Special challenges of assessing undergraduate research in the arts and humanities

UNCW Author/Contributor (non-UNCW co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Daniel C. Johnson, Professor (Creator)
Christopher Gould, Professor (Contributor)
Institution
The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW )
Web Site: http://library.uncw.edu/

Abstract: Departments in the arts and humanities are often inhospitable environments for assessment of learning outcomes. For one thing, student learning in these disciplines is not easily quantified. Also, department chairs and faculty members, having survived the culture wars of the 1990s, are understandably wary of any initiative that seems to demand a justification of what they do. In an atmosphere of distrust, assessment becomes little more than a defensive tactic. When, on the other hand, departments take ownership of the process, assessment becomes a powerful tool in making an effective case for scarce resources. We have found that that the best approach to assessment starts with first principles(historical perspectives on the discipline, the fundamental aims and methods of its research), then proceeds to instrumental issues (what to measure and how to measure it).

Additional Information

Publication
Johnson, D. C., & Gould, C. (2009, Spring). Special challenges of assessing undergraduate research in the arts and humanities. Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly, 29(3), 33-38. Reproduced with permission of Daniel C. Johnson and Christopher Gould.
Language: English
Date: 2009
Keywords
Evaluation, College students--Evaluation, Arts--Instruction and study, Arts--Instruction and study--Research, Arts--Study and teaching, Arts--Study and teaching--Research, Universities and colleges--Research, Humanities--Instruction and study--Research, Humanities--Study and teaching--Research
Subjects
College students--Evaluaton
Arts--Instruction and study--Research
Humanities--Instruction and study--Research
Arts--Study and teaching--Research
Humanities--Study and teaching--Research
Universities and colleges--Research
Evaluation

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