Psychology Discipline Assessment Plan (2009)

Unit Mission Goals

To foster understanding of and the ability to apply the scientific method to the problems of the behavioral sciences and of individual and social human behavior by providing students with basic methods, logical skills and practice in applying them and by providing an introduction to core area of psychology

How does Psychology contribute to UMM’s Mission

The psychology discipline provides rigorous training in an important liberal arts field that has natural links to other fields including biology, economics, education, management, philosophy, physics, speech communication, sociology, and statistics. The discipline offers courses that satisfy general education requirements in the following areas: Human Behavior, Social Processes and Institutions; Human Diversity; Physical and Biological Sciences; Ethical and Civic Responsibility; Historical Perspectives.

Learning Objective 1

Awareness of the range of knowledge (including methods and data) in psychology

Expected Outcome 1

Successful completion of the Research Methods course and upper division courses in five core areas: learning and cognition, biological and comparative psychology, personality and clinical psychology, developmental psychology, and social and applied psychology.

Method(s), Measure(s), and Instrument(s) for Expected Outcome 1

Examinations, written assignments, oral presentations, etc. completed for each course. Performance in the Advanced Seminar. Scores on GRE Psychology subject test.

Timeline for the Outcome 1

In progress.

Learning Objective 2

Competency in translating behavioral questions into the terms of scientific inquiry in psychology.

Expected Outcome 2

Students will be able to synthesize research and theory on a psychological question into a coherent literature review that includes a novel interpretation and/or suggestions for further research.

Method(s), Measure(s), and Instrument(s) for Expected Outcome 2

Performance on the individual project conducted as part of an Advanced Seminar. The project results in a 20-30 page literature review and a public presentation.

Timeline for the Outcome 2

In progress.

Learning Objective 3

Competency in reading and critically synthesizing the technical literature in psychology.

Expected Outcome 3

Students will be able to prepare reviews of the literature in a specialized subject area of psychology.

Method(s), Measure(s), and Instrument(s) for Expected Outcome 3

Performance on the individual project conducted as part of an Advanced Seminar. The project results in a 20-30 page literature review and a public presentation.

Timeline for the Outcome 3

In progress

Learning Objective 4

Competency in quantifying and statistically analyzing behavior.

Expected outcome 4

Successful completion of introductory statistics course and Research Methods in Psychology course.

Method(s), Measure(s) and Instrument(s) for Expected Outcome 3

Performance on exams and other assignments.

Assessment initiatives for 2009-2010

During the 2009-2010 academic year the psychology discipline and major will undergo a comprehensive, formal program review. We will take this opportunity to systematically reexamine our unit’s mission, the objectives of the major, and our assessment plan.