Tag Archives: JCCC

Do It Yourself

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My husband and I decided after 15 years in the same house that we were exceedingly tired of our kitchen.  The kitchen is original to the house which was built in 1964 and has gone through a few half-hearted face-lifts but truly needs to be gutted and reimagined.  The planning stage of this type of project is always the most fun.  We picked out flooring and cabinets, discussed paint colors and wall treatments.  That represents the fun part of Do-It-Yourself (DIY). The decidedly harder part is bringing these plans and choices to life. At the Assessment Conference next month, the Office of Outcomes Assessment will offer a breakout session to discuss some basic DIY strategies as they apply to assessment on campus. The tasks associated with building and then maintaining a culture of assessment necessarily change over time.  Sometimes you just need a little sprucing up with a quick touch-up here or there, and other times it is important to Continue reading Do It Yourself→

Name That Tune

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I have always been fascinated by how our brains work.  Specifically, how my brain can remember all the lyrics from songs in the 1970’s but can’t remember a conversation I had in the hallway with a colleague 20 minutes ago.  I am the perfect lifeline if you are on a game show and need someone to sing “Midnight Train to Georgia” or “More than a Feeling”. At this year’s Regional Community College Assessment Conference on April 22 (#RCCAC16) at JCCC, Heather Seitz, Associate Professor in Microbiology at JCCC, will share her own contribution to national research. In her breakout session on using concept inventories for measuring student learning gains in the classroom, Professor Seitz will provide an overview of the history of concept inventories and discuss the process for creating them. Faculty can use concept inventories to measure the impact of teaching and compare their students’ successes with national data.  Professor Seitz will be sharing some very interesting research as well Continue reading Name That Tune→

Moving Forward with Assessment

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This is it! Spring is in the air and flowers and trees are blooming all over campus. This is the week we’ve been looking forward to since last year’s conference.  The 5th Annual Regional Community College Assessment Conference – Moving Forward with Assessment, is finally here!  And I am excited. As you are on the countdown to attending the conference, here a few tips to make this experience amazing. Check out the schedule in advance on the blog site and determine which breakouts you want to attend (choose your top two picks). Bring your business cards to give to your new colleagues, and ask them for theirs – you may want to follow-up with them after the conference. Join us the night before for the reception; it will be a nice informal opportunity to meet, chat and network. Be prepared to take home lots of great ideas to share on your campus. I sincerely look forward to greeting each of Continue reading Moving Forward with Assessment→

All Roads Lead To…

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My husband and I decided to spend our 25th wedding anniversary in England.  We rented a car and spent time driving around to all the sites we thought were “must see.”  It really was a wonderful trip, but there was a time, every single day, when we were completely lost.  I don’t mean we took a wrong turn occasionally; I mean we got-lost-and-ended-up-on-the-wrong-coastline lost. If you are coming out to the conference on April 10th, I want to spare you some of the joys of the unintended—and time-consuming—sightseeing that my husband and I experienced in England. First, the college is located just south of I-435 at the intersection of Quivira Road and College Boulevard. The easiest way to come on to campus and get to the Regnier Center is to enter at the Quivira Boulevard entrance, which is due south of the College-Quivira intersection. The Nerman Museum (a bright white building) and the Regnier Center (an adjoining red brick building) Continue reading All Roads Lead To…→

Of Apples, Oranges, and Elephants

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    Over the last 2 years, JCCC undertook the monumental task of developing a comprehensive General Education Assessment Plan.  Given the diversity of general education classes, student learning outcomes, and opinions on what the new plan should contain as well as the sheer volume of general education courses offered by the college, the task seemed somewhat daunting at the outset. A task force of faculty and administrators were charged with developing, sharing, modifying, and launching the General Education Assessment plan.  The task force quickly identified key elements that would become signature features of the plan: Direct Assessment of Student Learning Indirect Assessment of Student Learning Strong engagement by Faculty Opportunities for improved learning Transparency of results And, most importantly, the plan needed to respect the differences of the departments and programs in which the General Education curriculum was offered.  If you would like to learn more about JCCC’s efforts, plan on attending the final breakout session, Apples to Oranges Continue reading Of Apples, Oranges, and Elephants→

Feeling Good About Assessment

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I am a big fan of big-band jazz and I love the song “Feeling Good” – the lyrics include the phrase “It’s a new dawn, it’s new day, it’s a new life for me.  And I’m feeling good!”    Well it’s a new year, 2015, a new semester, a new conference, and I’m feeling good about the line-up that we have set-up for the 5th Regional Assessment Conference hosted this year by Johnson County Community College on April 20, 2015. Let’s start with this year’s keynote.  Dr. Tom Angelo’s keynote for the conference is “Seven Levers for Higher and Deeper Learning: Research-Based Guidelines and Strategies for Improving Teaching, Assessment and Learning.”   Just the opportunity to hear more from Dr. Angelo breathes new life into my teaching and assessment strategies.  I had the opportunity this past summer to attend one of his workshops and was impressed to find a great blend of theoretical and practical advice that I immediately put to use. Continue reading Feeling Good About Assessment→