Assessing General Education Presentation by: Rich Leiby, Co-Chair All-College Assessment Committee October 18, 2011

Assessing “The Beef”  If you went to this restaurant because you enjoy eating beef, what would you want to see in a beef dish, regardless of which dish you chose? Was the beef fresh? Was the beef cooked thoroughly? Was the beef cut from quality meat? Was the beef flavorful?

Why do Gen Ed assessment?  MSCHE demands it!  We owe it to our students to make sure we provide the education we say we do This entails having/creating: College-wide learning goals A shared understanding of what performance/knowledge we expect to see Common standards for assessing whether we achieve those goals Putting the information to use to make changes, inform budget decisions

College’s goals for student learning  1. What skills do we need to function effectively in today’s society (both local and global)? (Intellectual and practical skills including effective habits of inquiry and analysis, critical thinking, written and oral communication, information literacy, and teamwork/problem solving.)  2. Why is human culture so diverse, and what can we learn by studying the ways of others? (Knowledge of human cultures through their histories, languages religious traditions, literature, and arts.)  3. Why is knowledge of the ideas and practices of natural science and mathematics essential to our lives today? (Scientific and quantitative skills and reasoning.)  4. How should we live our lives, and how should we treat others? (Ethical reasoning and religious consciousness; intercultural awareness and sensitivity.)  5. How can we transform what we learn in our lifetimes into actions that improve the quality of both our lives and the lives of others? (Integrative learning including capstone projects, learning abroad, internships, and service learning.)

Identifying the areas The General Education “Pyramid”

What we need to do  Step 1: Identify the knowledge and/or skills we expect students to acquire by taking course(s) in this area. Key question: What is a student capable of doing (or knowing) after he/she completes this section that he/she couldn’t do before????

Step 2 Devise rubrics that set up a common standard by which all students will be judged, regardless of which course they take. Key question: What common characteristics describe how well the student acquired the skills and/or knowledge we expect of them?

Step 3 Devise common assignments (if possible) to test how well the student acquired the knowledge/skills we expect. Key question: How can we integrate the needs of general education assessment into the classwork or our courses?

An EXAMPLE: Global Awareness—Modern Languages Step 1: Identify the knowledge and/or skills we expect students to acquire by taking course(s) in this area. Solution: Students who complete the Modern Languages requirements of the General Education program at Rosemont College will be able to use a foreign language at a basic level of communication that would be understood by a native speaker, at a level of cultural competency that would acceptable to a native speaker.

EXAMPLE: Modern Languages Step 2 Devise rubrics that set up a common standard by which all students will be judged, regardless of which course they take. Step 3 Devise common assignments (if possible) to test how well the student acquired the knowledge/skills we expect.

Hints for Goal making

Bloom’s taxonomy verbs  Knowledge Count, Define, Describe, Draw, Find, Identify, Label, List, Match, Name, Quote, Recall, Recite, Sequence, Tell, Write  Comprehension Conclude, Demonstrate, Discuss, Explain, Generalize, Identify, Illustrate, Interpret, Paraphrase, Predict, Report, Restate, Review, Summarize, Tell  Application Apply, Change, Choose, Compute, Dramatize, Interview, Prepare, Produce, Role-play, Select, Show, Transfer, Use  Analysis Analyze, Characterize, Classify, Compare, Contrast, Debate, Deduce, Diagram, Differentiate, Discriminate, Distinguish, Examine, Outline, Relate, Research, Separate,  Synthesis Compose, Construct, Create, Design, Develop, Integrate, Invent, Make, Organize, Perform, Plan, Produce, Propose, Rewrite  EvaluationAppraise, Argue, Assess, Choose, Conclude, Critic, Decide, Evaluate, Judge, Justify, Predict, Prioritize, Prove, Rank, Rate, Select,

What this means: 1. If your name is listed under a core or developing area, you field a course that satisfies that area. 2. You will be asked to participate in discussions about goals, rubrics, and assignments. a. Area “point persons” are indicated on the sheet in bold italic font. b. “Point persons” have agreed to do preliminary work with syllabi. c. “Point persons” will be asked to facilitate the work of the group and liaison with the assessment committee. 3. If you choose not to participate, you will be subjected to goals, rubrics, and assignments the group decides to create. 4. Completion of these tasks may mean that we will need to revisit the GenEd structure and the courses we field to satisfy areas.

Thank you for listening!!! An now we have time for an open, no-holds barred question period.