Assessing for Learning Workshop

Presented at CCRI February 23, 2005 Peggy Maki, Ph.D.

[email protected]

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Topics Covered

 Anchoring the Commitment  Integration of Teaching, Learning, and Assessing  Collective Articulation of Learning Outcome Statements  Development of Maps and Inventories  Identification and Alignment of Assessment Methods 2

Anchoring the Commitment

Assessment?

It’s simple: you figure out what they want; find the quickest, least damaging way to respond; send off a report; and then forget it.

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Origin of the Commitment

External Internal

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How do you learn?

List several strategies you use to learn: ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ _________________________ 5

Research on Learning that Anchors the Commitment

 Learning is a complex process of interpretation-not a linear process  Learners create meaning as opposed to receive meaning  Knowledge is socially constructed (importance of peer-to-peer interaction ) National Research Council. Knowing What Students Know, 2001.

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 People learn differently —prefer certain ways of learning (learning inventories)  Deep learning occurs over time — transference  Meta-cognitive processes are a significant means of reinforcing learning (thinking about one’s thinking) 7

 Learning involves creating relationships between short-term and long-term memory  Transfer of new knowledge into different contexts is important to deepen understanding  Practice in various contexts creates expertise 8

Integrated Learning….

Cognitive Psychomotor Affective

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Specific Questions that Guide Assessment

 What do you expect your students to know and be able to do by the end of their program of study or by end of their education at your institution?

 What do the curricula and other educational experiences “add up to?”  What do you do in your classes or in your programs to promote the kinds of learning or development that the institution seeks ?

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Questions (con’d)

 Which students benefit from various teaching/learning strategies or educational experiences?

 What educational processes are responsible for the intended student outcomes the institution seeks?

 How can you help students make connections between classroom learning and experiences outside of the classroom?

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Questions, con’d:

 What pedagogies/educational experiences develop knowledge, abilities, habits of mind, ways of knowing/problem solving?

 How are curricula and pedagogy designed to develop knowledge, abilities, habits of mind, ways of knowing?

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 How do you intentionally build upon what each of you teaches or fosters to achieve programmatic and institutional objectives — contexts for learning?

 What methods of assessment capture desired student learning--methods that align with pedagogy, content, curricular and instructional design?

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Integration of Teaching, Learning, and Assessing

 Pedagogy  Curricular design  Instructional design  Educational tools  Educational experiences  Students’ learning histories/styles 14

Example of a Principles of Commitment Statement Scholarly teaching is an intellectual activity designed to bring about documented improvements in student learning. Scholarly teaching reflects a thoughtful engagement and integration of ideas, examples and resources, coupled with pedagogically informed strategies of course design and implementation to bring about more effective teaching and learning. Scholarly teaching documents the effectiveness of student learning in a manner that models or reflects disciplinary methods and values.

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The Scholarly Teacher….

 exhibits curiosity about his/her students, student learning and students’ learning environments  identifies issues/ questions (problems) related to some aspect of student learning  develops, plans and implements strategies designed to address/enhance student learning 16

 documents the outcomes of his/her strategies using methodology common to the discipline  reflects upon and shares with others his/her ideas, designs, strategies, and outcomes of his/her work 17

 consistently and continually builds upon his/her work and others (i.e., process is iterative) (Statement developed by the University of Portland 2002 AAHE Summer Academy Team and contributed by Marlene Moore, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences) 18

Collective Articulation of Learning Outcome Statements

List the desired kinds of knowledge, abilities, habits of mind, ways of knowing, and dispositions that you desire your students to demonstrate:      ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 19

What Is a Learning Outcome Statement?

 Describes learning desired within a context  Relies on active verbs (create, compose, calculate)  Emerges from our collective intentions over time 20

 Can be mapped to curricular and co curricular practices (ample, multiple and varied opportunities to learn over time)  Can be assessed quantitatively or qualitatively during students’ undergraduate and graduate careers 21

 Is written for a course, program, or institution 22

Levels of Learning Outcome Statements

Institution-level Outcome Statements Department-,Program-, Certificate-level Outcome Statements Course/Service/Educational Experience Outcome Statements

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Distinguishing between Objectives and Outcomes

 Objectives state overarching expectations such as- Students will develop effective oral communication skills.

OR Students will understand different economic principles.

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Example from ABET  Design and conduct experiment ; analyze and interpret data 25

Compare:

Students will write effectively.

to

Students will compose a range of professional documents designed to solve problems for different audiences and purposes. 26

Compare:

Students will write effectively.

to

Students will summarize recent articles on economics and identify underlying economic assumptions.

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Example from ACRL

Literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge and value system.

ONE OUTCOME: Student examines and compares information from various sources in order to evaluate reliability, validity,accuracy, timeliness, and point of view or bias.

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Ways to Articulate Outcomes

 Adapt from professional organizations  Derive from mission of institution/program/department/service  Derive from students’ work that demonstrates interdisciplinary thinking, ways of knowing, or problem solving 29

 Derive from faculty to faculty interview process  Derive from exercise focused on listing one or two outcomes “you attend to” 30

Characteristics of A Good Outcomes Statement

 Describes learning desired within a context  Relies on active verbs

(analyze, create, compose, calculate, construct)

 Emerges from our collective intentions over time 31

 Can be mapped to curricular and co curricular practices (ample, multiple and varied opportunities to learn over time)  Can be assessed quantitatively or qualitatively during students’ undergraduate and graduate careers 32

Write several outcome statements that capture what students should achieve based on your interdisciplinary focus:

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How well do your outcome statements meet characteristics of a good statement?

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Development of Maps and Inventories

• Reveal how we translate outcomes into educational practices offering students multiple and diverse opportunities to learn • Help us to identify appropriate times to assess those outcomes • Identify gaps in learning or opportunities to practice 35

 Help students understand our expectations of them  Place ownership of learning on students  Enable them to develop their own maps or learning chronologies 36

How will you use maps and inventories?

 Discuss team how you will go about the process of developing a curricular or curricular-co-curricular map and how you will label peoples’ entries  Discuss how you might use inventories 37

Approaches to Learning

 Surface Learning  Deep Learning 38

List of Attachments

 Questions that examine the educational practices that underlie learning outcome statements  Checklist for outcome statements  Dissemination of outcome statements  Curricular-co-curricular map  Inventories of assessment and educational practices 39

Works Cited

Maki, P. (2004). Assessing for Learning: Building a

Sustainable Commitment Across the Institution.

Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC, and the American Association for Higher Education.

National Research Council. (2001). Knowing What

Students Know: The Science and Design of

Educational Assessment. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press

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