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General Education Outcomes AssessmentPresented by Jennifer Fager, PhDUniversity of Wisconsin-SuperiorJanuary 18, 2011

+Definition of Terms:

Assessment It means different things to different people

“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. “Assessment is a process to improve student learning.”

Higher Learning Commission

+Assessment is…

Discovering what students are learning

Determining if actual learning meets expectations

Improving future learning by Changing curriculum Changing delivery Changing access to resources

+Assessment should:

Provide a framework within which programs (instructors, administrators, perhaps other campus stakeholders) can participate in discussions about student learning

Provide evidence that instructors and programs can use to advocate for students, programs, and possibly themselves

Be ongoing and situated in both local and national contexts

+Assessment is also RESEARCH (and we know how to do research!)

Ask questions that will help you learn about what you want to know Invite others to participate in the formation of these

questions, but you hold the reins!

Make sure your questions are consistent with your instructional approach

Make sure your research methods are consistent with your questions Take advice from the “Ghostbusters” mantra: “Don’t cross

the streams. That would be bad.”

+General Education Assessment

Step One: Situate your Desired Outcomes General Education Outcomes should be:

Grounded in the principles of disciplines and the General Education program

Relevant to institutional mission and extended beyond graduation

Cumulative throughout the General Education program Extend to courses and majors Skill based in nature Observable and measurable

+General Education Assessment

Step One continued: Outcomes should focus on:

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)?

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>?

Integration of knowledge, skills, and abilities Development of abilities and acumen with strategies over

time. How will students’ work with strategies develop in successive courses?

+General Education Assessment

Step 2: Know and Embrace your Principles Articulate the core principles of your General Education

Program 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.

+General Education Outcomes Should:

Extend from the principles of your General Education Program

Reflect some shared, concrete definition of what the outcomes mean

Student learning outcomes describe what students will know and/or be able to do as a result of a set of learning experiences

+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

+Guiding Principle

Educators are responsible for making learning more available by articulating outcomes and making them public

+Important Dimensions of General Education Outcomes

Involve the whole person

Are teachable

Can be assessed

Transfer across settings

Are continually re-evaluated and re-defined

+Important Components of General Education Outcomes

Involve the whole person

Can be learned

Can find evidence of learning

Transferable across settings

Are continually re-evaluated and re-defined

Are written so assessment is possible

+Questions to Ponder

How are the core terms of your General Education program defined in different disciplines?

How are these terms enacted in different classes/programs/departments? How are they reflected in course outcomes?

+Follow-up Pondering

To what extent are students achieving the outcomes in your General Education program? In one course? Across courses?

How do you know? What kind of evidence can you collect?

+Follow-up Pondering Continued

To what extent are instructional strategies supporting students’ learning in General Education Courses? In one course? In courses in a program? Across the General Education program?

How do you know? What kind of evidence can you collect?

+General Education Outcomes and Assessment Examples

Academic Goals of the Core Curriculum that will facilitate this life-long integration: 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.

+Core Curriculum Components

Ethics/Religion and Society (12)

Cultural Diversity (1)

English Composition (3)

Distributional Requirements Fine Arts (3) Foreign Language/Second Language (6) History (6) Literature (3) Mathematics (6) Philosophy (6) Sciences (9) Social Sciences (6) Theology (6)

+Are you kidding me?

Where do you suppose students are learning the things they are expected to learn? Will the same outcomes be addressed if a student enrolls in

Spanish 3 & 4 vs. American Sign Language 1 & 2? How do you know? Will the same outcomes be addressed in section 1 of

English Composition and section 26?

+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)

+UW-Superior General Education Requirements

WRIT 101 and 102

COMM 110

HHP 102

MATH (Math 112, 115, 130, 150, 151, 230, 240) or CSCI 101, 201

Non Western (Lots of courses in the 100-400 levels) and Diversity (26 courses 200-400 levels)

Knowledge History Literature World Language, Culture, and Philosophy Social Sciences Natural and Physical Sciences Fine Arts Corequisites

Independent learning experience Capstone experience

+Conversation Time

Let’s Look at UW-Superior Outcomes How will you assess your outcomes? What data do you currently possess? Who has the data? What else do you need to know?

+Direct Indicators

Direct measures of student learning grapple with the products of students efforts to determine mastery of a subject or task Examples

Questions embedded in tests Papers Portfolios Pre/Post Testing Performances Presentations Capstone projects

+Indirect Indicators

Indirect indicators evaluate students’ success “from a distance”—not directly linked to student learning outcomes. Examples:

Graduate and persistence rates Focus groups and interviews Surveys of students, alumni, faculty, employers Scores on standardized tests used for other purposes

(GRE, MCAT, LSAT) Placement rates in jobs or graduate programs Usage rates

+Rubrics in General

A rubric is a predefined scoring scheme to guide the analysis of student performance or artifacts

Purposes Apply as a set of rules for evaluating student performance Used when judgment of the extent to which a criterion has

been met Provide detailed description of each level of performance as

to what is expected Apply at the program level for assessment

+Assessing Learning with Rubrics

Correlation between standards and degree of achievement

NOT only a grading system, though a rubric helps structure both grading and student understanding of grading A means of getting at core values A means of communicating results A means of determining actual learning

+General Education and Rubrics

Must be based on observation of performance

Should address CORE skills

When appropriate, can be used across courses and over time

Can legitimately combine subjective and objective measures

A great source: Introduction to Rubrics, Danielle Stevens & Antonia Levi, 2005. VA: Stylus Publishing

+General Education Assessment Strategies

Outcome-oriented

Evidence-based

Quality-focused

Understood by all stakeholders

Basic work, not busy work

Designed to improve, not prove

Valued by all stakeholders (not just compliance for accreditation)

+General Education Program Assessment

Can use course assessments to evaluate general education program

Can be done at various points—e.g., the freshman level, graduating senior level

Focus the evaluation on what students have learned or are able to do

+General Education Program Assessment

Suggestions Don’t forget defining and describing! Assuming consensus

can be very problematic Look carefully at what you can collect. What’s available

immediately? What will take more time? Look carefully at what you already have collected Look for what is useful to YOU—NOT what is expected by

others

+General Education Program Assessment

Can be collected without “testing” students

Can often be set up for automatic collection

Can change depending on internal and external needs

Can and should include a mix of direct and indirect methods

+General Education Program Assessment

If comparison is appropriate, know your comparison group—remember that learning is discipline AND context-specific

Be honest

Set reasonable benchmarks

Look towards the future—focus on continuous improvement

+General Education Assessment Tips

Start with what you have

Embed assessment in practice

Celebrate success

Assess what you value most

Tom Angelo, Peter Ewell, Cecelia Lopez, AAHE Assessment Forum, 1999