Want a quick overview of our program? Assessment of student learning is a priority for our college, and we view it as a necessary means by which to improve the opportunity to learn for our students. The items below will give you an overview of the mission, goals and measures that define the culture of our assessment efforts. Click on the icon beside each entry to examine the...
| mission statement that shows how we are focused on student learning |
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| major learning goals for our students | |
measures that indicate the department's teaching mission is being accomplished
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| assessment program materials to overview how we assess our curriculum and how the information is used to enhance and make changes to student learning | |
| examples of program changes resulting from our assessment efforts that have improved student learning | |
Department of Horticulture Mission
The mission of the Iowa State University Department of Horticulture is to create and maintain research, teaching, and extension programs and to promote enthusiasm and excitement for the science, production, and creative utilization of plants for the betterment of Iowans and all humankind. Specifically, the Department of Horticulture conducts research and educates citizens in ways that:
Major learning goals for our students
The Department of Horticulture faculty have approved a set of learner outcomes for our undergraduate students. The latest changes to these outcomes were approved December, 2002. For a PDF file describing these outcomes in detail, click here. Following is a summary of the learner outcomes:
1. Technical knowledge. The curriculum will provide graduates with the theoretical and practical scientific knowledge needed for continued efficient and sustainable production of horticulture crops.
Examples of student expectations:
2. Professional skills. Students will develop the personnel management and technical skills needed to function in the forefront of an increasingly complex and global society.
Examples of student expectations:
3. Perspective. The graduate should have a holistic perspective of horticulture, be able to visualize what makes the system work, and understand the responsibilities of the horticulturist within the system with respect to production and utilization of horticultural crops.
Examples of student expectations:
4. Ethics/Values. The curriculum should lead students in development of an appreciation of ethical resource management responsibilities in regional, national, and world social and economic contexts. It must instill an awareness for sustainable management of energy, soil, water, wildlife and other natural resources.
Examples of student expectations:
5. Diversity. For society to function effectively and justly for each person, graduates must appreciate the richness that our diverse backgrounds and philosophies bring to the whole. Tolerance of the opinions and practices of others is the hallmark of an educated person.
Examples of student expectations:
Measures that indicate the teaching mission of the department is being accomplished
Department of Horticulture learning goals embedded within the learning goals of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS)
The expectations of the college in communications, problem solving, and critical thinking are embedded within several subcategories of professional skills as outcome expectations, as well as technical knowledge skills required of our students. Ethics/values learner outcomes are embedded in each undergraduate course in different ways by different instructors within the department. Some instructors use case studies, others include ethics and values as readings for discussion within technical- and/or knowledge-based classroom material. All instructors strive to model ethical behavior and proper values for our students. Environmental learner outcomes are embedded within both the technical- and knowledge-based learner outcomes of the department's curriculum. International and multicultural awareness, and diversity are included in the campus-based curriculum of the department and these outcomes are covered also in the travel courses offered by the department. The Learner Outcomes for the CALS were updated in 2008.
Learner outcomes survey - faculty responses
A survey of the Horticulture Faculty attitudes was conducted in May 2003 to determine perceptions about how well our learner outcomes were being covered in each of the courses in our curriculum. For each of the outcomes listed in the December 2002 Learner Outcomes Document, each faculty member was asked to rate each course that he/she taught on a scale of 0 to 2, with 0 = the topic was not covered at all, 1 = some coverage of the topic, and 2 = quite a bit of coverage. Based on averages, categories within the technical knowledge area had the best coverage, with a combined average of 1.34. One area of concern was plant identification, which had the lowest score (1.09) within the technical category. Ranking the rest of the major categories from "most covered" to "least covered" were: professional skills = 1.18, ethics/values = 1.10, perspectives = 0.97, and diversity = 0.97.
Learner outcomes survey - student responses
A survey of our curriculum by upper-class horticulture majors in Hort 497 (Professional Development Seminar) was conducted during spring semester, 2004 and again during spring semester, 2005. The student surveys judged the coverage of learner outcomes in the horticulture curriculum from the student perspective. In the 2004 survey, those categories ranked highest in coverage by students were also the highest-ranked categories by professors. And conversely, those categories ranked lowest in coverage by students also were ranked low by professors. Two categories stood out that could be considered for improvement - "understanding basic business concepts" and "recognizing moral, ethical, and legal conflicts". Students ranked these two lowest among all categories. In the 2005 survey, ratings were up across the board, compared with those of 2004. Ratings in almost all categories were well over 1, and many were 2 or approaching 2. Even the one problem area from last year — General Professional Skills — was up, ranging from 1 to 2. This area contains "Understanding Basic Business Skills", and while graduating seniors gave a 1.00 average, the overall average was 1.19, indicating that this material is getting more coverage as the next group of students moves toward graduation. Overall, graduating seniors gave higher ratings than the average of all classes, indicating students feel that outcomes are being achieved by graduation.
Portfolio Review by the Outcomes Assessment Committee
The portfolio review is a review of a random sample of student Hort 497 portfolios by 3 OA committee members. The portfolios are split up among the committee randomly, so that each portfolio is reviewed by a unique subset of the full committee. For both 2005 and 2006, scores in the area of Technical Knowledge were highest, whereas scores in Professional Communication Skills, especially Oral Reports and Debating Issues, were the lowest. Partly, this disparity arises from using portfolios generated by students in Hort 497, which have not yet incorporated course assignments that have an oral-communications component, for example. As e-portfolios become more widely used, we expect this to change.
Examples of program changes resulting from our assessment efforts
The Department of Horticulture set up an Outcomes Assessment Committee in 2002. Prior to 2002, outcomes assessment duties were carried out by the Curriculum Committee, the Resource and Career Center, and the Department Chair. The new Outcomes Assessment Committee operates independently, but in cooperation with the Curriculum Committee and other entities involved in outcomes assessment.
Prior to 2002 and as a result of senior survey data and informal industry interviews, the Curriculum Committee proposed, with the approval of the faculty, adding a course in plant materials used in all areas of horticulture (Hort 222) to strengthen the abilities of our graduates in plant identification. Another course addition was Hort 497, to strengthen the abilities of our students in professional development, including portfolio development, interviewing, negotiating job offers, and oral and written communication , problem solving, diversity issues, and ethics in the workplace.
As of October, 2004, the faculty have suggested changes in two categories of our outcomes identified for improvement by both students and faculty. Faculty have suggested future faculty searches include candidates with expertise in "basic business concepts" within their horticultural specialization. And, the "ethics requirement" is being discussed within the goal of strengthening ethics in the college curriculum. Additionally, faculty voted (July 14, 2004) to study the use of student portfolios as a direct measure of undergraduate outcomes assessment.
In May, 2005 and 2006, student portfolios from Hort 497 were reviewed by the OA committee and results reported to the horticulture faculty. During the 2006 faculty meeting, the OA committee encouraged the use of student e-portfolios so that class assignments could also be used to document outcomes assessment.
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