Transcript When is a Program? Alchemy and Assessment in GE Redesign Bill Loker and Lori Beth Way representing the Chico State General Education Advisory Committee, GE Design &

When is a Program?
Alchemy and Assessment in
GE Redesign
Bill Loker
and Lori Beth Way
representing the Chico State
General Education Advisory Committee, GE Design
& Implementation Teams
When is a Program?
• We would argue …. Not
THIS!
• A collection of courses, no
matter how good, is NOT
a program, and …
• Is NOT assessable as a
program
When is a Program?
• We would argue …. THIS
is a program!
• A structured, coherent set
of courses delivered by
faculty in dialogue with
one another...
• IS assessable as a
program
• Assessment is the “Philosopher’s Stone”
that turns base metals – an incoherent
collection of courses – into GOLD – a
coherent program via the catalyst of
Student Learning Outcomes….
• SLOs are necessary to know what one is
assessing … SLOs should emerge from
deep deliberation on the Mission, Values
of GE
Role of Assessment in GE
Redesign at Chico …. Bookends
• Assessment impelled GE
redesign:
•
WASC pressure  First effort at
GE assessment: Core competency
approach, 2006-07, 07-08
• New Provost  “Meta-analysis”
of GEAC course assessment
• EO 1033  Explicit call for GE
Assessment
• LEAP  Contributed to
definition of GE SLOs
Design:
Charge!
Design: Consultation!!
Design Process
Student
Survey
Student
Affairs
Directors
AS Student
Leaders
Academic
Senate
Resident
Advisors
Alumni
Survey
Council of
Academic
Deans
Proposal
Sent to all
Campus
EO
1033
Campus
GE
Reports
Provost’s
Charge and
Creation of
Design Team
11/08
University
Advisory
Board
Campuswide Fora:
4
Design Team
CONSULTATIONS/
COMMUNICATIONS
GEAC
College
Meetings
of Chairs:
12
EPPC
Senate
Committee
11/09- 12/09
4 meetings
Library
Faculty
Dept
Meetings:
18
Full
Academic
Senate
12/09-2/10
4 meetings
Preside
nt Signs
EM
2/11/10
Provost
Charges
Implementatio
n Team
2/12/10
General Education Program:
Coherent and Distinctive
Today, a coherent general education program can be
defined as one where students are able to make
connections and integrate their knowledge..., rather
than one that merely provides them with isolated
pieces of information... These connections should
occur within disciplines, among disciplines, to real life
and the world, and to majors and careers…
Boning (2007) “Coherence in General Education: A Historical Look”
General
Education
Program
Mission
The GE program at Chico State
prepares students for continual learning
and application of knowledge to career
as well as personal life. It provides the
education necessary for success as a
lifelong learner and civically engaged
individual in the twenty-first century.
Strategy
Chico State students acquire a strong foundation in critical thinking,
written and oral communication and the arts and sciences through
inquiry about and engagement with the social and natural worlds we
inhabit. This is achieved through study, reflection, synthesis and
action related to knowledge from varied historical, cultural, scientific
and political perspectives. In combination with the major field of
study, GE completes the breadth of university education.
GE Program Values
The GE Program incorporates and seeks to foster the values of:
Active Inquiry— a spirit of curiosity to ask questions, seek answers, contemplate, and pursue
investigations with intellectual rigor, while making connections between cognitive and personal
development, both inside and outside traditional instructional settings.
Personal and Social Responsibility— the knowledge to take responsibility for one’s own life and actions,
and to recognize responsibilities to our various local, regional, national and international communities.
Sustainability— an understanding of the environmental dynamics associated with human activities and of
the value of balancing social justice and human economic demands with the Earth’s ability to sustain
physical and biological resources and cultural diversity.
Diversity—an understanding of and facility with different intellectual viewpoints as well as the unique
perspectives of others based on varied experiences, identities and social attributes.
Creativity—the generation of new ideas and original expressions in light of past innovations, traditions, and
the history of ideas, accompanied by a willingness to take intellectual risks and consider novel
approaches.
Global Engagement—the cultural, linguistic, and analytic skills necessary to understand and engage with
diverse cultures, people, and the global marketplace, and to contribute as responsible global citizens.
Program Student Learning Outcomes
1. Oral Communication: Demonstrates effective listening and speaking skills necessary to organize information and deliver it
effectively to the intended audience.
2. Written Communication: Demonstrates the ability to question, investigate and draw well-reasoned conclusions and to
formulate ideas through effective written communication appropriate to the intended audience.
3. Critical Thinking: Identifies issues and problems raised in written texts, visual media and other forms of discourse, and
assesses the relevance, adequacy and credibility of arguments and evidence used in reaching conclusions.
