FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY. Assessment Method

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1 1 Student Learning Outcome (1 per page) Stated in Measurable Terms 1. Unit Outcome: As Stewards of the Discipline, candidates know curriculum professional content as demonstrated in the comprehensive exam. Assessment Method How will it be measured? - The Curriculum & Instruction Doctoral Comprehensive Exam. The candidates will prepare a research-based, theoretical paper that provides analysis of theories of curriculum and core concepts in curriculum development. The comprehensive exam including the curriculum professional knowledge component was evaluated by the candidate s doctoral committee members in the traditional method of hand scoring each candidate s written exam and by on the spot analyses of the oral presentation and responses to questions by committee members. What is the desired level of achievement? -Curriculum and instruction doctoral candidates will score at least Target on the overall curriculum component of the comprehensive written and oral exams. Those who do not receive Target will be remediated. 100% of candidates will score at least Target on a three-point rubric Exemplary, Target, Unacceptable. Candidates will demonstrate knowledge of theories of curriculum and understanding of core concepts in curriculum development. The comprehensive exam which includes the candidate s written work and oral discussion of it, will be evaluated and scored by the candidate s doctoral committee members. Results (Data Summary and Interpretation) 6 candidates registered and completed The Curriculum & Instruction Doctoral Comprehensive Exam in All 6 candidates (100%) earned Target on the comprehensive exam in Breakdown by semester: Summer 2008 = 1 candidate met target Fall 2008 = 4 candidates met target Spring 2009 = 1 candidate met target

2 2 Use of Results for Improving Student Learning 1. Despite all of the candidates earning Target, concerns of faculty evaluating the examinations of some of the candidates included: limitations of literature cited by some candidates, lack of synthesis of knowledge derived from course readings, depth of analysis of questions and related literature, and APA style writing deficiencies. Improvement Strategy: In 09-10, faculty are planning a focused workshop addressing how candidates might address common weaknesses including ones listed above to be offered a couple of months prior to the scheduled comprehensive exams in the fall and summer.

3 3 Student Learning Outcome (1 per page) Stated in Measurable Terms 2. As reflective inquirers, curriculum and instruction doctoral candidates reflect on research and practice to design a research study in their specialization area in curriculum and instruction. They think critically about educational issues through a form of inquiry that investigates educational dilemmas and problems of practice. They are able to apply their knowledge in their specialization areas in curriculum and instruction to seek resolutions that increase knowledge of practice. Assessment Method How will it be measured? - The Curriculum and Instruction Doctoral Dissertation Proposal and Defense --Candidates will research the theories and knowledge base and use the research to design a dissertation in their subject specialization area in curriculum and instruction. --Candidates will conduct a thorough review of literature, and use this literature to design their research study. The candidates will write a three chapter draft of the dissertation and defend the contents of the proposal and the candidate s research plan. --The dissertation proposal was evaluated by the candidate s doctoral committee members in the traditional method of hand scoring each candidate s written dissertation proposed first three chapters and by on the spot analyses of the oral presentation of the dissertation proposal and responses to questions by committee members. Results (Data Summary and Interpretation) 5 candidates (100%) completed and successfully defended their dissertation proposals. Breakdown by semester: Summer 2008 = 1 candidate met target Fall 2008 = 1 candidate met target Spring 2009 = 3 candidates met target What is the desired level of achievement? 100% of the candidates will obtain a score of at least Target on the Dissertation Proposal Defense including the drafted first three chapters of the written dissertation and a presentation of the proposal to the dissertation committee. 100% of candidates will score at least Target on a three-point rubric Exemplary, Target, Unacceptable. The Dissertation Proposal Defense will be evaluated by the candidate s doctoral committee. Candidates who do not achieve at least Target will be remediated to help candidate s reach the target level.

