ERIC Number: EJ1116347
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Dec-3
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1554-8244
EISSN: N/A
Profiling Programs: Formative Uses of Departmental Consultations in the Assessment of Communication across the Curriculum
Anson, Chris M.; Dannels, Deanna
Across the Disciplines, v6 spec iss Dec 2009
Implementation of communication-across-the-curriculum initiatives has outpaced their systematic assessment, leaving many stakeholders wondering whether faculty and students are benefiting from the emphasis on writing, speaking, and other communicative media in discipline-based courses and curricula. Increasing interest in assessment, however, has generated questions about which methods can best gauge the influence of CAC programs and activities on students' performance, faculty involvement, and curricular change. This essay describes a departmentally-based methodology for the formative assessment of CAC programs within academic disciplines. This methodology--the departmental profile--involves creating a status report of communication activities based on identified communication outcomes. Drawing on one departmental profile to illustrate this process, we explore ways in which the method can map a department's progress toward CAC implementation and thereby reinvigorate its attention to CAC as a sustained element of its teaching mission.
Descriptors: Writing Across the Curriculum, Communication Skills, Program Implementation, Interdisciplinary Approach, Formative Evaluation, Program Evaluation, Departments, Profiles, Case Studies, Progress Monitoring, State Universities, Consultation Programs, Data Collection, Communicative Competence (Languages), Writing Assignments, Speech Communication, Student Educational Objectives, Elementary Secondary Education
WAC Clearinghouse. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523. Tel: 970-491-3132; Web site: http://wac.colostate.edu
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A