1. Using SoTL to Make Student Learning Visible Beth Dietz-Uhler Cathy Bishop-Clark © Beth Dietz-Uhler and Cathy Bishop-Clark 33 rd Annual Lilly Conference on College Teaching Oxford Ohio November 21-24, 2013

2. Cathy Bishop-Clark

3. Cathy Bishop-Clark (SoTL Journey)

4. Beth Dietz-Uhler

5. Beth Dietz-Uhler (SoTL Journey)

6. Making Student Learning Visible

7. Using SoTL to Make Student Learning Visible “I will never take another computer science class again!”

8. “Walk-Away” Goals Deeper understanding of SoTL Appreciation for the issues involved in making student learning visible Ideas for using SoTL to expand and explore the visibility of student learning

9. Definition of SoTL “An act of intelligence or artistic creation becomes scholarship when it possesses at least three attributes: it becomes public, it becomes an object of critical review and evaluation by members of one’s community, and members of one’s community begin to use, build upon, and develop those acts of mind and creation.” (Shulman, 1999)

10. Making Student Learning Visible Jeff Bernstein – Cofounder of the SoTL Academy, EMU Political Scientist – “Making student learning visible is a key element in this evidence-based culture” 2008

11. Making Student Learning Visible “If a central goal of the scholarship of teaching and learning becomes making learning visible, the next question that arises is visible to whom?” Bernstein, Jeffrey L. (2008) "Introduction: Making Learning Visible to Whom?," The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at EMU: Vol. 2, Article 2.

12. Visible to WHOM? Bernstein, Jeffrey L. (2008) "Introduction: Making Learning Visible to Whom?," The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at EMU: Vol. 2, Article 2. SoTL

13. Visible to the Instructor Turning in a working computer program (math problem, term paper) – What happened in between the blank paper and the outcome? – What is not understood?

14. Visible to Students Experiment this semester with EXAMS Make student learning visible to themselves Provide opportunities for student to reflect on their own learning Doing research with students!

15. Visible to the Discipline “What are the best ways to help students understand recursive methods of creating linked lists?”

16. Visible to the Higher Education Community

17. Visible to WHOM

18. Visible beyond the Higher Education Community Currently, there is intense interest and pressure to make student learning visible beyond instructor, students, the discipline, and higher education community

19. Improving Transparency and Accountability (http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/higher-education)http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/higher-education College Affordability and Transparency Center (College Scorecard) (http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/higher-education/college-score-card)http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/higher-education/college-score-card What Employers Want (Hart Report: http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/2009_EmployerSurvey.pdf)http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/2009_EmployerSurvey.pdf Academically Adrift (36% of students did not demonstrate any significant gains in learning) (http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/01/18/study_finds_large_numbers_of_college_students_don_t _learn_much)http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/01/18/study_finds_large_numbers_of_college_students_don_t _learn_much Increased pressure for accreditation (http://www.aaup.org/article/accreditation-and-federal-future-higher- education#.USE822fld8E)http://www.aaup.org/article/accreditation-and-federal-future-higher- education#.USE822fld8E Increased pressure to retain students (American Graduation Initiative: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-on-the-American-Graduation- Initiative-in-Warren-MI) http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-on-the-American-Graduation- Initiative-in-Warren-MI Pressure from MOOCs and online education in general (http://chronicle.com/article/American-Council-on- Education/137155/)http://chronicle.com/article/American-Council-on- Education/137155/ Visible beyond the Higher Education Community

20. Activity Of the different visibilities, which do you consider the most important and why? – Instructor – Students – Discipline – Higher Education Community – Those Outside the Higher Education Community Spend two minutes thinking/writing and two minutes to share with person next to you

21. A Debate!

22. Of these Visibilities which is the MOST IMPORTANT SoTL

23. Hattie (2012) suggests that visible teaching and learning occurs when there are “active, passionate, and engaging people, including teachers, students, and peers participating in the act of learning” Visible Teaching and Learning

24. Making Learning “Visible to Students” is Most Important because they are the foundation of SoTL work

25. In order to make learning “visible to students”

26. “Learning can’t occur if there aren’t learners” (Flinders, 2013)

27. Unless it is our priority to make learning “visible to students”

28. Finally, All the Cool Professors are Doing It… Meta-cognition is where it’s at Brain-based learning matters Cognitive approaches to learning work Student Voices should be heard

29. STUDENTS

30. Of these Visibilities which is the MOST IMPORTANT SoTL

31. “Visible Beyond the Higher Education Community” is most Important

32. Visible Beyond Higher Education

33. Visible Beyond the Higher Education Community College is not “worth it” Higher Education is expensive Student debt is at an all time high Recent data from Census Bureau & DOL found 54% of recent college grads unemployed.

34. Visible Beyond the Higher Education Community Academically Adrift Authors followed 2300 undergraduates at 24 universities 45% of students did not demonstrate significant improvement in learning during the 1 st two years of college 36% do not show improvement in 4 years

35. Visible Beyond Higher Education Community Standardized Tests – Use of standardized tests has increased dramatically as a way to measure learning Concern that that accountability is “squeezing out creative and content rich learning” Even when test scores rise that does not always reflect in better or deeper learning. Krechevsky, Mara, Rivard, Melissa and Burton, Fredrick R.(2010) 'Accountability in Three Realms: Making Learning Visible Inside and Outside the Classroom', Theory Into Practice, 49: 1, 64 — 71

36. Visibility of SoTL Beyond the Higher Education Community” is most Important Why – Because of the “bad rap” higher education is getting – Because the outside is controlling our funding – Because of accreditation pressures – Because people criticize what they don’t understand – Because standardized tests do not tell the whole picture – Because SoTL can improve teaching and learning

37. Summary: Which visibility is in fact the most important? SoTL