Assessment plan for the MA programs in English,
Literature Concentration
and
English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) Concentration
1. Student
Outcomes: What are the student learning
outcomes being measured or assessed?
A. Mission: The mission of
the Department of English is to provide instruction and conduct research in the
literature and verbal cultures of the English-speaking world, theories and
practices of reading and writing, and the arts, sciences and histories of
language and literature, and to serve the University, the people of the State
of Ohio, and the disciplines of the humanities themselves with the knowledge
and the skills these disciplines sustain.
B. Educational Objectives:
1. The objectives of the MA in English (literature concentration) are that students should gain knowledge of authors and literary movements in England and America, that they will attain an understanding of the historical development and main features of the English language, and that they will improve their ability to analyze, explicate and criticize literary works, and to conduct their own research. In addition, teaching assistants should gain practical experience and theoretical knowledge in the teaching of composition. All are expected to learn how to continue learning on their own throughout their future careers.
2. The
objectives of the MA in English (ESL concentration) are that students should
gain an overview of the key issues in second language acquisition theory and
practice, that they be able to read critically current empirical research
studies in second language acquisition and teaching (also being able to perform
their own research adequately), and that they be prepared for entry into the
ESL profession as classroom teachers or for further graduate study at the
doctoral level. In addition, they are
expected to learn how to continue learning on their own throughout their future
careers.
2. Types of Assessment: What types of
assessment are you using?
A. Required comprehensive written examination (literature concentration only) based on 33 American and British works of literature. The exam requires students to be conversant about texts in ways consistent with the department’s mission statement, and with its educational objectives, specifically the following:
1. thematic: what are the salient themes of each work, and how might these be traced for their similarities or differences of treatment in several works?
2. generic: how do one or several works operate through and on the genre they represent? What generic codes are respected, which stretched or broken and why?
3. historical: into what literary era do the works specified fall? How representative of that era (renaissance, romantic, etc.) is the work; do they define or defy the conventions understood to constitute its time period?
4. formal: how are style and structure linked to content in one or several works?
5. theoretical: what contemporary theories are particularly
useful in addressing the critical questions raised by texts on the list?
B. Required "Capstone" Paper
1. Master’s Paper (literature concentration only): 20-30-page synthesis of scholarship and criticism on a particular literary work or problem, supervised by a faculty member
2. Master's thesis (ESL concentration only): either a work reporting primary research conducted by the student (typically 30-40 pages) or a work of secondary research analyzing and synthesizing literature on a particular area relevant to ESL (typically 50-75 pages).
C. Required courses
1. Literature concentration only: in History of the English Language, Literary Theory, Research in English, two advanced literature seminars, as well as 18 credits of elective courses. Maintenance of a 3.0 grade point average in all of these courses.
2. ESL concentration only: in Fundamentals of Linguistic Analysis, History of the English Language, Applied Linguistics I & II, English Structure and Language Teaching, Seminar in ESL. Maintenance of a 3.0 grade point average in all of these courses.
D. Demonstration of competence in a foreign language, either through course work or by passing an exam administered by the Foreign Language Department.
E. Tracking of acceptance of student work for publication and for presentation at professional conferences.
F. Tracking of students’ acceptance into PhD programs upon completion of their MA degrees.
G. Tracking of career advancement among MA graduates not continuing into PhD programs.
H. For teaching graduate assistants, monitoring of their classroom performance by the Director of Freshman Composition or the Coordinator of ESL Composition, as applicable, and by use of student evaluations. Required course in composition theory and pedagogy or mentorship course in ESL, as applicable.
3. Timeline for Assessment: What is the timeline for assessment practices?
Except for 2G. above, all of our assessment tools are currently in
practice. The graduate committee plans
to investigate tools for tracking of graduates during the next academic
year.
4. Specific Program/Curricular
Changes: What specific program/curricular
changes have resulted from the use of assessment and/or how will the assessment
be used to change or reinforce curricular program practices?
A. We monitor student performance in the Literature Concentration using the MA exam, meeting after each sitting for the exam, altering the content of it with changes in our course offerings, changes and advancements in the expertise of our faculty over time, and changes in the expectations of PhD programs and the profession.
B. Here are a few examples in regard to the ESL program. On the basis of the relative frequency of ESL students' presentation of research results at professional conferences, we have modified the approach to the course project in ENGL 6150 — Applied Linguistics I. In response to classroom observations of TAs, we have instituted a mentorship course for those in their first semester. Because we have found that few take advantage of outside teaching opportunities while enrolled as graduate students, we have modified ENGL 6060 from a teaching observation / practice course to a community internship, so as to provide students a broader range of experience.
5. Specific changes to Planning and
Reallocation: How has the assessment
data influenced resource allocation or program department planning overall
and/or: how will it influence program
planning and allocation?
A. We have seen a substantial increase in the quality of our student work, and therefore in its acceptance for presentation at regional and local professional conferences. While the English Department makes funds available for travel when it can, these opportunities are often lost due to lack of other institutional support for graduate student research.
B. We find in assessing our students’ performance in all areas that we have vital and intellectually-competitive master’s programs in both literature and ESL; this is undermined by the fact that our graduate assistant stipend is no longer competitive at $8200 per year, out of which students must pay upwards of $1500 for fees and health insurance.
C. We expect assessment in area 2g above to document the success of the Certificate in the Teaching of Writing Certificate; faculty qualified to teach the required courses are greatly needed. We have ongoing needs in literature faculty still unfilled. We also are soon to lose two linguistics faculty to retirement. While we have decided to give up the linguistics BA, this loss of faculty lines, if permanent, could also affect our ability to maintain vital MA / MA-Ed programs in ESL.
6. Assessment
Liaisons: Who is responsible for
assessment of the Graduate Programs in English?
The Graduate Studies Committee of the Department of English, Current Chair Sara Lundquist