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Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology
Last updated September 2002

In some summaries of assessment activity, goals are referred to by number (e.g., K-2 is knowledge goal 2).

Activity in 2001-02

This Report describes an evaluation of the integration of knowledge in the discipline of kinesiology that was performed by the faculty in the Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology in Spring, 2002.

Since its establishment in 1985, the curriculum offered by the Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology has continued to evolve. Recent key events in this development include the beginning of a doctoral program in 1997, expansion of the Department name to Kinesiology and Applied Physiology (KAPH) in 1998, and completion of revisions to the undergraduate curriculum in 2002.

In 2002, the Department underwent the seven-year Program Review, which comprised a self-study report, an evaluation by an internal committee, and a review by a committee of external reviewers. Among the accomplishments noted by the Program Review Panel was the very notable progress in many areas including, but not limited to, teaching programs, external funding, publication record, and services provided. The Internal Review Committee stated that "the undergraduate program appears to be strong both in terms of the cohesiveness and rigor of the courses" and that "the PhD program was very successful". Similarly, the External Review Committee indicated that "the strength of the [PhD] program lies in the strong faculty who provide an excellent educational and research experience". These views are consistent with our self-study evaluation that our curriculum has evolved to become a source of pride for the University.

Undergraduate Students

By the end of 2002, the requirements for the undergraduate curriculum in kinesiology (BA) will focus on six KAPH courses:

1. An introduction to the discipline (KAPH 1010)
2. An introduction to statistics and research methods (KAPH 2700)
3. Biomechanics (KAPH 4540)
4. Exercise Physiology (KAPH 4650)
5. Sensorimotor Neuroscience (KAPH 4720)
6. Mind-Body Health (KAPH 4770)

In Fall, 2001 semester, the faculty discussed and developed a strategy to assess the discipline-related integration of knowledge by the undergraduate students. With the unanimous support of the faculty, we decided to develop a multiple-choice questionnaire that could be administered to students in the introductory course (KAPH 1010) and to those enrolled in several critical-thinking courses within the Department (KAPH 4000 level courses). Although a longitudinal comparison of the same students is more desirable, the continuous development of the undergraduate curriculum dictates a cross-sectional comparison. Prof. Dale Mood, our resident expert in tests and measurements, developed the questionnaire with questions provided by the faculty who teach the core courses (listed above). The questionnaire comprised 62 multiple-choice questions; a copy of the questionnaire is attached to this report. The average scores of the students in the two sets of courses (maximum score = 62) were as follows:

These results indicate that seniors with a major in kinesiology performed substantially better on a discipline-based test than beginning students (freshmen and sophomores) and students who had not yet declared a major.

The faculty recognizes that the instrument used in this evaluation was a necessary first step, but that it requires improvement. We will revise the questionnaire by examining the distribution of the responses for each question and modifying questions that did not distinguish between kinesiology seniors and those students who were not kinesiology majors. We plan to undertake this process in Fall, 2002. Furthermore, as the revisions to the core requirements for the major are completed this year, the faculty expect validity and reliability of the assessment tool to be enhanced.

The Department has two instructors who teach scientific writing courses at the lower and upper divisions (KAPH 1950 and 3700). The Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation provided the writing instructors with three years of funding to develop technology-based instructional strategies for scientific writing. The exemplary status of our undergraduate writing program was recognized by the External Review Committee who commented that "We were particularly impressed with the inclusion of the innovative discipline-specific writing courses in the lower and upper divisions which continue to be upgraded with full faculty support".

Concurrent BA/MS Program

In 2000, the Department began offering a curriculum that results in simultaneously conferring BA and MS degrees after a five-year course of study. Each Fall semester, the Department accepts applications for the Program and admits those students who are most qualified, with a limit of 15 students admitted each year. To date, nine students have enrolled in this program and the first two students will graduate from this program in December, 2002. Although our experience with this Program is limited, the faculty are unanimously impressed by the quality of these students and have developed a strategy (see attachment) to increase the number of undergraduate students who choose this option.

Graduate Students

Since the inception of our doctoral program (1997), graduate study in the Department has changed from standardized programs of study to mentor-based, individualized programs of study. By minimizing the number of required courses, the mentor and student are able to design a program of study that is specific to the long-term goals of the student. For example, the required courses in the doctoral program are:

• Colloquium (KAPH 5100)
• Advanced Statistics and Research in Kinesiology (KAPH 5800)
• Professional Skills for the Research Scientist (KAPH 6830)

This has resulted in a reduction in the number of MS students in the Department, but a greater focus by the faculty on providing state-of-the-art training to develop competitive research scientists. Nonetheless, the faculty decided to retain the MS program as an option for students who are undecided about doctoral training and as mechanism for some individuals to enhance an application to a professional program (e.g., medical school, physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician's assistant program, chiropractic school). There are currently 18 students enrolled in the MS program.

