Author Archives: takins2

Assessment by Design (ABD) is the Office of Assessment, Evaluation and Institutional Outcomes flagship workshop. This workshop guides all participants through the Cycle of Assessment with a goal of developing an assessment plan for the upcoming academic year. It also helps the participant understand assessing students is not what improves student learning, it is the educational intervention that faculty employ that makes the difference. ABD is about making assessment meaningful and not a matter of compliance. The assessment process strives to: Document and improve student learning Expand faculty involvement and control in assessment Align assessment objectives with existing curriculum Encourage, support, and recognize innovation in faculty-driven assessment Analyze and support numerous approaches to meaningful assessment Assessments that are focused on improving student learning provide faculty with data about their students and how well the curriculum is working in the classroom. This is a one-day interactive workshop providing course materials, an assessment book, snack breaks, lunch, and a certificate of completion. Continue reading What is Assessment by Design?→

The Office of Assessment, Evaluation and Institutional Outcomes introduced the new program review software, Strategic Planning Online (SPOL), to the campus during Professional Development Days in August. Some of the highlights of the new software include: A module dedicated to short/long term planning Assessment findings can now be entered into the software Goals can be submitted to your dean/supervisor for feedback prior to completing your program review More robust copying/pasting from other word processing programs Comprehensive and Annual program reviews are now due on December 30. Multiple hands on training workshops were held in September and additional offerings will be added as needed. Please contact our office for details.

In the last few years I’ve taken up baking.  Previously, my attempts were confined to breaking open little cans of dough I would pop in the oven.  My addiction to baking began with watching The Great British Baking Show and it has taught me some interesting truths about assessment: Order matters.  In baking and assessment there are steps in the process that come in a specific order.  If you work out of order with some recipes or assessment processes your final product isn’t as successful. The right tool is important.  Baking requires some specialized tools.  I couldn’t believe the difference in my bakes after my husband bought me a high end mixer.  Assessing student learning is also best accomplished with specific types of assessments in line with what faculty are trying to measure. Practice makes perfect!  The more I bake and try to perfect certain recipes, the better my outcomes.  The same holds true with assessment.  The more you try Continue reading Whipping up the Right Assessment→

Darla Green, Professor, Interior Design / College Success Questions to ponder:  How do you teach the successful ability to change?  How do we teach and assess emotional intelligence, empathy, flexible thinking? ePortfolios are more than just a capstone project.  If we teach students how to create, evaluate and reflect on materials for a learning portfolio from day one, students will have not only a record of their learning, but will also have learned how to implement their portfolio for job seeking. Purposeful assessment in online courses means including the “why” an assignment is important.  Explaining how this assignment will relate to the real world.  Be concise yet fully explain the why. We need to tell our learning improvement stories – not our assessment tool stories. Assessment failure is an option!  Don’t fear the failure, it is a learning opportunity not a failure. Sheri Barrett, Director, Assessment, Evaluation and Institutional Outcomes “A pig never fattens because it is weighed.” Translation for that saying Continue reading Five things I learned at the Assessment Institute→

Geometry proofs – I must admit I don’t often ponder geometry.  In fact, I can honestly say I work hard not to think much about geometry.  But I recently heard someone compare decisions that we make every day to if/then geometry proofs.  IF we make this decision, THEN this is the outcome. It made me consider what kind of if/then proofs I would make for assessment.  I came up with three, but I think there are many more.  Here are mine: If you are interested in student success in your courses and programs…then you should be assessing student performance. If you are always trying to improve as a teacher…then you want to assess your students. If you want greater satisfaction in your student’s performance…then you need to assess. So as classes are underway and you consider student success, improved pedagogy, and student performance; consider how assessment can help meet your if/then needs this academic year.  

One of the most important philosophies in my office is that we are a support office for assessment activities at the College.  Assessment is “driven” by faculty and we are here to encourage, cajole, resource, and generally meet the needs of faculty.  Sitting as we are in the backseat of assessment as the faculty drive the car, I have a few observations about the most common mistakes faculty make when approaching assessment activities. Sometimes faculty make assessment about themselves.  It’s not!  It is not faculty evaluation; it is not a reflection on how “good” you are.  It is about student learning in your classroom. Some faculty or departments like to compare themselves favorably to others.  I don’t really care how English is doing compared to Computer Science, and neither should the faculty.  Generally speaking, departments don’t know anything about the assessment plans for the other programs, the assessment instrument, or the goals of the initiative. Some faculty or departments approach assessment Continue reading The View from the Backseat→

Since summer is almost here, I know many are thinking some of my brain cells may have received a bit of frostbite during the long and frigid winter the Midwest experienced. My brain cells are quite alright; however, just like the seasons, assessment is cyclical in nature. There is a reason we talk about the Cycle of Assessment so much in our office. If help is needed with any part of the cycle, please consider taking our Assessment by Design Workshop: June 22, 2018 for external faculty or August 13, 2018 for JCCC faculty. Remember, winter is coming and it’s good to be prepared. External Faculty The ABD workshop guides participants through the Cycle of Assessment with a goal of developing an assessment plan for the upcoming academic year. This experience focuses on using the Cycle of Assessment as a unifying conceptual framework for organizing assessment efforts at all levels and promotes decision-making that leads to improvement in student learning. The Continue reading Winter is Coming→