The role of planning and evaluation in public safety sector -- Planning basics -- Designing effective policies -- Program evaluation -- Collecting and analyzing survey data -- Utilizing existing data -- Developing effective collaborations -- Communicating to the public.
"Providing expert advice from established scholars in the field of political science, this engaging book imparts informative guidance on teaching research methods across the undergraduate curriculum. Written in a concise yet comprehensive style, it illustrates practical and conceptual advice, alongside more detailed chapters focussing on the different aspects of teaching political methodology. Each chapter draws on practised teaching methods covering the what, how and when for teaching political methodology with an in-depth look at systematic research methods. The book is split into four distinct sections for undergraduate research methods education: the approach, the foundations of research design, quantitative analysis and qualitative data. All the advice is evidence-based and grounded in the science of teaching and learning (SoTL) literature from experienced, award-winning and highly recognized instructors of political methodology. Teaching Undergraduate Political Methodology will be required reading for faculty wanting to establish excellent methods for challenging subjects within the fields of political science, public administration and public policies. It will also serve as a useful resource for instructors wishing to gain greater student engagement with their courses by utilising different methods"--
"Providing expert advice from established scholars in the field of political science, this engaging companion book to Teaching Undergraduate Political Methodology imparts informative guidance on teaching research methods across the graduate curriculum. Written in a concise yet comprehensive style, it illustrates practical and conceptual advice, alongside more detailed chapters focussing on the different aspects of teaching political methodology. Each chapter draws on practised teaching methods covering the what, how and when for teaching political methodology with an in-depth look at systematic research methods. The book is split into four distinct sections for graduate research methods education: the approach, the foundations of research design, quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis. Chapters offer evidence-based advice grounded in the science of teaching and learning (SoTL) literature from experienced, award-winning and highly recognized instructors of political methodology. Teaching Graduate Political Methodology will be required reading for faculty wanting to establish excellent methods for challenging subjects within the fields of political science, public administration and public policies. It will also serve as a useful resource for instructors wishing to gain greater student engagement with their courses by utilising different methods"--
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the student learning outcomes (SLOs) for a sustainability major, evaluate faculty incorporation of the SLOs into the courses in the sustainability major curriculum and measure student performance on the SLOs from entry into the major to the senior capstone course.
Design/methodology/approach Through an iterative approach with a faculty advisory committee, SLOs were developed for the sustainability major. Curriculum mapping followed by evaluation of course syllabi were used to determine the extent to which each course addressed the SLOs. Student performance on most SLOs was measured through student assessment in an introductory and capstone course to evaluate the change in performance over time.
Findings The core courses of the sustainability major were more likely to address the SLOs of the major than that of the elective courses. Where measured, student performance on the SLOs increased from the introductory course to the capstone course. Sustainability majors participated in an average of almost ten experiential learning opportunities focused on sustainability.
Originality/value This research provides a longitudinal assessment of student learning in an undergraduate sustainability major. Because undergraduate sustainability degrees are generally new, this research can serve as a base upon which to continue to improve sustainability curriculum design.
Faculty are becoming increasingly interested in the science of teaching and learning (SoTL) and working to explore whether specific interventions are associated with a substantive change in learning outcomes (Whitman and Richlin 2007). In this article we lay out different ways faculty might deepen their approach to SoTL through their courses, provide examples for and explanations of these designs, discuss different means of assessing outcomes depending on the types and regularity of courses faculty teach, and provide specific tools for assessment in the context of a Political Science methods course.
The seventh annual Teaching and Learning Conference (TLC) was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from February 5 to 7, 2010, with 224 attendees onsite. The theme for the meeting was "Advancing Excellence in Teaching Political Science." Using the working-group model, the TLC track format encourages in-depth discussion and debate on research dealing with the scholarship of teaching and learning.