Weber State University   

Psychology

Results of Assessment

2003-2004 (submitted 08/02/04)

General Learning Goals

1.   To develop the knowledge, background, and skills to think like a psychologist.

Assessed by students’ overall performance on the qualitative interview, particularly with regard to their acceptance of scientific psychology and rejection of folk psychology.  Also assessed by graduating students' and alumni's satisfaction with their academic preparation in psychology and their assessment of the academic standards of the department.

Psychology students as a group tended to embrace Scientific but not Folk (everyday) Psychology as a means of understanding the mind.  Only Psychology students demonstrated such a pattern compared to students in other disciplines (see Figure 1).

Figure 1:  Acceptance of Folk and Scientific Psychology by Discipline and Status.

Compared to under-class students who expressed a desire to major in Psychology, Psychology majors were less accepting of any account of the mind (Folk or Scientific Psychology).  Only Psychology students showed a significant increase in being critical about claims regarding the mind as a function of majoring in a discipline (see Figure 2)

Figure 2: Overall acceptance of Folk and Scientific Psychology by Discipline and Status.

All graduating students (100%) and a large proportion of alumni (87%) were at least "Satisfied" with their academic preparation in psychology (see Table 1).  A vast majority of graduating students (98%) and alumni (94%) also evaluated the academic standards of the department as at least "Average" (see Table 2)

Table 1:  Distribution of Graduating Students' Alumni's Responses on the "Satisfaction" question.

Table 2:  Distribution of Graduating Students' Alumni's Responses on the "Standards" question.

It is notable that there is a strong direct correlation (independent of Psych GPA) between the graduating students' satisfaction with their psychology education and their assessment of its academic quality, r = .44, N=31,  p<.01. The same finding obtained among the  Alumni (independently of year of graduation), r = .45, N=321,  p<.001).  These findings validate a departmental assumption that students are satisfied by a program that is committed to high academic standards.

a.  Appreciating the multiplicity of theoretical approaches in psychology.

Assessed by the range of techniques and courses in which faculty promote theoretical diversity. Also assessed by graduating students' assessment of their growth of  conceptual skills from experiences in the Psychology Department.

All Faculty are committed to promoting theoretical diversity and do so in all their courses.  In 1000- and 2000-level courses faculty note that a range of theoretical approaches in psychology (e.g., psychoanalytic, behavioral, cognitive-behavioral, humanistic, and biological) are covered.  

In 3000-level class, additional theories are presented and contrasted.  For example one faculty member (who teaches social and developmental) writes, "I explicitly and repeatedly address the assumptions underlying theoretical perspectives and further highlight how these perspectives provide different descriptions or explanations of the same social and developmental phenomena."

All the graduating students were at least somewhat satisfied with their growth of  conceptual skills from experiences in the Psychology Department (see Table 3).  Moreover, their satisfaction ratings were directly correlated (independent of Psychology GPA) with ratings of the Academic Quality (r=.37, N=31, p<.05) and their Satisfaction with their Psychology Education (r=.33, N=31, p=.06 ).  These findings suggest that students' satisfaction with their psychology education and their interpretation of the department's  academic quality is directly influenced by students' perceiving themselves as having learned about the theoretical perspectives in psychology.

Table 3:  Distribution of Graduating Students' Responses on the "Conceptual Skills" question.

b.  Understanding, computing, and appropriately using basic statistical techniques.

Assessed by the range of techniques and courses in which faculty promote statistical competence. Also assessed by graduating and alumni students’ evaluation of courses directly addressing the goal (i.e., Statistics) and their assessment of their growth of  technical skills from experiences in the Psychology Department.

All Faculty discuss promote statistical competence in Introductory Psychology classes and more advanced (3000-level) classes.  In Introductory courses, teaching centers on fundamental concepts.  As one faculty put it, "Students must know the concept of the normal curve and the percentages that fall under it.  They also learn notions of means, standard deviations and correlation coefficients." 

In more advanced 3000-level courses, many students are expected to comprehend original research papers which include statistical presentations of results.  They are also lectured on how to interpret statistics, particularly valid interpretations of correlation coefficients. 

In required Statistics (Psy 3600) and Research Methods (Psy 3610) courses, there is a good deal of sustained attention on promoting statistical competence.  One faculty, who teaches both courses, described her pedagogical strategy with respect to promoting statistical competence as follows, "I teach at much greater length and depth basic descriptive and inferential statistics in my Statistics for Psychology class and Research Methods class . Although, I do teach basic computations of these methods, I focus on their theoretical derivations and applications and interpretation of results. I also teach how to conduct and interpret analysis in SPSS. I also teach how to present statistical results graphically and in APA format. Students should know which statistical analysis to conduct in different situations and how to present their findings."

