Name of Study	Psychology -- Assessment of Student Learning, 2006
Study Date	05/31/2006
Researcher Name	Harley Baker, Ed.D.
Researcher Email	harley.baker@csuci.edu
Researcher Phone	805.437-8997

Executive Summary

The Psychology program adheres closely to the Learning Objectives and Outcomes outlined in Goals and Objectives for the Undergraduate Psychology Major: Recommendations from a Meeting of California State University Psychology Faculty and Undergraduate Psychology Major Learning Goals and Outcomes: A Report from the American Psychological Association. This year, the program assessed whether students understand and can use major research methods in psychology, including design, data analysis and interpretation. The culminating experience and assignment for the two-semester research methods sequence (PSY 300 Psychological Research and Statistical Methods with Lab I, 3 units; PSY 301 Psychological Research and Statistical Methods with Lab II, 3 units) is a poster presentation of students’ original empirical research. This poster presentation mirrors those held at both regional (e.g., Western Psychological Association) and national (e.g., American Psychological Association) conferences. The posters present students’ original, empirical research conducted as a requirement for passing PSY 301. These posters provide a rich source of data that to assess the degree to which Psychology students have met this learning outcome. Psychology faculty independently judged 54 student posters at the annual Psychology Program Poster Presentation using a validated rubric designed especially for rating psychology posters. The results indicate that Psychology students have met the program goal and objective. However, the findings indicated that there was more variation in the quality of the posters than desired. The Psychology program instituted an informal working group meeting weekly to discuss the issue and formulate curricular changes to the research methods courses to help ensure that all Psychology students develop the highest possible set of competencies and skills in conducting, analyzing and interpreting research.

Citations
Psychology Report (PDF, 101KB)

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