One of the aims of the Quality Enhancement Plan at ODU is to improve disciplinary writing (IDW) outcomes in upper-division undergraduate courses. Six Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) are used to assess IDW initiatives; these SLOs were considered in the development and implementation in our PSYC 395: Integrative Learning in Psychology course. Instructional support for each SLO was provided in the form of short videos, rubrics, and sample papers. Student outcomes were evident in journal assignments, the ePortfolio, the research report, and the poster presentation (see IDW SLO table below for specific SLO/assignment correspondence).

Journal Assignments:  Students were asked to respond to ten journal prompts. These assignments generally included both an activity such as watching a video or reading an article and a short write up. The purpose of the journal assignments was to encourage students to integrate information across courses or, at least, across multiple sources of information. For example, a journal assignment might require students to consider a topic from Psychology of Adolescence in the context of different cultures (see below – Journal Assignment 7 – for an example) or a journal assignment might require students to apply methodological concepts to a practical problem.

ePortfolio:  This integral part of this course was used to document the integration of learning between Quantitative/Research Methods, Psychology of Adolescence, and Cross-Cultural Psychology. Students were given specific activities to complete and were then asked to reflect on these activities (e.g., team experience, personal strengths and weaknesses, relationships between courses). While the finished ePortfolio reflects many of the IDW SLOs, the primary objective was to provide a concrete opportunity to reflect on, or evaluate, what was learned. (Sample ePortfolios can be found here)

Research Report: Students worked in teams to complete a semester-long research project on a topic related to social media and cross-cultural or adolescent psychology.  Each part of the research project was broken down into component parts that were due at specific times throughout the semester.  Students were provided with detailed instruction on how to complete each part. These instructions corresponded with characteristics of good writing as identified by the SLOs. For example, instead of telling students to write a good introduction, specific instruction on how to write a good introduction (e.g., instructional videos, assignment prompts, sample work) was provided.

Poster Presentation:  At the end of the semester each research team created a poster presenting their research project. This poster included the motivation for the project, relevant research on the topic, study materials and methods, results, interpretation of results, and conclusions. Teams presented their posters to peers, other faculty, and family and friends in an open forum at the end of the semester. The experience required them to describe and justify the decisions made throughout the research process.

Sample Journal Assignment with identified SLOs

Journal Assignment 7

Improving Disciplinary Writing Student Learning Outcomes

SLO 1 – Clearly state a focused problem, question, or topic appropriate for the purpose of the task

  • Research project scaffolded assignments (draft 1, draft 4, final report, poster presentation) and journal assignment 2 on Facebook polling and public interest

SLO 2 – Identify relevant knowledge and/or credible sources

  • Research project scaffolded assignments (draft 1, draft 4, final report, final poster) and select journal assignments (5-self-esteem and social media, 10-marshmallow test)

SLO 3 – Synthesize information and multiple viewpoints related to the problem, question, or topic

  • Research project scaffolded assignments (draft 1, draft 4), and select journal assignments (5-self-esteem and social media, 6-personality development and social media, 7-gender schema and culture, 9-parenting and culture, 10-marshmallow test)

SLO 4 – Apply appropriate research methods and/or theoretical framework to the problem, question, or topic

  • Research project scaffolded assignments (draft 2, draft 3, draft 5, final paper, poster presentation), select journal assignments (2-Facebook polls, 4-informed consent and social media, 5-self-esteem and social media), and an ePortfolio assignment 4 on personality.

SLO 5 – Formulate conclusions that are logically tied to inquiry findings and consider application, limitations and implications

  • Research project scaffolded assignments (draft 5, final report, poster presentation) and select journal assignments (2-Facebook polls, 6-personality development and social media)

SLO 6 – Reflect on or evaluate what was learned

  • Research project scaffolded assignments (draft 5, final report, poster presentation), select journal assignments (1-course expectations, 3-APA style, 7-gender schema and culture) and select ePortfolio assignments (4-personality traits, 5-course integration, and 6-final reflections)