Transcript + General Education Outcomes Assessment Presented by Jennifer Fager, PhD University of Wisconsin-Superior January 18, 2011

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General Education
Outcomes Assessment
Presented by Jennifer Fager, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Superior
January 18, 2011
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Definition of Terms:
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Assessment
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It means different things to different people
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“Assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of
information about educational programs undertaken for the
purpose of improving student learning and development.”
Marchese, in Polomba and Banta, Assessment Essentials, 1999.
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“Assessment is a process to improve student learning.”
Higher Learning Commission
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Assessment is…
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Discovering what students are learning
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Determining if actual learning meets expectations
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Improving future learning by
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Changing curriculum
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Changing delivery
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Changing access to resources
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Assessment should:
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Provide a framework within which programs (instructors,
administrators, perhaps other campus stakeholders) can
participate in discussions about student learning
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Provide evidence that instructors and programs can use to
advocate for students, programs, and possibly themselves
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Be ongoing and situated in both local and national contexts
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Assessment is also RESEARCH (and we
know how to do research!)
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Ask questions that will help you learn about what you want to
know
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Invite others to participate in the formation of these questions, but
you hold the reins!
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Make sure your questions are consistent with your
instructional approach
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Make sure your research methods are consistent with your
questions
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Take advice from the “Ghostbusters” mantra: “Don’t cross the
streams. That would be bad.”
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General Education Assessment
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Step One: Situate your Desired Outcomes
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General Education Outcomes should be:
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Grounded in the principles of disciplines and the General
Education program
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Relevant to institutional mission and extended beyond
graduation
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Cumulative throughout the General Education program
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Extend to courses and majors
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Skill based in nature
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Observable and measurable
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General Education Assessment
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Step One continued:
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Outcomes should focus on:
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Learning. What do you want students to know and be able to do
with what they know by the time they graduate (and after
graduation)?
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Transfer of Learning. What knowledge, skills, and abilities will
students develop in class <X> and how will they use these
again in classes <Z,Q, and R>?
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Integration of knowledge, skills, and abilities
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Development of abilities and acumen with strategies over time.
How will students’ work with strategies develop in successive
courses?
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General Education Assessment
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Step 2: Know and Embrace your Principles
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Articulate the core principles of your General Education Program
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Example: General Education is the core of an undergraduate
education. It is general in that it provides students with a
comprehensive educational experience and prepares them for
study within their major. General Education teaches students to
think critically and communicate effectively, it provides an
introduction to the methodologies and practices of the academic
disciplines; it promotes intellectual curiosity and a love of
learning.
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General Education Outcomes Should:
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Extend from the principles of your General Education
Program
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Reflect some shared, concrete definition of what the
outcomes mean
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Student learning outcomes describe what students will know
and/or be able to do as a result of a set of learning
experiences
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Increasing Degree of Specificity
General Education Outcomes
Major Outcomes
Course Outcomes
Student Assessment of Course Outcomes
Criteria and Rubrics
Observing Student Performance
Using Criteria to Judge Student Performance
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Guiding Principle
Educators are responsible for making learning more available
by articulating outcomes and making them public
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Important Dimensions of General
Education Outcomes
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Involve the whole person
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Are teachable
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Can be assessed
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Transfer across settings
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Are continually re-evaluated and re-defined
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Important Components of General
Education Outcomes
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Involve the whole person
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Can be learned
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Can find evidence of learning
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Transferable across settings
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Are continually re-evaluated and re-defined
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Are written so assessment is possible
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Questions to Ponder
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How are the core terms of your General Education program
defined in different disciplines?
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How are these terms enacted in different
classes/programs/departments?
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How are they reflected in course outcomes?
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Follow-up Pondering
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To what extent are students achieving the outcomes in your
General Education program?
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In one course?
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Across courses?
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How do you know? What kind of evidence can you collect?
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Follow-up Pondering Continued
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To what extent are instructional strategies supporting
students’ learning in General Education Courses?
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In one course?
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In courses in a program?
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Across the General Education program?
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How do you know? What kind of evidence can you collect?
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General Education Outcomes and
Assessment Examples
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Academic Goals of the Core Curriculum that will facilitate
this life-long integration:
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Students will demonstrate the ability to express themselves
articulately, orally and in writing
Students will, individually, and cooperatively, demonstrate ability
to think and to solve problems, critically, analytically and
creatively, within and across disciplines.
Students will demonstrate the ability to differentiate the
methodologies and to understand the interrelationships of the
humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences
Students will demonstrate, in a way consistent with the Jesuit
tradition, an ability to understand and analyze significant
religious, ethical, and moral issues within a rapidly changing
global society.
