Build up, Don’t Burn out

1. Build up, Don’t Burn out MEREDITH FARKAS http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgoldmania/1572584897/

2. WHAT IS A CULTURE OF ASSESSMENT? • Assessment is the norm • Doing it for the right reasons • Customer-service focused • Culture of learning, curiosity • Decisions based on data • New initiatives tied to performance measures • Changes based on what is learned

3. WHY BUILD A CULTURE OF ASSESSMENT? • Be better teachers • Make better decisions • Demonstrate value to ourselves and others • Use data to advocate for the library • Use data to grow the IL program • Hold ourselves to the same standards as any other academic department • Accreditation

4. PSU 4: A NEW HOPE http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdhancock/4424331850/

5. PSU 5: CRASH AND BURN http://www.flickr.com/photos/carfagno/3089501717/

6. http://www.flickr.com/photos/smemon/5983676706/

7. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cybershotking/329184504/

8. ASSESSMENT AT MANY INSTITUTIONS • Focused on doing what is needed for accreditation • Coercive and top-down • Little support or education • Coalitions of the willing • Data is gathered, but rarely used • Not seen as an integral part of teaching and learning • Often a lot of cynicism around assessment

9. What it takes to build a culture of assessment

10. “For a scholarship of assessment to thrive, we must align faculty culture, institutional structures, and leadership for change. The importance of this point cannot be overstated. A meaningful assessment program is more than just a new activity to be undertaken, it is a change in how we think about what we do in higher education.”Don Haviland. (2009). “Leading Assessment: From Faculty Reluctance to Faculty Engagement.” Academic Leadership 9(2).

12. EDUCATION • Most librarians don’t have training in assessment of IL instruction • Need to speak a common language • The development of learning outcomes is an important step • Need to be able to develop assessment tools and analyze results

13. STEP 1: OUTCOMES

15. Good learning outcomes are Measurable

16. Good learing outcomes Match the level (bloom’s)

17. Good learing outcomes are Balanced

18. Good learing outcomes are Transferable

19. Building an outcome

20. Outcomes: before and after

21. TOOLS WE USED • PSU Campus-Wide Learning Outcomes • Matrix of PSU Information Skills and Abilities • ILAGO/Portland Area IL Proficiencies for Rising Juniors • ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education • AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner

22. FEEDBACK, FEEDBACK, FEEDBACK http://www.flickr.com/photos/highersights/6231641551/

23. Nov. 30, 2011Outcomes adopted by AdministrativeLeadership Team http://library.pdx.edu/media/libraryoutcomes.pdf

24. Strategize Definition: Students will develop the disposition and skills to develop a realistic topic and plan for research; determine what types of sources they should seek, develop an effective search strategy and ask for help when needed. Rationale: In order to find the information they need, students must first be able to clearly define their information need and understand what resources are available to them. Specific Outcomes: • Use general information resources to increase familiarity with the topic and disciplinary vocabulary. • Identify keywords, synonyms and related terms in order to flexibly search information resources. • Define or modify the research topic, question or thesis to achieve a manageable focus appropriate to the assignment criteria and available resources. • Seek out relevant individuals in one’s network in order to get assistance with their research. • Recognize that emotions play a role in the research process in order to decrease research anxiety. • Identify the range of library resources and services in order to develop a realistic overall plan and timeline for research. • Distinguish characteristics of sources produced for different audiences (scholarly, popular, professional, corporate, government) in order to select appropriate resources.

26. Step 2: Support http://guides.library.pdx.edu/assessment

27. FUTURE PLANS FOR SUPPORT • Collection of concrete assessment tools and techniques, tied to our outcomes. • Incentivizing assessment? • Assessment Plan Task Force • Instruction retreat - determine questions we want to answer and revise outcomes • Focus on assessment “where the light is better”

28. WHAT I’D DO DIFFERENTLY • Wait. • Get to know the culture • Build political capital • Don’t go into this alone. • Provide assessment tools that people can immediately use in their classes • Wait some more.

29. PSU 6: INCH BY INCH http://www.flickr.com/photos/the-good-life/4512791945/

30. Supporting assessment • Keep the focus on student learning • Provide plenty of education and support for faculty/staff • Develop common learning outcomes for your instruction program • Let faculty/staff choose their own assessment instruments

31. Supporting assessment • Start small • Focus on questions faculty/staff have • Experiment early on • Look for spots “where the light is better” • Make it clear that individual (class/instructor) results will not be shared • Don’t focus on creating the perfect assessment • Plan for short-term wins

32. Supporting assessment • Make sure there are no consequences for poor results • Build incentives for doing assessment • Give people time to reflect on their assessment results and improve their teaching • Meet often to discuss what you’re learning from assessment

33. BEST PRACTICES FOR CHANGE LEADERSHIP • One person can’t do it alone • Burnout is a risk • Best setup: a manager and a peer • Know who has your back • Know what resources you have • If administration isn’t as committed, it won’t happen • If your colleagues aren’t on-board, it won’t happen

34. Questions? • Find me at • meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress • mgfarkas (at) gmail.com • flickr, twitter: librarianmer • facebook: meredithfarkas http://www.flickr.com/photos/trucolorsfly/2401196653/