Most of the graduating students (89%) were at least somewhat satisfied with their growth of technical skills (including statistical competence) from experiences in the Psychology Department (see Table 4).  Their satisfaction ratings were directly, albeit weakly, correlated (independent of Psychology GPA) with ratings of the Academic Quality (r=.31, N=31, p=.08) but not with their ratings of Satisfaction with their Psychology Education (r=.07, ns). These results suggest that gaining statistical competence, while not enjoyable, does contribute to students' perceptions of a rigorous program, which they value.

Table 4:  Distribution of Graduating Students' Responses on the "Technical Skills" question.

c.  Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of various research designs.

Assessed by the range of techniques and courses in which faculty promote critical thinking about research. Also assessed by graduating students' evaluation of their growth of critical thinking/reading comprehension skills from experiences in the Psychology Department.

All faculty members discuss research design issues in Introductory Psychology classes and more advanced (3000-level) classes.  In Introductory Psychology, attention is paid to differences between empirical and non-empirical knowledge and the nature of the scientific method.  Faculty stress such features of the scientific method as operational definitions, independent and dependent variables, experimental vs. correlational research designs, control groups, random assignment, random sampling, etc.   

In more advanced 3000-level courses, students are taught the strengths and weaknesses of various designs relevant to the topic of the course.  Students are expected to understand how to critique research results on the basis of characteristics of the research design adopted.  

In Research Methods (Psy 3610) a broad range of different research designs are compared, contrasted, and critiqued in great depth. Not only do faculty spend time lecturing on these topics but students are given numerous exercises in which they are to demonstrate their understanding and mastery of these concepts. They also apply their knowledge to designing, conducting, and presenting an empirical study.

Arguably students' most frequently use research design knowledge when attempting to understand and critically evaluate published articles. To assess their sense of development of such knowledge, we evaluated their growth of reading comprehension skills from experiences in the Psychology Department.

Virtually all graduating students (96%) were at least somewhat satisfied with their growth of reading comprehension skills from experiences in the Psychology Department (see Table 5). Students' satisfaction ratings were directly correlated (independent of Psychology GPA) with ratings of the Academic Quality (r=.51, N=31, p<.001) but not with their ratings of Satisfaction with their Psychology Education (r=.18, ns). Again, results speak to students' recognition of the academic value of acquiring such skills, although it is not what makes the program enjoyable to them.

Table 5:  Distribution of Graduating Students' Responses on the "Reading Comprehension Skills" question.

2.   To behave as a student of psychology following APA ethical guidelines.

Assessed by the range of techniques and courses in which faculty promote ethical reasoning and behavior and the students' completion rate of the NIH "Informed Consent" training.   

Faculty members regularly address ethical issues in a variety of different ways in all of their courses.   Faculty discuss ethics in lower level (1000 and 200-level courses) as it is relates to therapy, general psychology, animal research, and human research.  Included in many faculty discussions is a warning to students about violating the Student and APA Ethical Code with regard to cheating or plagiarizing.  Indeed, some faculty extend their responsibility on this issue to, as one put it, "foster ethical behavior in those otherwise inclined to act differently." 

In upper division classes, ethical responsibilities of psychologists are discussed in all bio- and psychotherapy oriented courses. Students in other class learn in greater detail of the ethics associated with research, particularly the ethics of with working with children in Developmental Psychology classes and of deception in Social Psychology classes.  Students in Research Methods learn the APA ethics code with regard to treating research subjects and complete IRB proposals for all their projects.  

All students working on a research project (even in Research Methods) complete NIH certification in Informed Consent before being allowed to submit IRB proposals. Evidence suggests a 100% compliance rate.

3.  To learn to appropriately communicate professional information verbally and/or in written form.

Assessed by the range of techniques and courses in which faculty promote professional communication. Also assessed by graduating students’ assessment of their growth of oral and written communication from experiences in the Psychology Department.

According to faculty members, students engage in written and/or verbal reports/presentations in most, although not necessarily in all classes.  Some faculty members report having no oral or written presentation required, but others, who teach the same course, have such requirements.  For some faculty members written assignments in Introductory Psychology include essay or short answer questions on exams.  Others require research papers, posters, or oral presentations in addition to exam essay questions. 

 In more advanced courses, the topic and means of presentation (written or oral) vary by course and instructor.  The range extends from students presenting on topics of personal interest presented in the form of a poster, to them writing a structured paper in which they answered specific questions about a reading.  

Most Graduating Students (96% or over) were at least somewhat satisfied with their growth of written and oral communication skills from experiences in the Psychology Department (see Table 6).

Table 6:  Distribution of Graduating Students' Responses on the "Written and Oral Communication Skills" question.

Students' Written Communication satisfaction ratings were directly correlated (independent of Psychology GPA) with ratings of the Academic Quality (r=.49, N=31, p<.01) but not with their ratings of Satisfaction with their Psychology Education (r=-.01, ns).  Their ratings of satisfaction with Oral Communication  was correlated with both Academic Quality (r=.39, N=31, p<.05) and satisfaction with their Psychology Education (r=.30, N=31, p=.089).  Again, the results speak to students' recognition of the academic value of acquiring communication skills, although their acquisition only modestly contributes (in the case of oral presentations) to the program being enjoyable to students.

