The Art and Science of Teaching Assessment Structures

The Art and Science of Teaching: Assessment Structures for College Faculty TRUMAN COLLEGE ADJUNCT ORIENTATION GEOFF MARTIN AUGUST 20, 2015

Agenda § Introduction § Assessment at Truman § Assessment vs. Accreditation § Assessment Committee § Assessment in the Classroom “We must change the status of teaching from private to community property” - Lee S. Shulman

Assessment – What is it? MCC: “gathering, interpreting, and acting on information to improve student learning”

Mission & Values Mission: • Our Mission dedicates us to deliver high-quality, innovative, affordable and accessible educational opportunities and services that prepare students for a rapidly changing and diverse global economy. Vision: • guides us to enrich the quality of life of our students and the community we serve through creative responses to educational, economic, social and global changes.

Outcomes General Education Outcomes: 1. Communication (Written & Oral) – The student communicates effectively in both written and oral formats 2. Inquiry and Analysis – The student gathers, interprets, and analyzes data 3. Critical Thinking - The student demonstrates the ability to think critically, abstractly, and logically 4. Civic Engagement and Human Diversity - The student exhibits social and ethical responsibility and is aware of his or her place in the global community. Program Outcomes Student Learning Outcomes: • Master syllabus for each course (Illinois Community College Board approved)

Often confused… ACCREDITATION ASSESSMENT • Department of Education: • College, department, and individual faculty “The goal of accreditation is to ensure that practices of “gathering, interpreting, and acting education provided by institutions of higher on information to improve student learning. ” education meets acceptable levels of quality. Accrediting agencies, which are private • Research, best-practices, questions/curiosities educational associations of regional or national scope, develop evaluation criteria • “faculty” and conduct peer evaluations to assess whether or not those criteria are met. ” • Compliance, standards • “administration”

Higher Learning Commission HLC Open Pathway (10 year accreditation, 2010 -2020) Truman’s QI 2015 -2017: ◦ Linked Courses: Streamlining & Enhancing Innovative Course Structures at Truman Accreditation Review 2019 -2020

Assessment Committee Charge The Assessment Committee at Truman College is an interdisciplinary group composed of faculty and administrators who collect, review, analyze, and disseminate data to maintain high standards for learning quality, and ultimately, to improve student learning.

Members – AY 2015 § Marwan Amarin (Biology) § Geoffrey Martin (Communications) § Diego Baez (College Success) § Leone Mc. Dermott (Library) § Kate Connor (Child Dev. & Education) § Sarah Mc. Laughlin (Communications) § Mike Davis (Education & Chemistry) § Sweet Mordi (Nursing) § Akbar Ebrahim (Biology) § Farzana Najam (Biology) § Cari Hennessy (Institutional Research) § Harry Sdralis (Biology) § Joshua Jones (Social Science) § La. Sandra Skinner (Business) § Ana King (Communications) § De. Shaunta Stewart (Office of Instruction) § Nick Lim (Library) § Helen Valdez (Mathematics) § Derek Lazarski (Academic Support Services) § Joy Walker (Physical Science)

Assessment Committee Meetings (first Thursdays, Rm 2913) q Assessment Committee Meeting Structure: 1. General meeting tasks 2. Assessing Teaching & Learning in the Classroom (IGNITE presentations) 3. Administrative Assessment (Internal Research, Office of Instruction, Academic Support Centers, etc. ) 4. Assessment in the Disciplines (formalizing ongoing assessment practices) 5. General Education Assessment (cyclical study of Gen. Ed outcomes) 6. Faculty-Only (reports/concerns/ideas related to assessment practices at Truman, CCC)

Study of Written Communication – Spring 2015 General Education Outcome #1: Study of Written Communication: q Edited Truman’s rubric for assessing Written Communication (Spring 2014 & Fall 2015) q Extensive committee discussion regarding process, sampling, and structure of the study (Fall 2015) q Compiled list of courses that “count to graduation” and “contain written component” to generate a structured sample (Dec 2015) q Generate structured sample, faculty letters, section rosters, & student ID sticker labels (Jan/Feb 2015) q Contacted sampled faculty/courses, collected student artifacts (March-May 2015) q Held two-day assessment of student written artifacts (May 13, 14) q Analyze data (quantitative & qualitative) and disseminate findings (Fall 2015)

Study of Written Communication – AY 2015 Faculty Readers: May 13 & 14 th 9 -12 pm Last Name Mahoney Aman Mathis Jash Mc. Laughlin Anelli Baez Johnston Nowacki Pavlik Martin Walker Tollett King Sprewer EL-Maazawi Marcus Benglesdorf First Name Jessica Naveen Michael Panchatapa Sarah Roberta Diego Anthony Patricia Melissa Geoff Joy Rachel Ana Keith Mohamed Susan Toby Dept. Communications Biology Social Science Physical Science Communications Biology College Success Social Science Communications Physical Science Humanities Communications Physical Science Dean, Instruction Writing Center

Assessment Committee: AY 2016 q Transfer internal Sharepoint files to webpage for accreditation/assessment public viewing q Analyze “Study of Written Communication” data & disseminate findings/loopback and initiate actions q Continue building IGNITE presentation archive q Create and Conduct “Study of Oral Communication” q Plan for Gen. Ed Outcome #2 Inquiry & Analysis Spring 2016 q Gathering discipline-specific assessment practices and data for repository/posting/improving

Assessment in the Classroom Ken Bain What the Best College Teachers Do (2004) • Excellence in Teaching: “helping students learn in ways that made a sustained, substantial, and positive influence on how those students think, act, and feel” (5). • The Fundamental Assessment Question: “What kind of intellectual and personal development do I want my students to enjoy in this class, and what evidence might I collect about the nature and progress of their development. ” (152 -3) • This assumes learning is developmental (rather than only a question of acquisition) • Grading becomes not a means to rank but a way to communicate with students

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning • “Teaching [is] challenging, intellectual work—work that poses interesting consequential questions. The scholarship of teaching and learning invites faculty from all disciplines and fields to identify and explore those questions in their own teaching—and, especially, in their students’ learning—and to do so in ways that are shared with colleagues who can build on new insights” (Huber & Hutchings, ix). • Growing the teaching commons (Higher Ed. , Two-Years, Field/Discipline, Department) • Making the private work of the classroom visible, talked about, studied, built upon, valued • Transforming/ongoing improvement in higher education • Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) – Angelo & Cross resource book, future PD

Formative vs. Summative Assessment • http: //marekbennett. com/2014/11/04/how-to-draw-up-a-lesson-plan/

Characteristics of Classroom Assessment • Learner-Centered • Teacher-Directed • Mutually Beneficial • Formative • Context-specific • Ongoing • Rooted in Good Teaching Practice - Angelo & Cross, Classroom Assessment Techniques, 4 -6.

Opportunities at Truman • Departmental assessment projects (portfolios, common final exams, new scantron) • Center for Teaching and Learning (coming back!) • IGNITE Presentations (5 slides in 5 mins. ) at Assessment Meetings • Open. Book (personal research – past success & retention rates, longitudinal tracking, etc. )

Sources & Recommended Books • Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross, Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers, (1993) • Ken Bain, What the Best College Teachers Do, (2004) • Mary Taylor Huber and Pat Hutchings, The Advancement of Learning: Building the Teaching Commons, (2005) • Lee S. Shulman, Teaching as Community Property: Essays on Higher Education, (2004) • http: //marekbennett. com/2014/11/04/how-to-draw-up-a-lesson-plan/

Questions, Ideas, & Survey

Thank you! Geoff Martin Chair of Assessment Instructor, Communications gmartin 55@ccc. edu Office #2753