FROM OBJECTIVES TO ASSESSMENTS: REDESIGNING A WETLANDS COURSE

The design of a new undergraduate curriculum, and its assessment for accreditation purposes, has necessitated that instructors and program directors make significant changes to existing course design and delivery. One case examines a course in Wetland Environments, which must satisfy not only a major elective requirement but also a Liberal Arts requirement for non-majors at the same time, while remaining true to its original content. Redesigning this course within very structured guidelines brought about several challenges, including identifying relevant course objectives and learning outcomes, designing assessments which addressed those outcomes, and then – the horror of it all – assessing the assessments. The process, pitfalls, and results are discussed here, along with an evaluation of the effectiveness of this standardized approach relative to one with a less structured methodology. In the context of a coherent undergraduate curriculum, the structured approach can achieve consistency, but at the same time may sacrifice diversity of content and delivery in individual courses.