An Assessment Study of the Communication “A” Requirement at UW-Madison University General Education Research Group Chuck Halaby, L&S Nancy Westphal-Johnson, L&S Jim Wollock, T&E/SOE Elaine Klein, L&S

The Communication “A” Requirement Objective: Enhance communication proficiency by exposing students to courses that: Objective: Enhance communication proficiency by exposing students to courses that: – “develop student abilities in writing and public speaking, for both exposition and argumentation.” –“advance key skills” in writing, communication, and information literacy.

Skill Objectives for Comm-A Courses Planning Selecting topics, analyzing audience info needs; generating/organizing ideas; comprehending and analyzing texts. Planning Selecting topics, analyzing audience info needs; generating/organizing ideas; comprehending and analyzing texts. Drafting Learning exposition/argument structures; developing/organizing paragraphs, papers, speeches; adapting writing/speeches for intended audience. Mastering grammar, usage, style; prepare speeches; citing sources, avoiding plagiarism Drafting Learning exposition/argument structures; developing/organizing paragraphs, papers, speeches; adapting writing/speeches for intended audience. Mastering grammar, usage, style; prepare speeches; citing sources, avoiding plagiarism Revising Critical skills for revising and editing essays/speeches for spelling, punctuation, grammar, style, organization, logic. Revising Critical skills for revising and editing essays/speeches for spelling, punctuation, grammar, style, organization, logic. Information-Seeking Technical skills/strategies for identifying/retrieving materials from print/electronic sources. Information-Seeking Technical skills/strategies for identifying/retrieving materials from print/electronic sources.

Key Features of Comm-A Study Research Question Does Comm-A provide students with opportunity and experience needed to enhance their communication skills? Research Question Does Comm-A provide students with opportunity and experience needed to enhance their communication skills? Method Compare students who had and had not satisfied Comm-A with respect to self-reported gains in communication skills in key areas Method Compare students who had and had not satisfied Comm-A with respect to self-reported gains in communication skills in key areas Target population Freshmen who had not satisfied Comm-A at start of fall semester Target population Freshmen who had not satisfied Comm-A at start of fall semester Sampling design Stratified random sampling Sampling design Stratified random sampling –Comm-A sample: 374/480 (78% response rate) –Control sample: 141/160 (88% response rate)

Communication Scale Preamble “Please think about the courses you took at UW during fall semester. This includes lectures, readings, discussion sections, and assignments, as well as any other experiences you had as part of these courses.” Question “How much did any of these courses teach you to do each of the following?

Communication Skill Scale Items Deliver speech or oral presentation? Deliver speech or oral presentation? Retrieve and analyze information from library databases? Retrieve and analyze information from library databases? Select and focus topics for paper or speech/presentation? Select and focus topics for paper or speech/presentation? Recognize logically sound arguments? Recognize logically sound arguments? Use language clearly and appropriately? Use language clearly and appropriately?

Comm-A Scale Items (continued) Support ideas in a paper or speech? Support ideas in a paper or speech? Produce papers or speeches/presentation for a specific audience? Produce papers or speeches/presentation for a specific audience? Judge the credibility and soundness of evidence? Judge the credibility and soundness of evidence? Organize ideas for a paper or speech/presentation? Organize ideas for a paper or speech/presentation? Improve your grammar, punctuation, and style? Improve your grammar, punctuation, and style?

Comm-A Scale Items (continued) Cite sources and avoid plagiarism Cite sources and avoid plagiarism Use library databases to locate research materials ? Use library databases to locate research materials ? Write/revise drafts of paper or speech/presentation? Write/revise drafts of paper or speech/presentation? Critique speeches/presentations or papers? Critique speeches/presentations or papers? Cronbach’s alpha-reliability =.91

Findings

Mean Gain in Communication Proficiency, by Comm-A Status, Freshmen, t-ratio = 14.2; p-value=.000

Mean Gain in Communication Proficiency, by Comm-A Status and Sex, Freshmen

Comm-A Students Almost Three Times More Likely to Report Communication Skills Grew by “fair amount/a lot” Chi-square=66; p-value=.000

Odds of Communication Skills Increasing by “fair amount/a lot” More than Five Times Greater for Comm-A Students t-ratio= 7.69; p-value=.000

Item-Specific Analysis

Item-Specific Scale Means, by Comm-A Status All differences significant at <.000

Item-Specific Scale Means, by Comm-A Status All differences significant at <.000

Item-Specific Scale Means, by Comm-A Status **Significant at <.000 * Significant at <.001

Percent Responding Skills Grew by “fair amount/a lot”, by Comm-A Status

Percent Students Responding “fair amount/a lot”, by Comm-A Status

Comm-A Students More Likely to Report Skills Grew by “fair amount/a lot”.

Comm-A Students Many Times More Likely to Report Skills Grew by “fair amount/a lot”.

Comm-A Students More Likely to Report Skills Grew by “fair amount/a lot”.

The ESL Comm-A Experience

ESL Comm-A Compared to Regular Comm-A and Control

ESL v Regular Comm-A: Item-Specific Comparisons All differences significant at <.000.

ESL v Regular Comm-A: Item-Specific Comparisons All differences statistically insignificant.

ESL v Regular Comm-A: Item-Specific Comparisons All differences statistically insignificant.

The End