Are Your Educational Programs Learning-Centered? Can You Measure This? Phyllis Blumberg, Ph.D. University of the Sciences Myths and Movements Reimagining Higher Education Assessment Drexel University

How familiar are you with Learning-centered teaching? I have heard of the phrase but I cannot define it Either I have taught using it or have read about it I have assessed its implementation

Learning-centered teaching is recommended as a best practice supported by about 100 years of research: psychology of learning cognitive neuro-sciences movement in higher education almost 20 years old

Learning-centered teaching involves actively engages students in their learning fostering students to take responsibility for learning providing frequent formative assessments

Many institutions claim they are learning-centered Is this a myth or a reality? good recruitment device actually practiced Educators need to support claims with data current need for accountability use for accreditation What data have you collected? surveys? observations?

What we will accomplish Describe a method for evaluating the use of learning-centered practices to be used by departments or colleges to assess educational programs individual faculty for their own teaching portfolios Educators who are developing self-study reports for accreditation

Blumberg further defined dimensions into specific components function of content = 4 role of instructor =6 responsibility for learning = 6 assessment = 7 balance of power = 6

Created rubrics for each component 4 levels describe different instructor behaviors easy-to use method determine the learning-centered status of courses

Format for all rubrics 1. Employs instructor-centered approaches Transitioning to learning-centered approaches 4. Employs learning-centered approaches 2. Lower level of transitioning 3. Higher level of transitioning Describes instructor- centered behaviors Describes transitional instructor behaviors Describes learning-centered behaviors

Responsibility for learning: teach 5 information literacy skills 1. Employs instructor-centered approaches Transitioning to learning-centered approaches 4. Employs learning-centered approaches 2. Lower level of transitioning 3. Higher level of transitioning Does not help students acquire any information literacy skills Helps students acquire 2/5 information literacy skills Helps students acquire 4/5 information literacy skills Facilitates students to become proficient with all 5 information literacy skills

How would you rate these instructors on acquires information literacy? 1. Syllabus states: Students write a review of the primary literature paper. Students must use APA citation system appropriately. Papers that are plagiarized will receive a 0 on the assignment. No further explanation given 2. Instructor shows how to frame good literature research question, what is plagiarism, paraphrasing, and proper citation system; students practice each skill

Data collection Obtain Institutional Review Board approval. Essential Faculty answers cannot be anonymous

Obtaining evidence of implementation Where can you find solid evidence of the implementation of learning-centered teaching?

Select relevant components Survey faculty Use semi-structured question format Create interview Should be consistent with values, policies Strategic planning documents Select relevant components

Conduct individual interviews Interview can inform, educate about learning-centered practices, especially for those faculty who do not attend faculty development events Ask faculty to provide course artifacts as supporting evidence

True or False? Should faculty assess themselves on the extent of their implementation of learning-centered teaching?

policy practice statement Triangulate data from several sources to rate course on components using rubrics policy practice statement

Data analysis Consider multiple data sources Score data on each component Create spreadsheet summarizing results

Combine individual rubric scores into summary spread sheet Component 1 Component 2 Component 3 Component 4 Faculty 1 2 4 3 Faculty 2 Faculty 3 1 Faculty 4

Reporting the data in an easy to interpret way Level 4 Level 3 Learning- centered Level 2 Level 1 Instructor- centered

Any questions? ? About what is learning-centered teaching? How I defined components? Use of rubrics? How to score using rubrics? Data collection? Data analysis?

Assessment cycle goals program collect data report out use data to plan

Assessment cycle as applied to learning-centered teaching (lct) goal: teach using lct educate 58 faculty discuss findings use data

Steps of assessment cycle goal: teach using lct educate 58 faculty discuss findings use data

Steps of assessment cycle goal: teach using lct educate 58 faculty discuss findings use data

12 year effort by university’s Teaching and Learning Center Develop and implement educational intervention efforts to promote learning-centered teaching 12 year effort by university’s Teaching and Learning Center workshops 1:1 consultations New faculty orientation Paid registration to attend teaching conferences Awarded prizes for innovative teaching Collaborated on scholarship of teaching and learning

Steps of assessment cycle goal: teach using lct educate 58 faculty discuss findings use data

Results 62% of the components were used in a learning-centered way by majority of the faculty Range of individual average scores from 1.76- 3.56 Average score was 2.51 (in transition) Median and modal scores = 3 (higher level of transition)

Results . 3 components used in learning centered ways by about 90% of the faculty 3 components were used by less than 30% of the faculty 2 components were not understood by faculty who were interviewed

Steps of assessment cycle goal: teach using lct educate 58 faculty discuss findings use data

Insights from discussion of results data collection method itself was an effective faculty development vehicle need to be very explicit in explaining teaching methods and why use them some departments were doing effective, in-services in department meetings on teaching

Steps of assessment cycle goal: teach using lct educate 58 faculty discuss findings use data

My faculty development efforts Using data My faculty development efforts Training on specific components Panel discussion Continue new faculty orientation focus Explain difficult concepts

Questions about how I used the assessment cycle? goal: teach using lct educate 58 faculty discuss findings use data

For more information Rubrics are in Blumberg (2009) Developing Learner-Centered Teaching. Jossey-Bass Directions on how to score data using rubrics are available from me

How can you use this framework to measure implementation of learning-centered teaching? One time measure Look at differences over time Compare different programs