ACC General Education Outcomes
Department of Sociology & Social Work
Program Student Learning Outcomes
Assessment
General Education Assessment Made Easy
The Faculty Collaborative
It's not too early to start thinking about . . . SACS re-accreditation. Yes, we have a couple of years, but if you consider the fact that in a couple of years we need to show a couple years' of our self-assessment work, SACS actually starts today.
Dr. Jackie Burns will facilitate the process of "tagging" items in Blackboard that we will use for one aspect of our assessment process and documentation. Please see below, and if you have any questions about the tagging process, please be in touch with Jackie.
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Assessment Simplified
To greatly simplify ACC's assessment of our teaching to the Gen Ed competencies and to take much burden off of teaching faculty, we need just a couple of minutes of your help to collect the student works to be assessed, so that we can then leave the assessing to others.
If you take just a couple of minutes to follow our guide to how to make your students' assignments in Blackboard available for others to assess, we can assess Gen Ed competencies both more simply and more effectively.
This video from Ron Johns shows just what you need to do. The essential information is from 4:18 to 6:18, though the introduction and the following portions contain additional information that you may value.
Although the process is quite straightforward, and you will probably find it takes less than 10 minutes to learn it from the video and apply it to your courses, if you need any support in the process, Jackie will be holding support sessions by Zoom upon request.
Participation on your part will have absolutely no effect on your course or your students, but it will make ACC's Gen Ed assessment process simpler and more effective.
General Education Three Year Cycle: AY'21 Gen Ed Assessment
The assessment of general education follows a three-year cycle (see the attached gen ed assessment schedule). Those disciplines whose curriculum addresses the gen ed competencies for that year (which, for AY '21 are Teamwork, Social Responsibility, and Visual Communication) are expected to assess them. Such assessment can be done independently of or as part of the PSLO assessment(s).
Those disciplines with courses in the Language, Philosophy, and Culture Component Area, the Social & Behavioral Sciences Component Area, and the Government/Political Science Component Area of the Core Curriculum should be assessing Social Responsibility. Those teaching courses in the Communications Component Area should be assessing Teamwork. And any and all disciplines should be assessing Visual Communication as appropriate.
Department of Sociology & Social Work Program Student Learning Outcomes (PSLOs)
PSLO 1 - Sociological Concepts Describe how basic sociological concepts (such as culture, social structure, institutions, socialization, etc.) can be applied to social situations.
Gen Ed Competencies – Aligned to PSLO 1
Gen Ed Competency #2: Critical Thinking Skills - Gather, analyze, synthesize, evaluate and apply information for the purposes of innovation, inquiry, and creative thinking.
Gen Ed Competency #5: Social Responsibility (Civic & Cultural Awareness) - Analyze differences and commonalities among peoples, ideas, aesthetic traditions, and cultural practices to include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities.
PSLO 2 - Sociological Imagination Apply the sociological imagination (sociological perspective) to everyday life.
General Education Competencies aligned with PSLO 2
Gen Ed Competency #1: Communication Skills - Develop, interpret, and express ideas and information through written, oral and visual communication that is adapted to purpose, structure, audience, and medium. test
Gen Ed Competency #2: Critical Thinking Skills - Gather, analyze, synthesize, evaluate and apply information for the purposes of innovation, inquiry, and creative thinking.
PSLO 3 - Describe the various research methods sociologists use
General Education Competencies aligned with PSLO 3
Gen Ed Competency #2: Critical Thinking Skills - Gather, analyze, synthesize, evaluate and apply information for the purposes of innovation, inquiry, and creative thinking.
Gen Ed Competency #3: Empirical & Quantitative Skills - Apply mathematical, logical and scientific principles and methods through the manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting in informed conclusions.