There are currently 27 students enrolled in the doctoral program. They are distributed among the Department research laboratories as follows:

Eleven students have graduated from the doctoral program. Their current positions as of August, 2002, are as follows:

1998 grads:

• Research Fellow at the Hebrew Center for Rehabilitation of the Aged
• Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center

1999 grads:

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physiology, University of Missouri-Columbia

2000 grads:

• Medical Information Scientist, AstraZeneca LP
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic and Foundation
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Colorado at Boulder
• Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, Regis University, Denver, CO
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Scientific Liaison Officer, Pharmaceuticals
• Wellness Program Director, Longmont United Hospital, Longmont, CO
• Theoretical Mathematician and Computer Modeling Specialist, Lexicor Corporation, Boulder

2001 grads:

• Research Associate, Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Colorado at Boulder

2002 grads:

• Research Coordinator, Boulder College of Massage Therapy

Placement of graduates from our doctoral program provides convincing evidence that the faculty are indeed training competitive research scientists.

The assessment plans for the upcoming academic year include continued development of the questionnaire that is administered to undergraduate students, a more concerted effort to recruit our top undergraduate students for our concurrent degree program, greater attention focused on the graduate students in the MS program, and the graduation of several more students from the doctoral program.

Earlier Activity

In 1989-90 & 1990-91 the department evaluated its success with knowledge goal K-1 (human movement and performance) and with skill goal S-4 (ability to read scientific journal articles). A 60-item knowledge test was used as a pre-test in introductory courses and as a post-test in required upper-level courses. In both years, introductory students performed at chance levels and upper division students performed noticeably better in all of the test's sub-areas. The degree of improvement depended on the area tested, with results in the various areas similar in the two years. The best results were in research methods and statistics, lab techniques, and biomechanics.

Skill goal S-4 (ability to read scientific journal articles) was examined in a required upper-level course. Students analyzed journal articles, answering questions that tested their knowledge about the structure of scientific reports and their skills in interpreting them. In both years, performance improved noticeably as the term progressed and students gained more experience. In addition, in 1990-91 20 papers from the final computerized lab exercise of the semester were randomly selected for evaluation. The papers indicated that students were developing the skills needed to write a research report in a form suitable for submission to a scientific journal. A few areas of weakness were found, such as the ability to recognize the descriptive and inferential statistics presented in an article, and the faculty determined to treat them more fully in class. In addition, plans were made to develop labs and recitation sections for all core courses.

Assessment was suspended in 1991-92 while a proposal to design and evaluate a fuller version of the knowledge test was developed and submitted for external funding. The proposed evaluation involved an experiment comparing results from CU-Boulder kinesiology majors, kinesiology majors from a similar program at another institution, and control groups of students from other CU-Boulder The project was discontinued when key faculty participants left CU-Boulder.

In 1992-93 and 1993-94 a practical examination to evaluate goal skill goal S-2 (assessment using lab equipment) was developed for the newly redesigned capstone course KINE 4670 (Exercise Science Laboratory Techniques). The exam requires students to recognize and select the correct laboratory set-ups and appropriate techniques for collecting and analyzing data in exercise physiology. In general, the student is asked to move from station to station, observe a specific set-up and determine if it is complete and properly assembled to collect the data required. In addition, the student is asked to measure, read or calculate values from various meters or instrument recordings. Average overall scores both years were approximately 75% of the maximum possible.

A scientific writing course in kinesiology, supported with a new instructor position, was initiated in 1993-94. The department now offers both upper and lower division writing courses (KINE 1950, 3720). Assessment strategies being considered include having scientific writing instructors outside the Kinesiology department review student writing portfolios, using exit surveys for graduating seniors or adding items to the Faculty Course Questionnaires for the writing courses to determine whether students feel the courses help them write more effectively in other Kinesiology courses, and comparing grades on writing assignments in Kinesiology content courses for student who have and have not taken the writing courses.

A proposal to to develop an undergraduate computer laboratory for Kinesiology was also funded in 1993-94. This plan is, in part, the result of student suggestions and results from the 1989-90 and 1990-91 assessment processes.

A bi-weekly "Kinesiology Konference" designed for undergraduates has now been expanded into a weekly colloquium that is part of the Kinesiology core curriculum. Students are expected to prepare for each colloquium with assigned readings and background material and to participate in subsequent discussion of the topic with the speaker and/or faculty members. The discussion hour of each colloquium is particularly important in fostering interaction between undergraduate majors and faculty members.

No formal assessment was conducted in 1994-95 or 1995-96. During these years the department completely restructured its undergraduate curriculum. General Physics (PHYS 2020) and Calculus (MATH 1300 or 1310 or APPM 1350) are now required of our majors. Within the major we want to integrate knowledge in kinesiology across at least two levels of analysis (i.e., neural, biomchanical). The first step in this process was to change the name of our courses to reflect the integrative nature of the material. For example, we now offer Mechanical Kinesiology, Psychological Kinesiology, Neuromuscular Kinesiology and Physiological Kinesiology, rather than the discipline-related names (i.e, Motor Learning and Performance). Our next major step is to evaluate whether or not we are achieving our goal of integration of knowledge in these courses. This, and assessment of writing outcomes, is the goal for AY 1996-97.

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Last revision 09/30/02