Building a Vibrant Community of Practice Through Effective Assessment
Establishing a robust community of practice through assessment fosters continuous learning and professional growth. By rethinking assessment strategies, engaging in regular discussions, and setting up forums, members can enhance student outcomes and personal development within a supportive environment. Utilizing assessment to understand the effectiveness of educational programs and student progress helps in identifying areas for improvement, ultimately contributing to a more enriching learning experience.
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Presentation Transcript
Building a Community of Practice Through Assessment
other possible titles included Rethinking Assessment Making Assessment Part Of The Solution Getting Together Regularly To Discuss Our Work Will Be Fun, Useful, And Helpful To Our Students
what is a community of practice? a group of people who share a craft and/or a profession through the process of sharing information and experiences with the group [the] members learn from each other, and have an opportunity to develop personally and professionally. (thanks Wikipedia)
a community of practice needs the group of people sharing the craft things to talk about a forum where they can talk a routine to keep the talk going some documentation to keep a record
why through assessment? The overriding purpose of assessment is to understand how educational programs are working and to determine whether they are contributing to student growth and development." Palomba and Banta (1999)
we talk about student learning how are we doing? = how are students doing? = what can we do better?
what distinguishes assessment its perspective
assessment is defined by outcomes 1. the students goals - I want to transfer to UC Davis I want to get an AA in business administration I need advice on finding money for college I want to be a cop I want to get a cosmetology license
2. and our goals for students Independent learning and development Quantitative reasoning Social awareness and diversity Effective communication Ethical responsibility / effective citizenship Critical thinking
assessment emphasizes connections 3. - between disciplines, between instruction and other support services marketing business history math ethnic studies computer science info competency anthropology spanish the learning center volleyball accounting financial aid the library english art history
assessment is a process Assessment is at its base a conversation. I think we could improve learning in higher ed in short order if we [only] required programs to document that they spend at least one hour per year actively talking about how to improve student learning.
assessment + community of practice ongoing conversations focused on improving student learning based in concrete experiences / research / data
yes, the quantitative data course grades rates of persistence, retention, success in licensure exams, transfer, withdrawal, etc. student surveys SLO results
but also qualitative data experiments with teaching strategies team-teaching / learning communities interdisciplinary discussions / student activities research (your idea here!)
the best part is we already do this.
large projects WEZ mana Year One learning communities Project Change honors puente umoja
small projects your question here experiments teaching circles your experiment here grade norming team teaching student feedback research your idea here
behold: the assessment cycle three flex sessions a year dedicated to teaching and learning opening day: brainstorm fall flex session: follow up spring flex session: review opening day: share out / brainstorm
behold: the assessment cycle Opening Day spring flex fall flex spring flex fall flex Opening day
ecce! experimentation: Four teachers get together to try different strategies for getting students to read more effectively. Next semester, they compare notes: what worked? What didn t? collaboration: Three teachers from different disciplines, each of which teaches critical thinking, collaborate on one assignment, bringing students together to see critical thinking from different angles. communication: A group of faculty meet over two flex sessions to share their ideas and experiences on how to promote ethical responsibility in the classroom. exploration: Why do students plagiarize? Let s conduct an anonymous survey, and share the results.
set menu interdisciplinary discussion groups organized by institutional learning outcome (ILO). Meet with colleagues to discuss independent learning, critical thinking, communication, quantitative reasoning, ethical responsibility, or diversity. independent projects. Have you had an idea for an experiment, a small-scale collaboration, or a research project, focusing on student learning? Here is where you can pursue it. the student ILO discussion forum. Help plan and/or observe a general education-oriented student activity. discipline- or course-based discussion groups. Touch base with some colleagues teaching the same course as you, or teaching in the same discipline, to reflect on your concerns. program review. Use the Fall flex times (especially in even years) to reflect on your discipline, department or program.
example Morning Session A (Choose one) A1: Teaching physics using a human cannonball. 10-191 This is a really bad idea, but the students will love it. 9 10:30 a.m. A2: The Pedagogy of the Undressed. 10-192 Teach in your bathrobe. Who will know? Go online and you can do anything. Morning Session B (choose one) B1: ILO discussion groups Discuss how to promote and assess (pick one group) independent learning skills effective communication critical thinking quantitative reasoning ethical responsibility & effective citizenship social awareness & diversity 10:45-12:15 B2: Project groups Follow up on a project or experiment with colleagues or alone (ex: teaching circles, interdisciplinary discussions, research, etc.) B3: ILO Student activity Join colleagues to observe a student round-table discussion, and join the follow-up conversation about the students performance. Afternoon Session C (Choose one) C1: Creating an Effective Assignment in Canvas. 18-206 You can do it! Canvas rocks. 1:30 3:00 C2: Creating An Effective Assignment Out Of Actual Canvas. 10-191. Cloth it s romantic, it s the ultimate biosphere disruption. Without cloth, we don t have circus tents, majestic sails billowing in the wind, or nuns. More cloth!
in sum the assessment cycle creates a space for structured, ongoing interdisciplinary discussions individual or group experiments in teaching and learning individual or group research focused on teaching and learning sharing out ideas / findings to the rest of the college reflection the chance to build, and to communicate to our community, our vision of education
what next? look out for workshops email updates division visits a site on Canvas
