Direct Measures
All students in the graduate professional degree programs i.e. exercise science, sports administration and recreation & park management are evaluated through the submission of a professional portfolio containing artifacts relevant to the attainment of both departmental learning objectives and program specific objectives.
During enrollment in PE 854, all students will be required to submit a portfolio. The portfolios will be evaluated by a committee of three HPER professional programs professors. The artifacts contained in the portfolios will have been completed in various courses throughout the student's career at UNK. The following information outlines the artifacts to be included and the departmental learning objectives that will be addressed each artifact.
Artifact #1: Personal Leadership Profile
During enrollment in PE 854 Leisure Behavior students will prepare a personal leadership profile. The personal leadership profile will identify life experiences, leadership models, and personal vision statement and supporting personal goals and objectives. Students will apply the personal leadership profile to a career specific activity. Students will present this activity to the class.
Artifact #2: Computer Applications
During enrollment in PE 878 Issues in PE, Sports, and Recreation students will prepare a career specific PowerPoint and Web Page presentation demonstrating their knowledge and competencies in use of technology and communication skills.
Artifact #3: Facility Design
During enrollment in PE 822, Facilities in Sports and Recreation students will be required to design a facility of their choice. This project will include a computer diagram and a description of the different areas of the facility, including provision for making the facility accessible to persons with disabilities.
Artifact #4: Recreation Program Plan
During enrollment in REC 881, Applied Project in PE, Sport and Recreation students will construct a plan for a recreation program for a selected recreation agency. Students will be required to demonstrate their ability to assess current program offerings, analyze the population the agency serves and the needs of said population in a democratic society, and design a program that will fulfill unmet needs.
Artifact #5: Policies and Procedures
During the PE 851 course, Organization and Administration of Sports and Recreation, students will be required to complete a policies and procedures handbook for an agency of their choice. The project will include a philosophy, mission statement, goals and objectives, budget, hiring, discipline policies including sexual harassment, firing, public relations, marketing, as well as any other areas they deem appropriate for their agency.
Artifact #1: Philosophy
During PE 801, Psychology of Sport the students will begin to garner an understanding of the psychology of sport and its effect on the student-athlete and sport on the general public as a whole. The students will be required to write a philosophy statement.
Artifact #2: Facility Plan
During enrollment in PE 822, Facilities in Sports and Recreation, students will be required to design a facility of their choice. This project will include a computer diagram and a description of the different areas of the facility, including provision for making the facility accessible to person with disabilities.
Artifact #3: Budget
In PE 803, Financing Sport students will be exposed to the various ways that an agency can finance themselves, be it through state funding, private donations, revenue based or grants. Students will then be expected to complete a budget for an athletic team based upon these theories and practices.
Artifact #4: Marketing plan
While completing PE 829 Marketing in Sport and Recreation students are involved in several hands on activities to encourage their creativity and working with groups. Students will develop a marketing and sponsorship plan for a predetermined event for a specified target population.
Artifact #5: Policies and Procedures
During the PE 851 course, Organization and Administration of Sport and Recreation students are required to complete a policies and procedures handbook for an agency of their choice. The project will include, a philosophy, mission statement, goals and objectives, budget, hiring, discipline policies including sexual harassment, firing, public relations, marketing as well as any other areas they deem appropriate for their agency.
Artifact #1: Incentive Program
Students will have the opportunity to apply the information covered in PE 870 to create a set of abstracts based on scientific research in exercise science.
Artifact #2: PE 867 Case Study
The purpose of this project is to students the opportunity to apply the information covered in PE 867 Fitness Testing and to provide experience in assessing physical fitness levels and in designing individualized exercise programs. The project is divided into four parts including Health Screening and Evaluation, Cardiorespiratory Fitness Assessment and an Aerobic Exercise Program, Body Composition Assessment, and Musculoskeletal Fitness Assessment and a Resistance Training Program.
