ArtH 1101 Principles of Art (J. Dabbs)

Assessment of Student Learning

Spring 2008

In this course (as I teach it), the objective is not to memorize famous works of art; rather, it is to gain the tools to analyze and hence better understand art, and then to be able to communicate one’s interpretation with greater sophistication. As a result, I had the students write an essay concerning of Matisse’s Red Room at the beginning of our discussion of visual analysis, and then again towards the end of the term. On the pre-test, students averaged 2.3 art terms in their essay; 9 students (out of 45) were unable to use any terms. For the post-test, students averaged 7.8 art terms, with an average increase of 5.5 terms (I believe a 339% increase overall). No students were unable to use any terms.

Below are the individual scores:

Pre-test Post-test

Student 1 0 9

2 1 9

3 3 8

4 2 4

5 5 15

6 3 8

7 7 10

8 2 8

9 5 7

10 1 10

11 2 11

12 5 6

13 4 5

14 8 10

15 0 8

16 1 7

17 3 3

18 0 5

19 0 9

20 3 10

21 0 5

22 2 7

23 4 8

24 3 11

25 0 6

26 0 5

27 0 10

28 3 6

29 4 8

[con’t] Pre-test Post-test

Student #30 2 9

31 1 10

32 3 9

33 0 6

34 2 4

35 7 10

36 2 7

37 5 9

38 6 8

39 1 4

40 3 8

41 1 3

42 3 6

43 2 6

44 2 5

45 1 9

Submitted by Julia Dabbs

Associate Prof. of Art History

June 2008