Slayter - November 16 2009 - Faculty Meeting 2

8/8/2019 Slayter - November 16 2009 - Faculty Meeting 2

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An experiment in reflective social

work teaching practice: Linkinggrades to course objectives

Elspeth Slayter, Ph.D.

Salem State University School of Social Work


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An experiment in reflective social

work teaching practice

Linking program objectives to course

objectives to student outcomes in amasters level research methods course

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An experiment in reflective

social work teaching practice

Courseobjectives

Courseassignments

Evaluation ofhow well coursedid at meeting

objectives

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2. Link gradedata to

objectives,

review &critique data

3. Thinkabout ways

to tweak thecourse

4. Weaveinto gradedassignments&operational

ization ofobjectives

5. Developdata

collectiontool

1. Teach andcollect dataon student

grades

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Step 1: Prepare syllabus, link objectives

to assignments, assign weights

Take-home quiz:Section on

methodsjustification,

critique ofmethods

End-of-semesterpresentation: Section

on methodsjustification

Assignment 2:Section onmethods

justification

Objective 4:Understand theadvantages,disadvantages ofselected researchmethods forsampling,measurement and

analysis Which

assignments/partsfit this objective?

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Step 1: Assign weights

Consideration ofhow much eachassignment/partshould count for

Considerdevelopmentalprocess expectedwithin the course

Create datacollection tool inexcel

Take-home quiz:Commentary on

methodsjustification,

critique of methods

33%

End-of-semesterpresentation: Section on

methods justification

33%

Assignment 2:Section on methods

justification

33%

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Step 1: Collect data on each

assignment/assignment partRubric for

Assignment

2

Critique of

literature re:

application to

oppressed groups

25% of Assignmentgrade

Critique of

methods

25% of

Assignment

grade

Clarity of

writing

25% of

Assignment

grade

Use of APA

format

25% of

Assignment

grade

Angelina 3.3 3.7 2.7 3.0

Barnaby 0 0 4.0 4.0

Cornelius 4.0 3.7 3.3 3.3

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Step 2: Actually link data

to each objective fix

Objective 4 Take-home quiz:

Section on methods

justification and

methods critique

33% of score for

objective

Assignment 2:

Section on

methods

justification

33% of score for

objective

Final assignment:

Section on

methods

justification

33% of score for

objective

Average among allstudents in class for

each

assignment/assign

ment part that is

used to grade the

objective

3.3 4.0 3.7

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Step 2: Calculate grades

for each objectiveObjective Grade point average (GPA) Letter grade

1 3.25 B

2 3.47 B+

3 3.19 B

4 3.36 B+

5 3.65 B+

6 3.38 B+

7 3.60 B+

8 3.41 B+

9 3.26 B9Slayter


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An example: Research in Social WorkObjective Weighted

measures

Grade point average

(GPA)

Letter grade

1-Understand the use of

research as a contributor to

psychosocial theories and the

understanding of social and

psychological phenomena

30% Paper 1

Problem

Statement

70% Final paper

problemstatement

3.25 B verging on

B+

5-Be able to conceptualize

and design a social work

research project and present

a coherent rationale for its

selection

50% final paper

grade

50% final

presentation

3.65 B+ verging on

A-

9-Understand use of research

as a means for the

advancement of

socioeconomic justice and as

a tool against discrimination

and oppression;

25% class

exercise 1

25% class

exercise 2

50% end section

of final paper

3.26 B verging on

B+

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Step 3 & 4: Overall review &

tweaking considerations

Think about ways to tweak the course

Objective 1 Theory content Develop specific class exercises, blog postings on

theory Assignment on application of one theory

Objective 5 Conceptualize and design Doing pretty well, keep up efforts at getting students

to justify methodological choices

Objective 9 Tool against oppression Develop a better research-to-practice exemplar base

Talk about negative cases (problematic sampling,stereotyping)

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Step 3 & 4: My review

& tweaking process

Annual (?) reviewprocess at the

annual course re-design or

reconsiderationstage

Linkage ofobjectives

andoutcomes

Studentwork

evaluated

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Suggested guiding

questions for review

1. Review results dont consider an end-all, be-all

2. How do objective grades relate to grades givento students?

3. Is everything assigned linked to outcome? Doesit need to be?

4. Are the outcomes measured reflective of what isreally done in class?

5. What was not measured that should be in anobjective?

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Documents

Slayter - November 16 2009 - Faculty Meeting 2