What kind of Student and Course Assessment Strategies Are Used?
Both years, we assessed student background knowledge of nuclear chemistry and Navajo history by using an anonymous survey administered on the first day of class. In general, the students performed better on those questions relating to science than they did on ones relating to culture. In fact, the students’ performance on the questions showed that they knew almost nothing about Navajo history and culture. Fewer than half could correctly label the four states that comprise the Four Corners region, and very few could list an event in Navajo history. Given this, we dedicated class time to familiarizing the students with the geographic region, including features such as the state boundaries, major highways, cities, vegetation, and land formations. Results from selected questions are summarized below, combining the data from the spring semesters of 2003 and 2004.
