Connecting Public Audiences to the College Experience: A Model of General Education Assessment

1. Connecting Public Audiences to the College Experience: A Model of General Education Assessment Susan L. Davis James Madison University A. Katherine Morrow Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

2. Objectives • Discuss the challenges and rewards of implementing general education assessment programs • Learn different methods of general education assessment and examine components of methods that are applicable to your campus • Begin developing a strategy to implement general education assessment on your campus

3. Importance of General Education Assessment • Provides evidence of accountability to stakeholders • Demonstrates student learning in core areas valued by the institution • General Education composes a substantial amount of a students’ college education

4. Obstacles to implementing such an assessment • Creating campus culture of assessment • Articulating general education goals • Balancing manageable work-groups with soliciting faculty involvement • Distinguishing where and when students obtain such skills • Choosing the appropriate method

5. A Look at General Education Assessment Methods • Portfolios • Course embedded assessments • Surveys • Commercial tests • Locally-developed tests • Hybrid

6. Portfolios • A type of performance assessment in which students’ work is systematically collected and carefully reviewed for evidence of learning and development– Banta • Examples of student work • ‘Real-world’ assessment

7. Portfolios • Samples • Collected from all, only a sample are analyzed • Collected from just a sample • Types • Performance [music, art] • Class projects • Writing samples

8. Portfolios • Advantages • Richness of material • Students’ original work • Disadvantages • Intense work • Creating • Analyzing • Storing • Often have to rely on a sample assessment • Reliability and validity can be harder to establish

9. Use of portfolios in general education assessment • Alverno College • Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) • Truman State University – Liberal Arts and Sciences Portfolio

10. Course-embedded Assessments • In course-embedded assessment faculty members demonstrate through course assignments, papers, and exams that students are meeting the general education goals. • Faculty must have some sort of assignment in which students can demonstrate their abilities in relation to the general education goal.

11. Course-embedded Assessments • Advantages • Flexibility for faculty • No additional time required from students • Faster and more focused feedback • Evaluation at the student level, course level, and program level • Disadvantages • Time consuming/ labor intensive for faculty • Must be aggregated • Instruments may need to be developed • May not show overall learning of a student (ability to integrate knowledge)

12. Use of course-embedded assessments in general education • California State University – Bakersfield • http://www.csub.edu/assessmentcenter/reports/reports/ge/ScienceGEReport_6_00.htm • University of Northern Colorado • http://www.unco.edu/general_education/cea.htm

13. Surveys • A survey is a method of collecting information from people about their characteristics, behaviors, attitudes, or perceptions. - Banta • Often used to assess • Opinion • Demographics

14. Surveys • Samples • Students who have completed general education requirement • Graduating students • Alumni • Employers • Topics • Perceptions of learning from an individual course • Development of general education skills • Perceptions of general education program • Value of classes

15. Surveys • Advantages • Easy to administer • Low-stakes ~ no concern for test security • Easy to conduct in many formats • Cover a numerous amount of topics • Disadvantages • Motivation for honesty? • No direct measure of learning • Volunteer sample

16. Use of surveys in general education assessment • Western Carolina University • Skill self-assessment • Weber state University • Completion of gen-ed survey • Cleveland State University • Senior survey • IUPUI • NSSE

17. Commercial instruments • Commercially available instruments are should have strong psychometric properties • General education goals must be articulated and the instrument must measure those goals • Instruments can be used to measure overall learning or broad skills as well as a single area such as mathematical reasoning or critical thinking • Some popular commercially available instruments: • College BASE • CAAP • ACT Comp • Academic Profile

18. Commercial instruments • Advantages • Readily available and easy to use • Provides information about psychometric evidence • Can compare institutions • Disadvantages • Instruments may not measure the institutions goals • Cost • Campus psychometric evidence must be established • Skepticism among faculty

19. Use of commercial instruments in general education assessment • East Tennessee State University – Academic Profile • Missouri – College BASE • Ferris State University – Academic Profile

20. Locally developed instruments • Difficulty in finding an instrument to suit your needs • Create your own!

21. Locally developed instruments • Pros • Perfectly match your objectives • Control over scoring & reporting • After developments -> minimal costs • Cons • Time consuming • Resources: • Test development know-how • Content experts

22. Use of locally-developed instruments in general education assessment • James Madison University • Appalachian State University

23. Hybrid methods • Many colleges use a combination of methods to measure gen ed goals • Ferris State University – CSEQ & Academic Profile, surveys & Locally developed instruments • University Wisconsin-Madison – course embedded for quantitative skills & NSSE

24. Choosing a model that works: Things to consider • What is the scope of your general education program? • What resources do you have available to start up a general education assessment program? • What are you going to do with your results?

25. Developing your own tool • Many institutions want to develop their own instruments. • Instruments may be developed for overall learning, a focused subject area • This is a challenging, but rewarding process and the journey begins here!

26. Creating an assessment strategy • Describe the current general education program on your campus. • Does the general education program have stated goals and objectives? If so, what are they? • Describe the campus culture toward assessment. Is assessment a Who are your allies in assessment planning and execution? • Pros, Cons, and Use of assessment methods • What obstacles may prevent an assessment plan from working? • How might those obstacles be overcome? • Who can I contact for more information?

27. Conclusion • Questions • Comments

28. References Bers, T. (2000). Assessing the achievement of general education objectives: A college-wide approach. The Journal of General Education, 49 (3), American Council of Trustees and Alumni (2004). The hollow core. Failure of the general education curriculum.

29. Contact Us Katie MorrowPlanning & Institutional Improvement Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolisannmorro@iupui.edu Susan Davis Center for Assessment and Research Studies James Madison University davissl@jmu.edu