Kate Sullivan, A-Team Chair Taking Stock: Developing a Plan for Student Learning Assessment in Your Corner of the Campus Outcomes Mapping Prefatory Materials Artifacts & Evaluation Data generation & analysis Spring Conference 2017 May 5th Kate Sullivan, A-Team Chair

Assessment Assessment is at the heart of teaching and learning: classroom teachers assess student performance all the time, often on a daily basis, gauging student mastery of course objectives/learning outcomes. At a shared course, sequence, department or program level, however, “assessment” necessitates that faculty articulate clearly to students and other stakeholders a shared understanding of what students will learn, how they will do so, and to what degree they will demonstrate proficiency. It is this latter step that involves the collection and evaluation of student artifacts, which will result in data useful to the program/department, institution, and our accreditors.

The Role of Outcomes Outcomes communicate to students what they will learn and be able to do at the end of a course/sequence/program of study. They include skills, behaviors, habits of mind. Institutions should have outcomes at a variety of levels: course (course-level learning outcomes/CLLOs), sequence/program/major, institutional level—our CLOs = gen ed outcomes (sometimes called GELOs at other places), and all levels should be aligned through backwards design State requires outcomes-based course, program, and general education framework for articulation and transfer (SB 342, 2005) NWCCU assumes and requires alignment of gen ed (institutional), program, and course outcomes, all of which should be systematically assessed One of our metrics/indicators for our core theme #3, Quality Educational Environment, is the # of courses/programs mapped to CLOs; another is the # of courses/programs assessed against the CLOs

NWCCU, Standard 4 (Assessment) 4.A.3: The institution documents, through an effective, regular, and comprehensive system of assessment of student achievement, that students who complete its educational courses, programs, and degrees, wherever offered and however delivered, achieve identified course, program, and degree learning outcomes. Faculty with teaching responsibilities are responsible for evaluating student achievement of clearly identified learning outcomes. 4.A.4: The institution evaluates holistically the alignment, correlation, and integration of programs and services with respect to accomplishment of core theme objectives.

How do we go about assessing? A Scaffolded Process: Refine/Revise Course-Level Learning Outcomes (CLLOs) Map CLOs to CLLOs Develop shared materials (signature assignments, syllabi, etc.): for both students and with peers/colleagues Deploy shared assignments Develop Rubrics to evaluate signature assignments Collect & evaluate artifacts (direct measures of assessment) & indirect measures (surveys, grades, persistence rates, etc.) Generate data to share with the program, institution, and other stakeholders Reflect on information gathered Make decisions—adjust curriculum, pedagogy, etc.

Challenges to our Process What is a program? “the definition of ‘program’ at a community college is neither clear nor consistent” (Bers, “Assessment” 44) Sequence of prescribed courses Courses in a specific discipline Developmental education courses Special programs for specific/selected students (a trio program, an ELL program, etc.) The general education component of an associate’s degree (our AA/OT) Specifically, outside of P/T, often CCs do not have programs, majors, or sequences (at LCC, we do have direct transfer agreements and are working on more programs/majors/pathways, but these are few)

State of Oregon & LCC’s Buffet of Gen Ed Classes State regulations—until recently, Oregon CCs couldn’t have official majors 2008 Revision to the AA/OT (our transfer degree) removed sequences/distinctions between 100, 200- level course requirements in place at some schools: E.g., in Arts and Letters, requirement is: “Three courses chosen from two or more disciplines from the list”; social sciences is: “Four courses chosen from two or more disciplines from the list” Approximately 165 choices in Arts and Letters (with virtually no prerequisites or placement requirements); 110 in Social Sciences Horizontal curriculum, courses taken without scaffolding or sequencing

The Role of CLOs CLOs help us speak in a shared language and unified voice to students and other constituents They indicate what we value and why it matters: CLOs: introduce students to the vocabulary of academic discourse in a very intentional way: they are a mechanism to help students achieve, to borrow a phrase from Vincent Tinto, “incorporation” into the institution (and, therefore, persist) (441). As such they form part of a “toolkit” that students can use to decipher how to behave, what language to use, and how to adopt and adapt a college identity--to value not just the acquisition of facts and data but also the development of what David Conley calls “habits of mind,” such as critical thinking and active engagement. They foster the metacognition that is crucial for student success. They provide a means/lens through which to assess gen ed and share data with NWCCU & the state about student achievement

How to get started? Choose a significant course in your curriculum (highly enrolled, key for the program, taught by multiple faculty members, etc.) Determine if your course-level learning outcomes (CLLOs) are correct/match what you’ve been doing: consult the online registration system (https://siuslaw.lanecc.edu/StudentRegistrationSsb/ssb/registration) Refine/revise CLLOs Map CLLOs to CLOs (see the “Blank CLO Mapping Templates” on the Assessment Toolkit Page (https://www.lanecc.edu/assessment/creating-curriculum-map)

What if you’ve finished mapping a course? With other faculty who teach your course or in your program, determine what outcomes/dimensions you are interested in evaluating (this may come about from a challenge/problem you see with student learning)* E.g., in WR 121, we have two new outcomes focused on metacognition & transfer of knowledge for which we are going to create a signature assignment that we will collect and evaluate Reflect and document procedural knowledge gained in the areas of writing strategies; Discuss how to transfer and apply writing knowledge to new contexts. Create the signature assignment and scoring rubric* Collect and evaluate artifacts (apply for $$ from A-Team for artifact scoring sessions* Discuss findings with other faculty* In report out, call out the alignment with the CLOs. In this case, “Apply Learning,” dimension 5.4: “5.4 Integrate and reflect on experiences and learning” Submit assessment report of your findings to IRAP and to the A-Team

Enter your maps into the new Curriculum Mapping System (CMS) The new CMS will create maps that indicate where and when our CLOs and their dimensions show up across our curricula This mapping will help address NWCCU’s recommendation that we develop a more systematic approach to assessment of student learning

Apply for Funding (pending budget approval by administration) RFP funding: For developing supplemental materials For developing shared (signature assignments) For developing rubrics To collect and evaluate artifacts Fellows Positions—reassignment time for contracted faculty and 100 hours at rate of pay for PT faculty For coordination of department/program/sequence assessment efforts

Works Consulted Bers, Trudy H. “Community College Strategies: Assessing ‘High Apple’ Programs in Community Colleges: Fruit or Worms?” Assessment Updates 18.6 (November-December 2006): 14-16. ----“Assessment at the Program Level.” New Directions for Community Colleges 126.4 (Summer 2004): 43-52. Conley, David. Redefining College Readiness. Eugene, Oregon: Educational Policy Improvement Center, 2007. Cox, Rebecca. Beyond the Fear Factor Workshop, Lane Community College. September 20, 2013, Eugene, OR Gee, James Paul. “What is Literacy?” Journal of Education 171.1 (1989): 16-23. Humphrey, Debra. The Value of General Education. AAC&U Workshop, Burlington, VT, June 10, 2013. Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Accreditation Standards, 2010. http://www.nwccu.org/Standards%20and%20Policies/Accreditation%20Standards/Accreditation%2 0Standards.htm Tinto, Vincent. “Stages of Student Departure.” Journal of Higher Education 59.4 (1988): 438-455.