From Assessment to SoTL Nitya Jacob and Miriam Segura-Totten BSP Research Residency July 22, 2015

Assessment How do you define assessment?

Assessment is more than grades What is the purpose of assessment? Student learning – engagement, driving factor, feedback, evaluation, progress Teaching – instruction, effectiveness, changes

An example of assessment From the Hill paper, What form of assessment is used to evaluate student learning? What is the purpose of the assessment?

The Cycle of Learning What should my students be able to do by the end of my course/ this unit/ this topic/ this class? How will I know if they get there? What will I do to get them there? Learning Outcomes Assessment Instruction

The Cycle of Learning Learning Outcomes AssessmentInstruction Modified Figure 3.1 from Vision and Change in Biology Education: A Call to Action

The Cycle of Learning Learning Outcomes AssessmentInstruction Modified Figure 3.1 from Vision and Change in Biology Education: A Call to Action Where does the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning fit in this cycle? Disciplinary Practices Disciplinary Concepts

The Cycle of Learning Learning Outcomes AssessmentInstruction Modified Figure 3.1 from Vision and Change in Biology Education: A Call to Action SoTL

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning is a type of research Biology Education Research How do you go about beginning a research project? What steps do you take?

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning is a type of research Observation (learning problem) Question (I wonder what my students are learning from this classroom intervention?) Hypothesis (They are gaining critical thinking skills) Experiments (How do you set up a classroom experiment?) Analysis Conclusions

An example of SoTL For the Hill paper, what are the: Learning problem Question Hypothesis

How did the authors address the research question? An example of SoTL

What was the experimental setup for this study? Groups Intervention (what they did differently) Over how many semesters Assessments used When were assessments given and data collected An example of SoTL

What was the experimental setup for this study? Groups Intervention (what they did differently) Over how many semesters Assessments used – do they match the research question? When were assessments given and data collected An example of SoTL

Assessments are used as part of SoTL/BER, but investigating a research question in the classroom goes beyond administering an assessment.

Some important points that lend validity to the study: Treatment group randomly assigned (reduce bias). Both groups equal except for intervention. Pre-/post- surveys separated by 13 weeks. Isomorphic but different reading comp questions (pre vs post). An example of SoTL

Some weaknesses: One instructor No triangulation Absence of “no treatment” control t-test vs ANOVA An example of SoTL

t-test vs ANOVA An example of SoTL Figure 1

t-test vs ANOVA An example of SoTL Figure 2

How can you go from assessment to SoTL? Figure 2 From Rowland and Myatt (2014) Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 42(1):6-14

How can you go from assessment to SoTL? From Rowland and Myatt (2014) Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 42(1):6-14 Idea Make sure research question is focused so you can measure specific outcome with valid assessment. “Can I use clickers in my class to improve learning?” vs “Does including clicker questions with taxonomic-puzzle content in an introductory biology module improve student ability to categorize animals using a taxonomic key?”

How can you go from assessment to SoTL? Literature review During process of focusing your research question. During implementation and data analysis. Look at the literature for: ideas of best methods for testing your hypothesis, where you should publish.

How can you go from assessment to SoTL? Figure 2 From Rowland and Myatt (2014) Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 42(1):6-14

How can you go from assessment to SoTL? Make this a research stream What is your research focus? “Strategies to assess and increase critical thinking in undergraduates” Find your spot on the “research raft” Be strategic - work on projects that are publishable and/or high impact.