scholarly journals Assessing Undergraduate Student Learning in Political Science: Development and Implementation of the “PACKS” Survey

2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (01) ◽  
pp. 204-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Sydnor ◽  
Nicole Pankiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Faculty Involvement ◽  
University Of Virginia ◽  
Assessment Data ◽  
The Social ◽  
Full Participation ◽  
Online Assessments ◽  
The University ◽  
Assessment Requirements

ABSTRACT This article describes the creation and implementation of a new online assessment program (“PACKS”) for the department of politics at the University of Virginia. It discusses the benefits of online assessments, including the ease of administration, minimal faculty involvement, ability to link assessment data to existing student data (e.g., GPA and courses completed), and ability to track student progress over time. The assessment can be easily adapted for use by other departments in the social sciences and by other colleges and universities. The authors discuss the drawbacks to this type of assessment, including the challenge of obtaining the highest number of respondents. They recommend using a strong incentive to ensure full participation, such as an advising hold that prevents students from registering until they complete the assessment. The authors contend that implementing survey-based assessment tools is an ideal way for departments to meet their accrediting institutions’ assessment requirements.

scholarly journals Curriculum design in theology and development: Human agency and the prophetic role of the church

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverley Haddad
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Development Programme ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
The Social ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
The University ◽  
The Church

The field of theology and development is a relatively new sub-discipline within theological studies in Africa. The first formal post-graduate programme was introduced at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa during the mid-1990s. In the early years it was known as the Leadership and Development programme and since 2000, as the Theology and Development programme. Over the past twenty years, this programme has graduated over 160 BTh Honours, 100 MTh, and 15 PhD students. This article outlines the history of the programme, addresses its ideological orientation, its pedagogical commitments and preferences in curriculum design. It further argues that theological reflection on “development” must seek to understand the prophetic role of the church in responding to the complexities of the social issues facing the African continent.  Key to this discussion is the contested nature of “development” and the need for theological perspectives to engage this contestation through a social analysis of the global structures of injustice. This requires an engagement with the social sciences. It is this engagement of the social sciences with theological reflection, the essay argues, that has enabled the students who have graduated from the Theology and Development Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal to assist the church and faith-based organisations to become effective agents of social transformation.

Edward Shils and Michael Polanyi: the terms of engagement

2019 ◽  
pp. 79-105
Author(s):  
Phil Mullins
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Michael Polanyi ◽  
University Of Chicago ◽  
Scholarly Writing ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
The Social ◽  
Edward Shils ◽  
The University

This essay examines the thirty-year personal and intellectual friendship of Edward Shils and Michael Polanyi. Shils identifies Polanyi as one of his three important mentors; he is aware of and often involved in many Polanyi projects after the mid-forties and absorbs elements of Polanyi’s developing post-critical philosophical perspective. Shils helped Polanyi better understand the social sciences and he was a trusted friend whose scholarly writing apparently inspired Polanyi; Shils was also a capable younger figure on whom Polanyi often relied to organize endeavours such as Polanyi’s long term affiliation with the University of Chicago.

Assessment and Learning Partnerships in an Online Environment

2013 ◽  
pp. 39-54
Author(s):  
Patrick Griffin ◽  
Esther Care ◽  
Pam Robertson ◽  
Judith Crigan ◽  
Nafisa Awwal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Online Environment ◽  
Assessment Data ◽  
Learning Partnerships ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Online Assessments ◽  
Assessment Procedures ◽  
The University ◽  
Development Course

This chapter shows how the online environment is used to promote quality teaching within a research project conducted by the Assessment Research Centre at the University of Melbourne. The project investigates how teacher teams use assessment data to inform teaching decisions and extensive efforts are made to check their learning through performance assessment procedures that monitor their discipline and pedagogy skills development. Teachers from the project are involved in a professional development course. The ways in which they adopt the knowledge, skills, and attitudes addressed by the course are tracked, along with assessment data from their students. The online environment is used to deliver the professional development course and to deliver online assessments for students and teachers. The authors are careful to ensure that the online experience for both teachers and students reinforces the ideas of the project. These include the notions of developmental approach rather than deficit, evidence rather than inferential decision making and collaboration rather than isolation.

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