The following are questions from the Wabash National Study that fall under the category Academic Challenge:
Academic challenge and effort – We asked students to indicate their response to each of the following questions:
- During the current school year, how many assigned textbooks, books, or book-length packs of course readings have you done?
- During the current school year, how many written papers or reports between 5 and 19 pages have you done?
- In a typical week, how many problem sets take you more than an hour to complete?
- What is the extent to which your examinations during the current school year challenged you to do your best work?
- About how many hours in a typical week do you spend preparing for class (studying, reading, writing, doing homework or lab work, analyzing data, rehearsing, and other academic activities)?
- To what extent does your institution emphasize spending significant amounts of time studying and on academic work?
- In your experience at your institution during the current school year, about how often have you worked harder than you thought you could to meet an instructor's standards or expectations?
- In your experience at your institution during the current school year, about how often have you asked questions in class or contributed to class discussions?
- In your experience at your institution during the current school year, about how often have you made a class presentation?
- In your experience at your institution during the current school year, about how often have you prepared two or more drafts of a paper or assignment before turning it in?
- In your experience at your institution during the current school year, about how often have you come to class without completing readings or assignments?
Frequency of higher-order exams and assignments – We asked students to indicate how often they experienced each of the following: (Choices were very often, often, sometimes, rarely, never)
- How often have exams or assignments required you to write essays?
- How often have exams or assignments required you to use course content to address a problem not presented in the course?
- How often have exams or assignments required you to compare or contrast topics or ideas from a course?
- How often have exams or assignments required you to point out the strengths and weaknesses of a particular argument or point of view?
- How often have exams or assignments required you to argue for or against a particular point of view and defend your argument?
Challenging classes and high faculty expectations – We asked students to indicate how often they experienced each of the following: (Choices were very often, often, sometimes, rarely, never)
- How often have faculty asked challenging questions in class?
- How often have faculty asked you to show how a particular course concept could be applied to an actual problem or situation?
- How often have faculty asked you to point out any fallacies in basic ideas, principles, or points of view presented in the course?
- How often have faculty asked you to argue for or against a particular point of view?
- How often have faculty challenged your ideas in class?
- How often have students challenged each other's ideas in class?
Integrating ideas, information, and experiences – We asked students to indicate their response to each of the following statements and questions:
- The extent to which you agree that courses have helped you understand the historical, political, and social connections of past events.
- The extent to which you agree that courses have helped you see the connections between your intended career and how it affects society.
- The extent to which you agree that your out-of-class experiences have helped you connect what you have learned in the classroom with life events.
- The extent to which you agree that your out-of-class experiences have helped you translate knowledge and understanding from the classroom into action.
- In your experience at your institution during the current school year, about how often have you worked on a paper or project that required integrating ideas or information from various sources?
- In your experience at your institution during the current school year, about how often have you put together ideas or concepts from different courses when completing assignments or during class discussions?
- In your experience at your institution during the current school year, about how often have you discussed ideas from your readings or classes with others outside of class (students, family members, co-workers, etc.)?
- During the current school year, how much has your coursework emphasized synthesizing and organizing ideas, information, or experiences into new, more complex interpretations and relationships?
- During the current school year, how much has your coursework emphasized making judgments about the value of information, arguments, or methods, such as examining how others gathered and interpreted data and assessing the soundness of their conclusions?
