Program Assessment: What Difference Does it Make?

Ross Miller, AAC&U

Essential Learning Outcomes – Four Broad Area

Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World

Intellectual and Practical Skills

Personal and Social Responsibility

Integrative Learning, including synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and specialized studies

Essential Learning Outcomes – specifics

Intellectual and Practical Skills... Inquiry and analysis

Critical and creative thinking

Written and oral communication

Quantitative literacy

Information literacy

Teamwork and problem solving

Essential Learning Outcomes – ambitious

Personal and Social Responsibility…Civic knowledge and engagement—

local and globalIntercultural knowledge and

competenceEthical reasoning and actionFoundations and skills for lifelong

learning

Essential Learning Outcomes – still being defined, different across depts.

Integrative Learning, including synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and specialized studies

Example: In the Integrative Learning Project -- 10 campuses, 10 local approaches to Integrative Learning

High-Impact Practices and curricular arrangements

First-Year Seminars and Experiences

Common Intellectual Experiences

*Learning Communities

Writing-Intensive Courses

*Collaborative Assignments and Projects

(Kuh, pub. AAC&U)

*Undergraduate Research

Diversity/Global Learning

*Service Learning, Community-Based Learning

*Internships

*Capstone Courses and Projects

Researched practices with large effect sizes

Reinforcement (feedback), formative assessment

Self-assessment

Metacognition

Mastery learning – differential impact – all improve, differences reduced

Bransford – How People Learn Gardiner – Redesigning Higher Education

Central points to ponder…

Plan so that you get good assessment results!

Don’t wait for program assessment results to work on improvement – research can guide choices

Student work is the foundation of program assessment

Data from classroom assessments can be aggregated for other levels

Keep program assessment linked to learning cycle

Best evidence from course-embedded work

Learn to assess individuals well

Map your program so that you can identify gaps and…

Choose program-significant evidence wisely (Our Students’ Best Work)

Course-embedded assessment

Logical to use student work as basis for program assessment (probably valid, can be reliable)

Efficient (use what you already do)

The lowly assignment: makes all the difference!

Collecting work and reflecting on it

The time is right for eportfolios…

Higher levels of learning for all students…

Sophisticated outcomes developed over time, across departments

Monitor student learning over time

Qualitative assessment of what is really important

Reflection (metacognition) leverages assignments

Rubrics being developed (AAC&U VALUE project)

A musical detour: a special plea for student self-assessmentYoung trombone players – even when they

start well, they may have a crisis

Competing concepts – music shows higher pitch, arm/slide convey lower pitch

Need to connect notation to slide AND direction of sound change AND physical effort

Without self-assessment, melody fails, students quit

Purpose of Program Assessment…

#1. Improve student learning

How best to make that difference?

How quickly, how often should program improvements get back to students?

A focus on the program requires a focus on assignments

Choices that make a difference…

Communicate goals, hold high expectations

Create sufficient opportunities to learn

Work at the top of the cognitive domain

Motivate and excite student through engaging practices

Support student learning with regular feedback

The final frontier – cooperation

Cooperate within and across departments

Find out what students learn before and after you have them

Tell others what you teach

Consider the Alverno model…department and “ability” appointments

Love of Learning…

and assessment!