1993
An undergraduate student, Beverly Miller, developed a research interest in the area of
argumentative styles and their development across the undergraduate years. She
hypothesized that arguments put forth in issue-oriented papers written by freshman are
based more on personal experience but that junior/seniors are more likely to use objective
evidence in supporting a position. She developed an evaluation device to assess the
content of written arguments developed by our students. The results of this study
indicated that seniors are much more likely to use technical language and to adopt a
professional perspective using specific evidence derived from research in their arguments.
The results of this study were presented at the Great Plains Student Psychology
Conference, March, 1993. This assessment tool and the data derived from it may ultimately
be incorporated into the department assessment program.
1992
Professor Theresa Wadkins completed a study entitled "Student learning as a function
of learning style: A comparison of lecture, PSI, and telecourse approaches." This
study looked at student achievement through a follow-up comprehensive exam taken by
students who had completed different versions of the introductory course. The findings
indicate no significant differences in tested knowledge as a function of type of course
although the reasons for taking each of the course types varied considerably. A paper
summarizing this research was presented at the Southwest Regional Conference for Teachers
of Psychology, November, 1992.
|
