1. actionable assessment
Jen Sweet, PhD
Associate Director
Office for Teaching, Learning & Assessment
DePaul University
Shannon Milligan, PhD
Assessment Coordinator
Faculty Center for Ignatian Pedagogy
Loyola University Chicago
Jen
Assessment Day 2017; Triton College

2. Are Students Achieving LOs?
THE ASSESSMENT LOOP
Are Students Achieving LOs?
Gathering Evidence
Making Meaning
Plans to Improve
Taking Action
Learning Outcomes
Jen

3. Complete Exercise 1on the Reflection Worksheet
Jen

4. CLOSING THE LOOP AT EACH STEP IN THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS
Planning
Gathering Evidence
Making Meaning of Information
Taking Action
Jen

5. STRATEGIES FOR CLOSING THE LOOP PLANNING
Integrated Course Design
Keeping it Simple
Curriculum Mapping
Shannon

6. INTEGRATED COURSE DESIGN
Course design framework by L. Dee Fink
Emphasis on integration of course materials, assessment, and learning outcomes
Recognizes the role of context (e.g. type of course, student/instructor background)
Context (Situational Factors)
Learning Outcomes
Feedback and Assessment
Teaching and Learning Activities
Shannon

7. KEEPING IT SIMPLE Assignment Design (Kuh, 2016) Rubrics (Kuh and Fink)
Survey results show that course assignments are the main way students demonstrate achievement of learning outcomes (including program level and above)
Alignment is important!
Assignments created to provide evidence of whether students achieve learning outcomes
Can also work with other faculty to align assignments across a program (scaffolding)
Library of assignments
Rubrics (Kuh and Fink)
Create more transparency of expectations
More objective assessments of student performance
Formative process
Standardize assessment without standardizing the assignments (Kuh, 2016)
Shannon

8. CURRICULUM MAPPING Ensure alignment of:
Course learning outcomes and assignments/assessments
Program learning outcomes and courses/course learning outcomes
Shannon

9. Complete Exercise 2 on the Reflection Worksheet
Shannon

10. STRATEGIES FOR CLOSING THE LOOP GATHERING EVIDENCE
Multiple Methods
Combining Quantitative and Qualitative
Sometimes Need to Follow-up on Results
Bringing in Other Significant Metrics
Student DWF Rates
Enrollment Rates
Graduation or Retention Rates
Jen

11. EXAMPLE: MULTIPLE METHODS
Need to Follow-Up:
Dr. M. conducted an assessment project to determine students’ abilities to “identify the social and ethical components of both the causes and solutions to environmental issues”
Three alternative Chicago River separation scenarios were described and students were asked to choose which one, if any, they would recommend and to consider the scientific, social and ethical implications of their recommendation.
Finding: Students were weak in their abilities to describe the implications of their recommendations.
Follow-up with Qualitative Interview: Students let Dr. M. know that the reason they didn’t describe the implications of their recommendations is because they’d never actually been asked to do so (only to consider the implications). In the follow-up interviews, students did an excellent job describing the implications of their recommendations.
WITHOUT FOLLOW-UP WITH A QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT METHOD, DR. M. MAY HAVE REACHED THE FALSE CONCLUSION THAT HIS STUDENTS WERE NOT ACHIEVING THIS OUTCOME
Jen

12. Complete Exercise 3 on the Reflection Worksheet
Jen

13. STRATEGIES FOR CLOSING THE LOOP MAKING MEANING OF INFORMATION
Need for broad participation
Bringing Important Stakeholders into the Process
Contextual
What’s most important
Priorities
Consideration of Stakeholders
Shannon

14. BRINGING IMPORTANT STAKEHOLDERS INTO THE PROCESS
Students
Other Faculty
In the program/departments
Who teach the course
Program or Departmental Staff
University Administrators
Provost/President
Deans
Department Heads
University Mission
More Widely Sharing Results with Stakeholders
Shannon

15. Complete Exercise 4 on the Reflection Worksheet
Shannon

16. STRATEGIES FOR CLOSING THE LOOP TAKING ACTION!
ADDRESSING ORIENTATION TOWARDS ASSESSMENT
BEING REALISTIC AND CONCRETE
IS THERE A NEED FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT?
Jen

17. ORIENTATION TOWARDS ASSESSMENT
CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT
Assumptions:
No matter how great you are, you can always improve (even if it’s a little bit)
Delivering the highest quality programs/courses requires constant monitoring
There is a need to constantly ask:
How are we doing?
How can we do better?
Jen

18. BEING REALISTIC AND CONCRETE
Probably won’t be getting that extra faculty line during a budget crunch
Build in flexibility
Concrete
Action Plan
Who will be Involved?
Identify Resources Needed
Solidify a Timeline
Jen

19. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Internal:
“The campuses that have made the most progress have invested in…professional development and have hosted venues where faculty and others come together to formulate and (to) explore questions about their students’ learning” –Kuh (2016)
Encourage more focus on making assessment actionable
Example: Assessment Certificate Program
External:
Chicago Area Assessment Group (CAAG)-local assessment community of practice
The Assessment Group of Illinois Community Colleges- local assessment community of practice
Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education (AALHE)-national organization
Higher Learning Commission (HLC)-annual conference
Assessment Institute-annual conference
Jen

20. CLOSING THE LOOP WHEN EVERYTHING IS GOING WELL
Great News!!
Move onto assessment of another learning outcome
Plan to cycle back to assessing the learning outcome later
Prioritize other learning outcomes where faculty/staff perceive there may be more opportunities for improvement!
Jen

21. Complete Exercise 5 on the Reflection Worksheet
Jen

22. REFERENCES
Fink, L. D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Kuh, G. D. (2016). Getting assessment back on the right track CAEL Forum and News (December 2016). Retrieved from: content/uploads/2017/02/Kuh- 2016_CFN_Assessment_Back_on_Track.pdf
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23. CONTACT INFORMATION
Jen Sweet, PhD Associate Director Office for Teaching, Learning & Assessment DePaul University Shannon Milligan, PhD Assessment Coordinator Faculty Center for Ignatian Pedagogy Loyola University Chicago
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