4 4 Use of Results for Improving Student Learning 2. Despite all of the candidates earning Target, concerns of faculty, who evaluated the dissertation proposals, of some of the candidates dissertation proposals included: breadth and scope of the literature cited by some candidates, lack of knowledge of qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis, design of the study, and APA style writing deficiencies. Improvement Strategy: In 09-10, faculty are planning a focused workshop addressing how candidates should address common weaknesses including ones listed above to be offered at least 2-3 times each academic year.

5 5 Student Learning Outcome (1 per page) Stated in Measurable Terms 3. Unit Outcome: Mindful Educators As reflective practitioners and mindful educators, curriculum and instruction doctoral candidates have the dispositions (habits of mind) to conduct and exhibit professional and ethical research behavior. They think about their own thinking (Reflective Thoughtfulness). They strive for accuracy in the conduct and interpretation of their dissertation. They are able to articulate the results and applications of their research. Assessment Method How will it be measured? 3. The Curriculum and Instruction Doctoral Dissertation and defense The dissertations were evaluated by the candidate s doctoral committee members in the traditional method of hand scoring each candidate s written dissertation and by on the spot analyses of the oral presentation of the dissertation defense and responses to questions by committee members. What is the desired level of achievement? 100% of Curriculum and Instruction doctoral candidates will score at least Target on their completed dissertations and oral dissertation defense. 100% of candidates will score at least Target on a three-point rubric Exemplary, Target, Unacceptable. Those who do not achieve a Target will be remediated. The dissertation committee will evaluate the candidate s dissertation and oral defense. Results (Data Summary and Interpretation) 7 candidates (100%) completed the dissertation study and successfully defended the dissertation in the presence of a 4-5 member dissertation committee. Breakdown by semester: Summer 2008 = 4 students passed Fall 2008 = 1 student passed Spring 2009 = 2 students passed Use of Results for Improving Student Learning 4. Although all of the candidates earned Target, concerns of faculty, who evaluated the dissertations, of some of the candidates dissertations included: applications of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods of data analysis and APA style and other writing deficiencies. Improvement Strategy: In 09-10, faculty are planning a focused workshop addressing how candidates should address common weaknesses including ones listed above to be offered at least 2 times each academic year. Additionally, faculty plan to design a study to identify research skills and weaknesses among doctoral and master s level students in Curriculum and Instruction programs.

6 6 Summarize use of results for continuous improvement of the educational program: 1. Learning Outcome 1: All 6 candidates (100%) earned Target on the comprehensive exam in Improvement Strategy: In 09-10, faculty are planning a focused workshop addressing how candidates might address common weaknesses including ones listed above to be offered a couple of months prior to the scheduled comprehensive exams in the fall and summer. 2. Learning Outcome 2: All 5 candidates (100%) earned Target by completing and successfully defending their dissertation proposals in Improvement Strategy: In 09-10, faculty are planning a focused workshop addressing how candidates should address common weaknesses including ones listed above to be offered at least 2-3 times each academic year. 3. Learning Outcome 3: All 7 candidates (100%) earned Target and completed their dissertation studies and successfully defended the dissertation in the presence of a 4-5 member dissertation committee. Improvement Strategy: In 09-10, faculty are planning a focused workshop addressing how candidates should address common weaknesses including ones listed above to be offered at least 2 times each academic year. Additionally, faculty plan to design a study to identify research skills and weaknesses among doctoral and masters level students in Curriculum and Instruction programs. Future Directions and Other Improvements 1. During , the College of Education introduced a new electronic evaluation and data based system TaskStream. Faculty and programs experimented with the TaskStream system s usage in , but were not able to complete the Ed.D. candidate s evaluations with this tool. For , all learning outcomes will be evaluated in TaskSream. Candidates will upload all artifacts for each Learning Outcome, and evaluators will score the comprehensive exam, dissertation proposal, and dissertation study and defense using the 3- point rubrics (Target, Acceptable, Unacceptable). This rubric/assessment approach is common to many of the other curriculum and instruction programs. At this time, the rubrics have been developed and incorporated into TaskStream, and our online portfolio evaluation system will be consistently used in