The Learning College Competencies

1. The Learning College Competencies Beginning Assessment

2. Session Objectives and Schedule • Review the CPCC core competencies • Discuss the nature of assessing these • Review instructional styles • Look at formative vs. summative • Review assessment options • Groups work on application of these concepts in actual classroom situations

3. What are the Learning Outcomes, anyway? • Communication: the ability to read, write, speak, listen, and use nonverbal skills effectively with different audiences • Critical Thinking: the ability to think critically and creatively through analysis, synthesis, evaluation, problem solving, judgment, and the creative process.

4. There are more? • Personal Growth and Responsibility: the ability to understand and manage self, to functional effectively in social and processional environments and to make reasoned judgments based on an understanding of the diversity of the world community. • Information Technology and Quantitative Literacy: the ability to locate, understand, evaluate, and synthesize, information and data in a technological and data driven society.

5. How should/could you asses these? • Of the four, which one or two do you see the most natural connection to? • What class or classes do you already look at or evaluate any of these competencies? • What format does this assessment take? • (share with the group, please)

6. Instructional Style Survey • Many instructors instruct/assess in the style where they’re most comfortable. • What is your style? • What is the style of your students? • How can you get the most valid/reliable information from your assessments?

7. Formative vs. Summative • Formative – in class, along the way, used to make instructional decisions; best example – assess the daily objective before they leave the room! Useful for re-teaching, pacing, etc • Summative – unlike formative, it’s the “end result” evaluation; examples – unit or chapter test, end of course project, etc. While remediation may arise as a need, re-teaching is generally not a purpose of summative

8. How do I assess the core competencies? • Generally, you’ll use formative assessment for smaller key indicators along the way • Some summative assessment of larger “chunks” may be needed toward the end of the term. • Many different options depending on which competency/indicator you’ve chosen to work with.

9. A Closer Look at Assessing the Competencies • Let’s take critical thinking as an example. • Take a look at the key indicators. • Now look at a rubric created to assess the key indicators • Do you see the alignment? • How does this relate to what you shared earlier about your assessment?

10. Assessing the competencies – many options for formative • Concept Mapping – low tech way to easily see highly theoretical concept/relationship mastery • Focused listing – using a given concept students list the important learning relevant to the topic. Groups can then follow up and compare/contrast, etc • Punctuated Lectures – listen, stop, reflect, write • Ticket out the door/in the door

11. Traditional Assessment • There are “rules” to good test making • Never use a test bank w/out your expertise • Always mix Bloom’s questioning levels throughout the test • Never use T/F without a thought component • Create MC questions that truly make students think and know to get it right • If short answer/essay, create objective scoring list • If matching, use a distracter; all on one page!

12. Authentic Assessment • "...Engaging and worthy problems or questions of importance, in which students must use knowledge to fashion performances effectively and creatively. The tasks are either replicas of or analogous to the kinds of problems faced by adult citizens and consumers or professionals in the field." -- Grant Wiggins – • "Performance assessments call upon the examinee to demonstrate specific skills and competencies, that is, to apply the skills and knowledge they have mastered." -- Richard J. Stiggins --

13. Authentic Practice – how to assess? • Authentic Assessment is better, but messy • It has less right/wrong • It has more potential • It’s more subjective • It needs objective scoring

14. Rubrics • According to the latest edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, a rubric is "an authoritative rule, the title of a statute, a category, a commentary, or an editorial interpolation." • A rubric is a marking system used by teachers, consisting of a chart of criteria for evaluation of students' work. It allows for standardized evaluation according to specified criteria, making grading simpler and more transparent. (Wikipedia)

15. How do they work? • Objectifies the subjective • Gives students a clear picture of their target and their grade • Is a teaching tool and a learning tool • Can be formative or summative • Shows them where to improve for next time or just finitely defines their grade (also scoring guides and product descriptors)

16. You Choose • In pairs or groups, choose a method (formative or summative) • Choose a key indicator you think you’ll use • Figure out how to assess that key indicator with the method…if it doesn’t work, change one or the other – that’s part of the process • Share insights!

17. Resource List • In the materials you’ve received there are resources to look at and experiment with on your own. • Thanks for coming! • Amy White x4394