1 A Writing Center Assessment Plan Framework Elisabeth Gonzalez Student Learning Center SUNY Brockport April 2007

2 What is Assessment? 1.A multi-faceted research process that grows out of a mission and is designed to improve program delivery (formative). 2.A way to justify the existence of a program (summative). 3.A systematic method of inquiry designed to determine the extent to which a program is successful. 4.A process of collecting and reviewing information in order to answer specific questions about a program. 5.A place for numbers and stories.

3 Program Objectives 1.Students will improve their understanding of the conventions of college- level prose. 2.Students will learn how to use specific problem-solving strategies at each stage of the writing process. 3.Students will become active, independent learners. 4.Tutors will develop tutoring strategies that grow out of current theoretical paradigms. 5.Writing Center Staff will work cooperatively with faculty and staff

4 Questions 1.What knowledge, skills, or attitudes do we want students to acquire as a result of tutoring? 2.What knowledge, skills, or attitudes do we want tutors to acquire as a result of our program? 3.How will we make our work valuable and visible to faculty? 4.With what other campus staff and departments do we need to develop working relationships? 5.How will we facilitate the outcomes we set? 6.How will we know that we have achieved the outcomes we have set? 7.How will we use the information we gather in terms of reporting and programmatic changes?

5 Program Features that Impact Student Learning 1.Tutor Training & Tutoring 2.Special Programming 3.Physical Space & Resources 4.Marketing 5.Campus Relations & Committee Work 6.Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment of 1-5

6 Assessment Tools 1.Student Survey 2.Tutor Survey 3.Tutor Observation 4.Faculty Survey 5.Focus Groups 6.Data Base: sorting data, GPA study, retention study 7.Workshop evaluations 8.Class visit evaluations 9.Pre and post tests

7 Student Learning Outcomes Student Learning OutcomeExamples KnowledgeA vocabulary that students can use to critique their writing: formal/informal, topic sentence, paragraph focus, thesis, development, parenthetical citations. SkillsStrategies for checking grammar and punctuation, such as reading aloud, testing parts of sentences to determine the need for punctuation, etc. The ability to use appropriate documentation formats and their manuals. Attitudes/Beliefs/PerceptionsWriting well depends upon effective communication with an audience (this is directly experienced and tested during the tutorial where there is a “live” reader). Revision means more than proofreading. Talking is useful during the writing process.

8 Tutoring Program Assessment Model Program Objective Program ActionAssessment Tool & Measure of Success ResultsFuture Action for Program

9 Determine criteria for success Measure performance using qualitative and quantitative methods Analyze results Use results to make positive programmatic changes Formulate objectives/outcomes aligned to institutional mission/goals The Assessment Cycle Adapted from Uche Ohia, Ph.D The “FAMOUS” Assessment Approach Florida A & M University

10 Definitions Assessment An ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student learning. It involves making our expectations explicit and public; setting appropriate criteria and high standards for learning quality; systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well performance matches those expectations and standards; and using the resulting information to document, explain, and improve performance. When it is embedded effectively within larger institutional systems, assessment can help us focus our collective attention, examine our assumptions, and create a shared academic culture dedicated to assuring and improving the quality of higher education. Source: Angelo, T.A. (1995 November). Reassessing (and defining) assessment. AAHE Bulletin, 48(3), 7. [American Association for Higher Education]

11 Definitions Student Learning Outcomes (SLO’s) SLO’s are operational statements describing specific student behaviors that evidence the acquisition of desired knowledge, skills, abilities, capacities, attitudes or dispositions. Learning outcomes can be usefully thought of as behavioral criteria for determining whether students are achieving the educational objectives of a program, and, ultimately, whether overall program goals are being successfully met. Outcomes are sometimes treated as synonymous with objectives, though objectives are usually more general statements of what students are expected to achieve in an academic program. Source: Allen, M., Noel, R.C., Rienzi, B.M., & McMillin, D.J. (2002). Outcomes Assessment Handbook. California State University, Institute for Teaching and Learning, Long Beach, CA.

12 Definitions Bloom's Taxonomy of Cognitive Objectives Six levels arranged in order of increasing complexity (1=low, 6=high): 1.Knowledge: Recalling or remembering information without necessarily understanding it: describe, list, identify, label, quote, name, who, what, when, where, etc. 2.Comprehension: Understanding learned material: explain, discuss, interpret, summarize, describe, compare/contrast, estimate, predict. 3.Application: The ability to put ideas and concepts to work in solving problems: demonstrate, apply, solve, relate, modify, classify, experiment, discover. Source: Bloom, B.S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive Domain. White Plains, N.Y.: Longman.

13 Definitions Bloom's Taxonomy of Cognitive Objectives Six levels arranged in order of increasing complexity (1=low, 6=high): 4.Analysis: Breaking down information into its component parts to see interrelationships and ideas: analyze, separate, order, explain, connect, arrange, divide, select, infer, categorize, differentiate. 5.Synthesis: The ability to put parts together to form something original: combine, integrate, substitute, create, design, invent, modify. 6.Evaluation: Judging the value of evidence based on definite criteria: conclude, criticize, prioritize, recommend, convince, select, judge, rank, assess, support, conclude, summarize. (Bloom, 1956) Source: Bloom, B.S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive Domain. White Plains, N.Y.: Longman.

14 Selected Works in Writing Center Program Assessment Bell, James H. “When Hard Questions are Asked: Evaluating Writing Centers.” The Writing Center Journal 21.1 (2000): Donnelli, Emily, and Kristen Garrison. “Tapping Multiple Voices in Writing Center Assessment.” Academic Exchange Quarterly 7.4 (2003): Hendriksen, Sharon Ishiki, Lifen Yang, Barbara Love, and Mary C. Hall. “Assessing Academic Support: The Effects of Tutoring on Student Learning Outcomes.” Journal of College Reading and Learning 35.2 (2005): Lerner, Neal. “Writing Center Assessment: Searching for the ‘Proof’ of Our Effectiveness.” The Center Will Hold: Critical Perspectives on Writing Center Scholarship. Eds. Michael A. Pemberton, and Joyce Kinkead. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, Morrison, Julie Bauer, and Jean-Paul Nadeau. “How Was Your Session at the Writing Center? Pre- and Post- Grade Student Evaluations.” The Writing Center Journal 23.2 (2003): Thompson, Isabelle. “Writing Center Assessment: Why and a Little How.” The Writing Center Journal 26.1 (2006): Wiens, Melody S. “A is for Assessment and Accountability.” Research in Developmental Education 15.2 (1998): 1-6.