College of the Sciences Primate Behavior and Ecology Program

II.D. Effectiveness of Instruction

II.D.1. Effectiveness of instructional methods to produce student learning based upon programmatic goals including innovative and traditional methods

II.D.1.a. collaborative research between student and faculty. Collaboration between students and faculty in research and creative expression is a hallmark of Central, and this is particularly emphasized throughout the PBE program. Faculty-guided research projects are developed by students enrolled in Laboratory Work in Primatology (PRIM 320) and in the field school in China (ANTH 493, BIOL 493, and PSY 498). Additionally, students are introduced to the research process and conduct smaller-scale research projects in Introduction to Primate Laboratory Procedures (PRIM 220), Biology of Animal Behavior (BIOL 465), General Ecology (BIOL 360), and Research Methods (PSY 300).

II.D.1.b. inquiry-based, open-ended learning. Students write research papers and/or give in-class presentations on a topic of their choice in Long Term Primate Studies (ANTH 412), Pongid Behavior (ANTH 416), Primate Evolution (ANTH 418), Evolutionary Psychology (PSY 442), Research Methods (PSY 300), Biology of Animal Behavior (BIOL 465), and some choice of research focus occurs in the courses described in the section immediately above.

II.D.1.c. use of field experiences. The PBE program provides multiple opportunities for students to have off-campus field experiences: the summer field school in China (ANTH 493, BIOL 493, and PSY 498), Internships (ANTH, PSY, or BIOL 490; during summer 2007, for example, one PBE student will work as an intern at the Buffalo Zoo in New York, and students regularly conduct internships at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, WA), and other Study Abroad opportunities.

II.D.1.d. classic lectures. Primate Social Behavior (ANTH 313), Primate Evolution (ANTH 418), Long Term Primate Studies (ANTH 412), Pongid Behavior (ANTH 416), Evolutionary Psychology (ANTH 465), and Biology of Animal Behavior (BIOL 465) all include lectures as the delivery mode of some or most of course content. Many of the courses in the PBE core (some of which are also General Education courses) include substantial amounts of the quarter devoted to lecture time.

II.D.1.e. lecture and inquiry-based guided discussions. Evolutionary Psychology (PSY 442), Long Term Primate Studies (ANTH 412), and Pongid Behavior (ANTH 416) all include professor-guided discussions. In all three courses, the professor provides students with articles or text chapters to read and an associated list of questions to guide in class discussion.

II.D.1.f. service learning or civic engagement. There are no structured service learning or civic engagement opportunities currently built into the PBE curriculum. However, students who choose to include internships in their curriculum perform valuable service to zoos, sanctuaries, and other facilities (for example, in 2003, one student was an unpaid intern at the Gibbon Conservation Center in Santa Clarita, California). The Wildlife Conservation Group associated with the PBE program provides one outlet for students interested in environmental activism. This group was formed by students enrolled in Primate Conservation (ANTH 499) during winter quarter, 2006 as a direct outgrowth of their concern over the plight of free-living nonhuman primates. The Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute is an important educational source for topics related to animal rights and conservation, particularly as these relate to chimpanzees. Many PBE students are volunteers at the Institute.

II.D.2. Innovative instructional methods

Through two intramural grants and a grant from the National Institutes of Health, Mary Lee Jensvold and Lori Sheeran recently purchased The Observer software to be used by PBE students and faculty in conducting field work and in the PBE curriculum. The Observer is a state-of-the-art professional software package for the collection, analysis, and presentation of observational data. The program can be used to record animals’ activities, postures, movements, positions, social interactions, or any other aspect of their behavioral repertoire. The grants above facilitated the purchase of two new computers to house the software, PDAs to enable the use of the program while off campus, and two video cameras that can be used to collect data. The Observer will be used in field and research PBE courses, and PBE students will be introduced to the program in Primate Social Behavior (ANTH 313).

II.D.3. What evidence other than Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEOI) is gathered and used in the program to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction?

Assessment is an aspect of the PBE program that needs to be developed. While SEOIs are gathered in most courses taught at Central, currently these are systematically examined to ascertain teaching effectiveness as it relates to the program as a whole. During spring quarter 2007 program faculty began considering assessment models (see II.H below). PBE faculty developed a survey as part of a university-wide initiative to gain a more comprehensive view of alumni capabilities and job prospects. The PBE alumni survey was administered during summer 2007 and covered the years 2001-6; the survey will be administered annually in future years. Some program faculty also keep track of where alumni go upon graduating, but this is not systematically done. Because primatology is a small field and our graduates retain strong emotional ties to faculty and to the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute, we do know where a large number of students are employed despite the lack of systematic measures.

II.D.4. Program teaching effectiveness—report a five-year history of the teaching effectiveness program means as reported on SEOIs, indexed to the university mean on a quarter-by-quarter basis

Students’ evaluation of instruction (SEOIs) are carried out each quarter in all instructional classes. The following quarter, faculty are provided with copies of students’ written comments and a statistical summary of standardized questions for each course. The table below summarizes the program’s average SEOI scores for question 29, “Teaching Effectiveness”, for the past five years. We consistently exceed the campus average.

Year^4	Program Average^5	CWU Average
01-02	4.62	4.32
02-03	4.34	4.33
03-04	4.74	4.36
04-05	4.64	4.33
05-06	4.40	4.32