the syllabus in three modules with class-tests, the best two of which accounted for 60% of the overall grade, given at the completion of each module. These tests themselves comprised three sections that sought to assess the student’s (a) comprehension, (b) analytical reasoning and (c) the ability to articulate. Two versions of each test were administered to each class, as the classes were large, and the scores were statistically brought to the same level in order to ensure uniformity.

Analysis of Assessment: A) Results:

		Ocean-115 Section #5090			Ocean-115 Section #7698
		Test 1	Test 2	Test 3	Test 1	Test 2	Test 3
Grades	A	17	21	12	21	9	15
	B	16	15	19	27	11	23
	C	37	26	36	33	39	38
	F	7	7	2	11	23	1
Number		78	69	69	92	82	77
Average		78.2%	77.5%	77.7%	78.1%	70.3%	78.1%
St Dev		9.6%	10.8%	8.6%	9.3%	9.7%	8.1%

Notes: (a) Grading scheme: 100% > A > 90% > B > 80% > C > 70% > F

(b) Test 1 corresponds to SLO #2, Test 2 to SLO #1 and Test 3 to SLO #3.

B) Analysis of Results:  Students apparently seemed less comfortable with SLO#1 (i.e., Test-2) than with either SLO#2 or SLO#3. Notice the bimodal distribution for day class and appreciably high failures for night class in Test 2. 

The performances of the day and night classes were otherwise comparable and similar to the Collegewide pattern (the implicit inference, that the observed dominance of C grades is comparable to the overall GCC pattern, needs to be established by comparing with the Collegewide fall 2009 data).

Plan: Indicate if your assessment results reveal a need for course improvement in order to improve student achievement, and what plans your department will make to do so.

Encouraged by these results, my proposal now is to extend this study, during this Spring 2010 semester when I will be teaching four of our Ocean-115 sections, to evaluate the students’ performances in each of these SLOs in terms (a) comprehension, (b) analytical reasoning and (c) articulation.

What course(s) will you assess in the following semester?  The following sections of the Ocean-115 class are planned to be covered in spring 2010:

1. Ocean-115 Section #5090 (TTh, 10:15 AM-11:47 AM, CR-234)
2. Ocean-115 Section #5093 (TTh, 1:15 PM-2:47 PM, CS-266)
3. Ocean-115 Section #5094 (MW, 12:01 PM-1:52 PM, CR-234)
4. Ocean-115 Section #7698 (T, 6:30 PM-9:53 PM, SB-243)

Oceanography 115 (Oceanography) SLO Assessment, Spring 2010 (L. Tenenbaum)

Course-Level SLO(s) assessed this semester:  SLO#1:  Students will be able to discuss the ocean as a major influence on weather and climate;  SLO#2:  Students will be able to demonstrate understanding of the physiography and formation of the ocean basins; and SLO#3:  Students will be able to discuss the factors that affect the coastal habitat.

In terms of the GCC Core Competencies, these SLOs address the areas of (i) information competency, (ii) critical thinking, and (iii) global awareness and appreciation.

Method of Assessment:  The assessment was conducted through the class-tests. The instructional strategy was to divide the syllabus in three modules with class-tests. These tests themselves comprised three sections that sought to assess the student’s (a) comprehension, (b) analytical reasoning and (c) the ability to articulate. Two versions of each test were administered to each class, as the classes were large, and the scores were statistically brought to the same level in order to ensure uniformity.

Analysis of Assessment:  A) Results:

		Ocean-115
		Test 1	Test 2	Test 3
Grades	A	7	13	20
	B	9	11	14
	C	16	11	5
	F	13	7	2
Number		45	42	41

Notes: (a) Grading scheme: 100% > A > 90% > B > 80% > C > 70% > F

(b) Test 1 corresponds to SLO #2, Test 2 to SLO #1 and Test 3 to SLO #3.

Oceanography 116 (Oceanography Laboratory) SLO Assessment Pending

Paleontology 101 (General Paleontology) SLO - NOT PRESENTLY OFFERED

Physical Science (General Physical Science) 131 - NOT PRESENTLY OFFERED

Physics 101 (Engineering Physics) SLO Assessment Pending

Physics 102 (Engineering Physics) SLO Assessment Pending

Physics 103 (Engineering Physics) SLO Assessment Pending

Physics 105 (General Physics) SLO Assessment Pending

Physics 106 (General Physics) SLO Assessment Pending

Physics 110 (Introduction to Physics) SLO Assessment, Spring 2010 (R. Guglielmino)

1) Students will be able to assess information to determine whether it was obtained scientifically.

2) Students will be able to use the internet to find information about scientific issues and be able to assess the validity of the information.

3) Students will demonstrate an understanding of the complexities of our energy sources and utilization.

4) Students will demonstrate a conceptual understanding of Newtonian mechanics, basic optics,and electricity and magnetism.

Course-Level SLO Assess this semester:  During this semester one of our  4 SLO’s was assessed, SLO#4:  Students will demonstrate an understanding of the complexities of our energy sources and their utilization,

In terms of the GCC Core Competencies, this SLO addresses the areas of (i) information competency, (ii) critical thinking, and (iii) global awareness and appreciation.

Method of Assessment: During this semester , we changed the way we teach energy by adding  in addition to the traditional lecture  and labs a methodology involving internet based worksheets on Alternative energies, Solar, and Nuclear power. Students would go to selected websites and answer questions about the advantages and disadvantages of these energy sources . The final in this course involves questions that test a student’s broader understanding of these energy sources. The scores on these  Final questions were then evaluated before and after the changes. Scores on these questions were evaluated from the finals of Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.

   

Analysis of Assessment:

                                 Energy Source Questions  Results

	Fall    09	Spring 10
Average % Correct of Energy  Source Questions	72%	78%

Results:  The pedagogical changes may have contributed to the 6 % improvement in their understanding of energy sources.  The size of the  classes were small and  since many other variables affect  the performance of students it is really not statistically possible to draw any conclusions. One class may have had slightly  better students or one class may have had  students with better energy  understanding  coming into Physics 110,. (I believe students who have taken an introductory college course in Chemistry, Astronomy, Geology, or Environmental science would know some of this material before entering Physics 110.)

Future Plans: I plan to continue this final analysis for another year and see if the improvements  are consistent. If they are, I will begin changes in the teaching of the course to assess a second SLO and then analyze that in future years, If the results  do not show consistent improvement, then I will redesign the curriculum  to utilize new methodologies that will improve the results,