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.

“What is the purpose of assessment?”  I think every assessment director, coordinator, and faculty member has been asked this question at some point.  It is a great question.  I think the answer lies in your “philosophy” of assessment.  I believe there are two distinct ways of looking at assessment – there are those who look to use assessment to “prove” learning and those who use assessment to “improve” learning.  What’s the difference? Proving Student Learning Focuses on an external audience Faculty often have little influence or control in the assessment processes Results can be difficult to tie to the actual teaching that occurs in the classroom Purpose of the assessment is to satisfy accountability requirements from the state, accrediting bodies, external stakeholders, etc. Improving Student Learning Focuses on the program and the discipline Faculty drive the assessment processes and the interpretation of the results Results are based on what happens in the classroom and program Purpose is to improve student’s learning in Continue reading Proving or Improving – that is the question→

The bases were loaded…everyone’s favorite hitter was up to bat as the keynote….two-year colleges were on first and second and third base was covered by a four-year school.  Jeremy stepped into the batter’s box and drove a screamer over the back fence.  The crowds were chanting Assessment, Assessment, Assessment! My apologies to the baseball aficionados in the group, but that’s how it felt this past week when we participated in the Assessment Matters 2019 conference hosted here at Johnson County Community College.  This year’s conference brought teams from 10 states and 41 colleges and universities.  Over the two days of the conference we had 162 participants in sessions on assessment in both academic and student affairs settings.  Dr. Jeremy Penn was our keynote provided a wonderful session on the past, present and future of assessment.  Our breakout sessions included projects from two-year and four-year schools, public and private. What was most exciting about the conference was the level of participation by Continue reading A Baseball Analogy for Assessment→

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→