Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Many faculty, staff, and students (268 total as of last week) took the"How Well Do You Know the Class of 2012" quiz based on the results ofthe Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) given toincoming freshmen during Welcome Week 2008. The answer to that questionappears to be: "Not particularly well." The best score on the quiz was a75% (with only 3% of respondents earning that score) and 2% ofrespondents got a zero. The mean score was 2.98 questions correct outof 8 and the mode was 3 correct out of 8.The most consistent misconception was concerning the following question:What percentage of incoming freshmen (fall 2008) feel that it is veryimportant that TCNJ provides a challenging academic environment?(Answered "5" or "6" on a six-point scale.)Eighty-six percent of respondents thought the answer was 84% or 98% ofincoming freshmen. In reality, only 61% of incoming freshmen said thatit was very important that TCNJ provides a challenging academic environment.What do you think this means with regard to teaching and learning at TCNJ?
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I suppose the obvious answer is that students prefer not to be challenged....but I suspect that they have not really thought about it deeply enough.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't put much stock in a survey given during Welcome Week. Students are more concerned with immediate appearances and acceptance during that week, rather than considering the impact and reality of the next four years. And then of course there is a great deal of growth that occurs year to year and even semester to semester, making Welcome Week surveys relatively insignificant.
ReplyDeleteTo what extent is academic rigor a reason students choose to attend TCNJ? Does the results of the BCSSE reflect this? Are there any implications for teaching?
ReplyDeleteCorrection: Does the result of the BCSSE reflect this? Sorry for the typo.
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