Artifact #3: PE 866 Treatment Program Power Point Presentation
This project involves a review/critique of a product related to weight control. The product could be an FDA approved drug, an experimental drug, a nutritional supplement, a nutriceutical, an exercise device, a type of surgery or an article of clothing. Students will present their findings to the class including information on how the product works, current research on the product, side effects of the product and recommendations reflecting whether or not you would recommend this product and why or why not.
Prior to being approved for graduate practicum all students will be required to submit a pre-student teaching portfolio. The portfolios will be evaluated by a committee of three physical education professors. Students who do not receive an average score of 2.0 or better will not be recommended for graduate practicum.
The artifacts contained in the portfolios will have been completed in various methods courses completed throughout the student’s career at UNK. The following information outlines the artifacts to be included and the departmental learning objectives that will be addressed by each artifact.
Artifact #1: Fitnessgram Software Analysis and Implementation:
During enrollment in PE 841 Elementary School Physical Education students will be required to become familiar with the use of software specifically intended to assess twelve measures of fitness for school aged children. Students will be required to demonstrate their ability to input random sets of data, interpret the results for the entire set and then to track trends in the fitness levels of the data set through the use of the fitnessgram software's capabilities.
Artifact #2: Case Study Lesson Plan
During enrollment in PE 831 Curriculum Design in Physical Education students will be required to develop a lesson plan, teach the lesson to K-6 students and then evaluate to what degree the students learned the material. Further, students will be asked to consider how they might have taught the lesson differently in order to improve their students' learning.
Artifact #3: Professional Philosophy of Teaching Health & Physical Education
During enrollment in PE 875 Analysis of Physical Education Teaching students will develop their personal philosophy of teaching health and/or physical education. The philosophy will address principles associated with teaching in a democratic society, community involvement in education and beliefs held by the student about best practices for teaching health & physical education.
Artifact #4: Exemplary Secondary School Physical Education Lesson Plan
During enrollment in PE 828 Secondary School Physical Education students will develop an exemplary lesson plan that will include objectives and subject content for the inclusion of Life Skills, Class Management, Teaching Diverse Students, Resources, and Assessment Procedures (for students and lesson effectiveness).
Artifact #5: Site Supervisor's Evaluation of Pre-service Teacher's Effectiveness
During enrollment in PE 871 Physical Education for Students with Disabilities, students are required to assist a certified teacher in the delivery of physical education instruction. The certified teacher serves the role of supervisor and evaluates the pre-service teacher near the close of the semester. The evaluation report addresses the degree to which the pre-service teacher accommodates diverse learners and the capacity to collaborate with others in making decisions regarding instruction.
All students enrolled in professional degree programs are evaluated on attainment of departmental learning goals during their internship, prior to graduation. Site coordinators complete an assessment of the individual student's attainment/demonstration of departmental goals and the internship director completes an assessment of the student as well.
Indirect Measures
Once every four years the department conducts alumni surveys of all graduates registered with the UNK Alumni Association and who have graduated within the last ten years as an indirect measure of attainment of departmental learning objectives. The surveys will seek to ascertain to what degree the graduates believe they attained the departmental learning goals. In addition, the survey will attempt to ascertain what changes need to be made in order to better serve our students as professionals. When student data is analyzed for all majors the following mean scores will indicate departmental success. Mean scores of 3.0 or higher will indicate that HPERLS majors are scoring at the "Good" level on their work in the area of Portfolios and will indicate a successful outcome for the HPERLS department. Mean scores of 4.0 or higher will indicate that HPERLS majors are scoring above "Average" on their internships, practicums, and student teaching experiences and will indicate a successful outcome for the HPERLS department. Finally, mean scores of 5.0 or higher on items 8-10, 4.0 or better on items 11-17, 4.0 or higher on items 18-21 on the "Survey of Graduates" will indicate a successful outcome for the HPERLS department.
Assessment of Assessment Process
The faculty of the department will meet each spring to reevaluate the assessment process.
Questions to be considered:
- Are the desired outcomes for the graduates of our department still relevant and defensible?
- Does the current means of assessing actually assess the department's desired outcomes for graduates and provide information that allows for the continuous improvement of our degree programs?
- Is the scope and focus of our assessment process reasonable?