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Core Curriculum Components
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Ethics/Religion and Society (12)
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Cultural Diversity (1)
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English Composition (3)
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Distributional Requirements
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Fine Arts (3)
Foreign Language/Second Language (6)
History (6)
Literature (3)
Mathematics (6)
Philosophy (6)
Sciences (9)
Social Sciences (6)
Theology (6)
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Are you kidding me?
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Where do you suppose students are learning the things they
are expected to learn?
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Will the same outcomes be addressed if a student enrolls in
Spanish 3 & 4 vs. American Sign Language 1 & 2?
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How do you know?
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Will the same outcomes be addressed in section 1 of English
Composition and section 26?
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UW-Superior Liberal Education Learning
Goals
* The ability and inclination to think and make connections across academic
disciplines
*The ability and inclination to express oneself in multiple forms
* The ability and inclination to analyze and reflect upon multiple perspectives
to arrive at a perspective of one's own
*The ability and inclination to think and engage as a global citizen
* The ability and inclination to engage in evidence-based problem solving
Liberal Education Learning Goals Assessment Action Plan (April 2010,
HLC Assessment Academy Team)
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UW-Superior General Education
Requirements
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WRIT 101 and 102
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COMM 110
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HHP 102
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MATH (Math 112, 115, 130, 150, 151, 230, 240) or CSCI 101, 201
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Non Western (Lots of courses in the 100-400 levels) and Diversity (26 courses 200-400 levels)
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Knowledge
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History
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Literature
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World Language, Culture, and Philosophy
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Social Sciences
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Natural and Physical Sciences
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Fine Arts
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Corequisites
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Independent learning experience
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Capstone experience
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Conversation Time
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Let’s Look at UW-Superior Outcomes
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How will you assess your outcomes?
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What data do you currently possess?
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Who has the data?
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What else do you need to know?
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Direct Indicators
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Direct measures of student learning grapple with the
products of students efforts to determine mastery of a subject
or task
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Examples
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Questions embedded in tests
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Papers
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Portfolios
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Pre/Post Testing
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Performances
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Presentations
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Capstone projects
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Indirect Indicators
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Indirect indicators evaluate students’ success “from a
distance”—not directly linked to student learning outcomes.
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Examples:
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Graduate and persistence rates
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Focus groups and interviews
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Surveys of students, alumni, faculty, employers
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Scores on standardized tests used for other purposes (GRE,
MCAT, LSAT)
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Placement rates in jobs or graduate programs
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Usage rates
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Rubrics in General
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A rubric is a predefined scoring scheme to guide the
analysis of student performance or artifacts
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Purposes
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Apply as a set of rules for evaluating student performance
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Used when judgment of the extent to which a criterion has been
met
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Provide detailed description of each level of performance as to
what is expected
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Apply at the program level for assessment
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Assessing Learning with Rubrics
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Correlation between standards and degree of achievement
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NOT only a grading system, though a rubric helps structure
both grading and student understanding of grading
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A means of getting at core values
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A means of communicating results
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A means of determining actual learning
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General Education and Rubrics
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Must be based on observation of performance
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Should address CORE skills
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When appropriate, can be used across courses and over time
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Can legitimately combine subjective and objective measures
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A great source: Introduction to Rubrics, Danielle Stevens & Antonia Levi, 2005.
VA: Stylus Publishing
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General Education Assessment
Strategies
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Outcome-oriented
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Evidence-based
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Quality-focused
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Understood by all stakeholders
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Basic work, not busy work
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Designed to improve, not prove
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Valued by all stakeholders (not just compliance for
accreditation)
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General Education Program
Assessment
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Can use course assessments to evaluate general education
program
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Can be done at various points—e.g., the freshman level,
graduating senior level
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Focus the evaluation on what students have learned or are
able to do
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General Education Program
Assessment
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Suggestions
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Don’t forget defining and describing! Assuming consensus can
be very problematic
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Look carefully at what you can collect. What’s available
immediately? What will take more time?
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Look carefully at what you already have collected
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Look for what is useful to YOU—NOT what is expected by others
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General Education Program
Assessment
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Can be collected without “testing” students
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Can often be set up for automatic collection
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Can change depending on internal and external needs
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Can and should include a mix of direct and indirect methods
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General Education Program
Assessment
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If comparison is appropriate, know your comparison group—
remember that learning is discipline AND context-specific
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Be honest
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Set reasonable benchmarks
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Look towards the future—focus on continuous improvement
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General Education Assessment
Tips
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Start with what you have
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Embed assessment in practice
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Celebrate success
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Assess what you value most
Tom Angelo, Peter Ewell, Cecelia Lopez, AAHE Assessment Forum, 1999