Evidence of Student Learning Fall Faculty Seminar Office of Institutional Research and Assessment August 15, 2012

Agenda Overview of Assessment What assessment is What it isn’t Why we do it Assessment Levels Classroom Assessment Course Assessment Program Assessment General Education Assessment Institutional Commitment to Student Learning Assessment of General Education Data Analysis and Results

Assessment of Student Learning is... … the collection of evidence about student learning, used for improvement of teaching and learning. Owolabi, 2009

Defining Assessment of Student Learning Action research Gathers indicators that will be useful for decision making Standardized tests or “objective” measures Assessment means basing decisions about curriculum, pedagogy, staffing, advising, and student support upon the best possible data about student learning and the factors that affect it Walvoord, 2004, p. 2.

Assessment of Student Learning is not… Is not program review … about evaluating individual faculty members … about using course grades to assess student performance … an infringement on faculty academic freedom … an assignment or test used by a single instructor to determine students’ understanding in a specific classroom

Benefits of Assessing Learning Focus on student learning Articulate learning outcomes Improve courses, programs, curricula, and pedagogy Promote conversations and dialogue about teaching and learning Align curriculum with learning outcomes Redesign our curriculum

Classroom Assessment “ The teacher of the senior capstone course evaluates her students’ final projects, assigns grades, and uses the information for her own improvement next semester.” Walvoord, 2004, p. 2 An instructor asks students to indicate the muddiest point in the concept he/she has just taught. The instructor uses the data to improve instruction

Course Assessment “Assessment at the course level means not just assigning individual grades but also reflecting on how well students as a whole are achieving the course’s learning goals. This is done by aggregating assessment results…” Suskie, 2009, p. 6

Course Assessment What evidence of student learning do we collect? Are we systematic about collecting these evidence? What actions have we taken to improve pedagogy and curriculum based on the results of assessment?

Program Assessment “…helps determine whether students can integrate learning from individual courses into a coherent whole. It is interested in the cumulative effects of the educational process.” Palomba and Banta (1999) (p.5-6). “The faculty teaching the senior capstone report annually to the department, outlining the strengths and weaknesses of the students’ work in relation to departmental learning goals. The department uses these and other data, such as student and alumni surveys, to inform decisions about curriculum, pedagogy, and other factors tat affect student learning.” Walvoord, 2004, p. 3

Commitment to Student Learning General Education –Maturing Outcomes Diversity of Learners and Learning Co-curricular Learning and Learning Environments

Accreditations Higher Learning Commission of North Central Association of Colleges and Schools National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) National Association of Schools of Music

AQIP Pathway Systems Portfolio * Action Projects Strategy Forum Systems Appraisal Quality Checkup Reaffirmation of Accreditation Higher Learning Commission of North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Current Action Projects Mentoring New Faculty and Staff Assessment Using a Data Driven Decision Making Model Resources for Undergraduate and Graduate Students Serra, 2011 “Academic Quality Improvement Program AQIP.” PowerPoint presentation. New Faculty Orientation.

General Education Outcomes Engage different viewpoints in thoughtful and deliberative ways by making critical judgments and defending them reasonably using appropriate quantitative and qualitative sources of information and methods Read texts critically with understanding Listen actively and communicate ideas effectively through speaking and writing Examine the human, natural, and aesthetic worlds and articulate their place in them

General Education Outcomes Conduct research, engage in the ways of knowing and participate in discourse across the arts, sciences, and humanities Reflect theologically and philosophically on significant questions about the value and meaning of life and living Live and serve as wise, humane, responsible, and ethical citizens of our diverse nation and world Articulate a Christian world view and its implications for living

Assessment of General Education ETS Proficiency Profile Test Critical thinking Reading Writing Mathematics Humanities Social sciences Natural sciences

ETS Proficiency Profile Test Reviewed mean scores and identified trends Total mean score on the ETS Proficiency Profile test has a possible range of Sub scores have a possible range of

Demographic Variables Age Best Language Credit Hours Curriculum Completed Enrollment Status Ethnicity Gender GPA Hours Working Major Program Enrolled Transfer Status.

ETS Proficiency Profile: Sub Scores

ETS – Reading Scores

ETS – Social Sciences

ETS Proficiency Profile Demographic Analysis

Age < Difference

Performance by Cohort and Curriculum Completed Curriculum Completed 2007/ /2007 Freshmen (None) Seniors (100%) Value Added

Performance by Cohort and Credit Hours Credit Hours Completed 2007/ /2007 Freshmen (None) Seniors (More than 90 Semester Hours or more than 145 quarter hours) Value Added

Recommendations Eliminate one of the testing windows since the data is limited in usage and no item analysis can be done Develop additional method of assessing general education outcomes even if the ETS tests are deemed worth repeating as we currently do Develop signature assignments and rubrics to assess the newly defined general education outcomes.

Recommendations Embed the signature assignments in courses within the general education program Maximize the use of Black Board (BB) to manage our assessment data Restructure the assessment committee to include representatives from colleges quality assurance committees

Assessment is… Discovering what students are learning Determining if actual learning meets expectations Improving future learning by: – Affirming what works – Changing curricula, teaching, environment – Changing delivery – Influencing actions and decisions – Changing access to resources Higher Learning Commission, 2012

Assessment requires… Beginning where it makes sense Collecting data and information that is meaningful and useful Persevering through the process

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