4. Mathematical Reasoning: Demonstrates knowledge of and applies mathematical or statistical methods to describe, analyze
and solve problems in context.
5. Active Inquiry: Demonstrates knowledge of and applies research techniques and information technology appropriate to the
intellectual and disciplinary context.
6. Personal and Social Responsibility: Demonstrates knowledge and skills necessary to take responsibility for one's own life and
actions, and to recognize opportunities and responsibilities to become engaged in our various local, regional, national, and
international communities.
7. Sustainability: Describes and explains the environmental dynamics associated with human activities, and assesses the value
of balancing social and economic demands with the Earth’s ability to sustain physical and biological resources and cultural
diversity.
8. Diversity: Demonstrates an understanding of and facility with different intellectual viewpoints as well as the unique
perspectives of others based on varied experiences, identities and social attributes.
9. Creativity: Takes intellectual risks and applies novel approaches to varied domains.
10. Global Engagement: Demonstrates knowledge and skills necessary to engage global cultures and peoples.
Coherent Structure
GE Pathway Model
A Pathway structurally
connects courses that
are:
• Intellectually cohesive
• Explore an issue/area
from a
multidisciplinary
perspective
• Schema for students
to understand the
general education
experience
48 units of GE: Foundation + AI + Pathways
•
18 units in Foundation (Area A, B)
•
6 units in AI (Area C, D)
• 15 units Lower Division:
 Arts, Humanities, 2 Social Sciences,
Lifelong Learning
 No more than 3 courses per
disciplinary area in that Pathway
 No more than 3 per department per
Pathway
• 9 units Upper Division GE:
 Arts/Humanities, Social Sciences,
Natural Sciences
 3 courses per disciplinary area from
different departments
 upper division GE Capstone course
(Writing Intensive)
Pathway Minors
• 10 Pathways, defined by faculty: Diversity, Ethics, Justice &
Policy, Food Studies, Gender & Diversity, Global Development,
Great Books & Ideas, Health & Wellness, International Studies,
Science, Technology & Values, Sustainability
• 24 units per Pathway (including 9 upper division units)
• 18 units (including 9 upper division)
taken in a single Pathway
Interdisciplinary Minor
DESIGN:
FALL 2008-2/11/10
IMPLEMENTATION:
2/12/10-Fall 2012
Implementation Activities, Spring 2010
Implementation Activities, Fall 2010
Implementation Activities, Spring
2011
Implementation
Activities,
Fall 2011
Assessing by Design:
FLC on GE Assessment, 2010
• Programmatic – Based on Program-level SLOs … not
individual course-based assessment
• Pathway-based – All SLOs must be demonstrated/
achieved in each Pathway … not in each course!
Pathways must demonstrate intellectual coherence.
• Direct – Based on authentic products of student work
produced in context;
• Capstones as (potential) sites for assessment
Getting to Gold on GE Assessment:
Who, What…
• Who?
– Curriculum Advisory Board (CAB)
+ Pathway Coordinators
• What?
– “Assessment of the GE program
will be driven and guided by the
program's Mission and Values, and
the Student Learning Outcomes
(SLOs) derived from these. “ EM
10-01
Getting to Gold on GE Assessment:
When, How?
• How?
– “Pathway coordinators, working
with faculty teaching in the
pathways … will designate a set of
SLOs to be assessed each year.
Pathway coordinators will work with
faculty to determine an assessment
plan that is accessible and efficient
in assessing those SLOs that are
under review.” EM 10-01
• When?
– Continuous. EM to be reviewed in 5
years.
Thanks to Chico State faculty, staff, and
students for the many hours of
consultation, work and their dedication
to a better GE program. Thanks also to
the AAC&U, the Compass project and
Ken O’Donnell for guidance and
support.
Team members (n = 22)
GEAC: Charley Turner, POLS, Chair; Kathryn Barth, Evaluations, Matt
Blake, JOUR, Chris Fosen, ENGL, John Mahoney, BIOL, Jason Nice,
HIST, Jim Sager, BSIS, Mitch Johns (11-12) AGRI, Bill Loker, UED
GE Design: Sara Trechter, ENGL and Bill Loker, UED, co-chairs, Troy
Berry, Advising, Margaret Owens, Assoc Dean, CNS, Chela Mendoza
Patterson, EOP, Shekhar Misra, MKTG, Robert Tinkler, HIST, Lori Beth
Way, POLS, Chuck Zartman, EDUC
GE Implementation: Lori Beth Way and Bill Loker, co-chairs, Cindy
Bumgarner FLNG (S10-F10), Ken Chapman, MKTG, Jennifer Lilibridge,
NURS, Kate McCarthy, RELS, Chela Mendoza Patterson, Thia Wolf, FYE,
Chuck Zartman