1. Adriana Signorini, CRTE, SATAL Coordinator Greg Dachner, SSHA, SATAL Student Sharai Kirk, SSHA, SATAL Student How do we know our students are learning?

2. Key Components of a Course Design Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) Class format & Activities Feedback & Assessment

3. Why do we assess? To identify: What concepts and skills students find most challenging What activities engage students most productively What interventions advance student progress

4. The 3 Most Efficient Teaching Practices Begin with the end in mind Generate criteria or rubrics to describe disciplinary work for students Embed “assessment” into assessment Hodges, Linda, et al, “The Three Most Time-Efficient Teaching Practices”, The National Teaching & Learning Forum, 21.5 (2012):1-4.

5. Workshop Outcome At the end of this session, you will be able to Identify the value of different assessment tools to improve student learning. - Review ways of collecting direct & indirect evidence of student learning

6. Please complete a quick survey

7. Needs Assessment Definition: It is the study of the state of knowledge, ability, interest, or attitude of a defined audience or group.

8. Needs Assessment Goals: 1) Learn what our students already know and think, so we can determine what skills and resources are needed. 2) Understand what we can do to make that knowledge and those skills more accessible, acceptable, and useful to our students.

9. Timothy Bresnahan, Award Winning Teachers-Teaching 2012 from Stanford University. “Know them. Challenge them. Liberate them” Brenahan, Timothy, “Large Classes: Keeping the Energy in 220 Relationships at Once“”. YouTube. YouTube, 11 Dec,2012. Web. Jan.2013.Keeping the Energy in 220 Relationships at Once“

10. Direct evidence of Student Learning Quizzes, exams, essays, projects, course portfolios, and anything else that represents actual student performance as learner.

11. Indirect Evidence of Student Learning Surveys, interviews, focus groups, class observations, reflective journals, and anything else that elicits opinions about student learning.

12. Assessment support program for Instructional Faculty interested in collecting indirect evidence in support of Student Learning Outcomes. How does the program work? SATAL students respond to faculty invitation to collect data by observing and/or surveying peers. SATAL Options Class Interviewing Focus Group Class Observation Class videotaping Mid-course Evaluations Entry/Exit Surveys crte.ucmerced.edu/faculty-services Data is collected by trained undergraduates Data is collected by trained undergraduates Students Assessing Teaching and Learning

13. Needs Assessment Survey General considerations: 1- Goal: cognitive skills and affective attributes 2- Audience: Demographic questions (major and grade) 3- Response rate: keep your list short and clear. 4 –Questions: Concise Instructions (one or multiple answers) Organize questions around a group of similar questions Closed-ended: Yes/No questions, multiple choice, likert-scales- ratings 1 to 5, etc. Open-ended questions (analysis and limit) Response patterns (highest to lowest) Correlated responses (group closely related questions) 5- Other:

14. Needs Assessment Samples Review Step 1: Review examples of needs assessment surveys (cognitive skills, affective attributes, use of resources, etc.) Step 2: What are the advantages and limitations of each example? Potential limitations? Step 3: Consider your current class this semester. Which needs assessment survey would be most useful to track student learning?

15. “Improving the quality of assessment can raise the level of classroom learning” Prioritize teaching approaches Improve student learning Collect direct and indirect evidence of student learning for formative and summative purposes.

16. References Angelo, Thomas, and Patricia Cross. Classroom Assessment Techniques. A Handbook for College Teachers. 2 nd Ed. Jossey-Bass. San Francisco: 1993. 365-80. Hodges, Linda, et al, “The Three Most Time-Efficient Teaching Practices”, The National Teaching & Learning Forum, 21.5 (2012):1-4. Brenahan, Timothy, “Large Classes: Keeping the Energy in 220 Relationships at Once“”. YouTube. YouTube, 11 Dec,2012. Web. Jan.2013.Keeping the Energy in 220 Relationships at Once“