Content Specific Learning Goals

4.  Knowledge of the biological basis of behavior:  The nature of biological mechanisms and their influence on behavior.

Assessed by the graduating students’ and alumni's evaluation of the value of courses meeting this learning outcome.   

Graduating students were asked to evaluate the value of each Area 2 (See Table 7) course they took on a 5-point scale (from Low =1 to High =5). A total of 45 (87%) graduating students evaluated on average 1.22 courses (they were required to take one course). The mean rating of each Area 2 course is listed in Table 7.  A total of 93% of students who rated courses, rated at least one Area 2 course to be at least Average (3 to 5) in value. 

Alumni were asked to identify courses they found especially valuable from a list of all WSU Psychology courses which are currently available.  The percentage of alumni (N=335) who endorsed each Area 2 course is listed in Table 7.  A total of 48% of the alumni identified at least one Area 2 course as valuable and this percentage was not correlated with year of graduation.  

These data point to Area 2 courses having value to most graduating students, a perception which is sustained by many after graduation.  To be fair, the data should be interpreted in light of the fact that few students would spontaneously take courses in this area.  

   
5.  Knowledge of the cognitive, affective, and behavioral basis of behavior:  The nature of psychological processes associated with cognitive, motivation/emotional, and/or learning phenomena.

Assessed by the graduating students’ and alumni's evaluation of the value of courses meeting this learning outcome.

A total of 40 (77%) graduating students evaluated an average of 1.13 of Area 3 courses.  They were required to take 1 courses in the area.  The mean rating for each course is listed in Table 8.  A total of 86% of students who rated courses, rated at least one Area 3 course to be at least Average in value. 

The percentage of alumni who endorsed each Area 3 course is listed in Table 8.  A total of 50% of the alumni identified at least one Area 3 course as valuable and this percentage was uncorrelated to year of graduation.  

A majority graduating students seem to value their Area 3 courses and many continued to hold that judgment after graduation. Again, the data should be interpreted in light of the fact that few students would spontaneously take courses in this area.  

6.  Knowledge of abnormal and therapeutic processes:  The nature and definition of forms of psychopathology and how various intervention techniques can be helpful in ameliorating abnormal behavior.

Assessed by the graduating students’ and alumni's evaluation of the value of courses meeting this learning outcome.  

A total of 45 (87%) graduating students evaluated 2.98 of Area 4 courses, which averages to be one more course than the two majors are required to take.  The mean rating for each course is listed in Table 9.  A total of 98% of students who rated courses, rated at least one Area 4 course to be at least Average (3 - 5) in value. 

The percentage of alumni who endorsed each Area 4 course is listed in Table 9.  A total of 84% of the alumni identified at least one Area 3 course as valuable and this percentage was uncorrelated to year of graduation.  

Almost all graduating students valued their Area 4 courses and continued to do so well after after graduation.  

7.  Knowledge of the social and developmental basis of behavior:  The range of social and/or developmental influences on behavior.

Assessed by the graduating students’ and alumni's evaluation of the value of courses meeting this learning outcome.   

A total of 47 (90%) graduating students evaluated 2.63 of Area 5 courses, which averages to be a little more than half a course more than the two were required to take.  The mean rating for each course is listed in Table 10.  A total of 98% students who rated courses, rated at least one Area 5 course to be at least Average. 

The percentage of alumni who endorsed each Area 5 course is listed in Table 10.  A total of 81% of the alumni identified at least one Area 5 course as valuable and this percentage was uncorrelated to year of graduation.  

Again, almost all graduating students valued their Area 5 courses and alumni continued to do so well after after graduation.  

Concluding Comments Regarding Content Specific Learning Goals:

There is evidence that students valued courses in a range of areas.  Of the 33 (64%) Graduating Students who rated courses in each area, they rated at least one to be at least Average in 3.70 of the 4 areas. A total of 94% of the Graduating students valued a course in 3 or 4 different areas. 

This pattern generally held true for Alumni, despite them spontaneously assessing the value of courses.  On average, the Alumni spontaneously rated the value of at least one course in 2.7 of the 4 different areas, with 57% expressing that they valued a course in 3 or 4 different areas.  

The data reporting the value students place on courses within and across curricular areas can be used as a broader indicator of learning only with caution.  It seems reasonable to assume that a negative indicator of the learning goals would have been if students did not value courses within or across areas.  However, it is also reasonable to assume that students may value courses for many reasons other than acquiring the knowledge and skills targeted by the faculty.  It is clear that a further assessment needs to be completed which addresses whether students successfully reach the learning goals in each of these areas. Collecting data to address this topic will be the goal of the 2004-2005 assessment. 

Mission Statement / Student Learning Outcomes / Curriculum Grid / Assessment Plan / Contact Person