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Improving Student Learning and Capturing Evidence

Improving Student Learning and Capturing Evidence. Day of Assessment May 30, 2014 8:30 am - 12:30 UCEN-258 Dr. Rebecca Eikey Paul Wickline. Purpose. How do you know your courses are aligned to the program goals? Or that the program goals align with the courses?

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Improving Student Learning and Capturing Evidence

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  1. Improving Student Learning and Capturing Evidence Day of AssessmentMay 30, 2014 8:30 am - 12:30 UCEN-258 Dr. Rebecca Eikey Paul Wickline

  2. Purpose • How do you know your courses are aligned to the program goals? Or that the program goals align with the courses? • How does the sequencing of the courses affect the program? • Are you interested in learning about Signature Assignments -- what they are and how can they be used to assess student learning? • Would you like to make your course assignments more meaningful and authentic?

  3. Introduction to Alignment • Create a crosswalk to align Course SLOs with Certificate/Degree (Program) SLOs and Institutional SLOs. • Identify which courses map to which degrees/certificates. • Review the current Program SLOs: • Do they assess the most essential skills and abilities (i.e. “outcomes”) expected of the students completing the program? • Are all of the courses in the certificate/degree represented in the current Program SLOs?

  4. SAMPLE CROSSWALK

  5. DISCOVERY MADE… Performance Degree: PSLO = Demonstrate advanced performance techniques.

  6. Analysis of Alignment • From ACCJC’s 2014 Annual Report: 36. “Please discuss alignment of student learning outcomes at your institution, from institutional and course to program level. Describe your activities beyond crosswalking or charting all outcomes to courses in a program (often called “mapping”), to analysis and implementation of alignment in the planning of curriculum and delivery of instruction. Discuss how the alignment effort has resulted in changes of expected learning outcomes and/or how students’ program of study have been clarified. Note whether the described practices apply to all instructional programs at the college.”

  7. How do we know what the students know? • What are the proficiency levels for the courses in your program? What do you expect students to master? • Are there capstone experiences or activities within the courses? If so, identify them. • What is the difference between the 100- vs200- level courses in your program? Does the numbering system for the courses seem logical for students? • Do the assessment methods currently used in the courses reflect higher order critical thinking skills thatrequire students to demonstrate deep understanding of the material (as opposed to factual recall)?

  8. How do we know what the students know? • How does the sequencing of the courses help students successfully complete the program and/or certificate/degree requirements? • Which courses within your program are needed for CSU and/or IGETC transfer requirements? • Are the Program SLOs written in a manner that students will understand? Do they capture the essence of the learning goals in the courses required of the degree/certificate? • How do (or would) you assess the Program SLOs? • Are there other activities in which the department is involved that showcase student learning? Might these activities be used to assess Program SLOs?

  9. Signature Assignments • What are signature assignments? • How are signature assignments designed?

  10. What are Signature Assignments? • An assignment that best displays the knowledge or skills essential to the learning outcomes of a course. Other coursework should build toward the completion of the course 'signature' assignment. • Signature assignments have the potential to help us know whether student learning reflects “the ways of thinking and doing of disciplinary experts.” • A generic task, problem, case, or project that can be tailored or contextualized in different disciplines or course contexts(can be collaboratively designed).

  11. Characteristics for Success • Course-embedded assessment • Well aligned with Learning Outcomes • Authentic in terms of process/contentand “real world” application • Include student reflection component • Collaboratively designed by faculty

  12. Examples of Signature Assignments • Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) • Political science class: students analyze campaign finance data and write papers about recent elections in Utah. • Quantitative reasoning class: students analyze arguments they’ve found on TV or the Internet for logical fallacies, making diagrams to help map the process.

  13. Examples of Signature Assignments • Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) • Composition class: students write papers in different genres—such as a position paper, a review, and a memoir—all on the same chosen topic. • Mathematics class: students acted as potential car buyers and calculated how different interest rates affect the amount of money spent.

  14. Examples of Signature Assignments • For their general education outcomes • Faculty freedom to create the signature assignments, but with the following guidelines: • address at least two learning outcomes • include student reflection • demonstrate a real world, not theoretical, application of disciplinary knowledge

  15. Examples of Signature Assignments • Any of the following--when accompanied with student reflection: • Essays, response papers, lab reports or research papers that tap discipline-specific knowledge and apply theory or data • Solution to a realistic math problem that asks students to write about the process of solving the problem, the relevance of the problem, and/or the application of the problem solving skill to other issues or areas of life. • Photos, graphics, or three-dimensional artwork created for display and critique • Service-learning or field study experiences • Poetry, fiction, pamphlets, posters, and other forms of writing which address discipline knowledge and critical thinking • Products of group projects that are based in real world scenarios

  16. How to Design? • Select a SLO for the course. • What does the course require students to demonstrate? How does this match to the SLO? • What current embedded course work that could be used as a signature assignment? • Could a new assignment be developed for use as a signature assignment?

  17. How to Design? • Use the AAC&U Value Rubrics to guide discussion and examination of potential signature assignments. • Does the assignment require high order critical thinking and application of knowledge? • Is it real world based? • What are the guidelines for the assignment? • Are the major components in the assignment matched to the SLOs? • Create a common rubric for evaluating.

  18. Value Rubrics: 15 Aligned to LEAP Outcomes

  19. WRAPPING UP • Sharing Out • Next Steps

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