Assignment)Design)as)a)Hot)Spot) )for)Faculty)and)Ins9tu9onal) … · 2016-02-23 · ThePlan) • Context$ • SaintXavier$University$ • Gu8man$Community$College$ • Your$ideas$$$

Assignment Design as a Hot Spot for Faculty and Ins9tu9onal

Collabora9on: Lessons from NILOA’s Work with the Degree

Qualifica9ons Profile and Tuning

Pat Hutchings, NILOA Laura Gambino, Gu8man Community College

Brad Mello, Saint Xavier University Natasha Jankowski, NILOA

ASSIGNMENT DESIGN AS A HOT SPOT

•  Animates high-‐level outcomes •  Creates a pedagogical trading zone •  Surfaces connecKons across courses

and contexts and promotes more coherent pathways for students

•  Provides rich, authenKc evidence to inform improvement

•  Makes visible and brings value to the intellectual work that faculty do as teachers (the scholarship of T&L)

The Plan

•  Context •  Saint Xavier University •  Gu8man Community College •  Your ideas •  Resources

On My Campus… 1.  Assignments are mostly seen as “my work” and not

shared. 2.  Some colleagues share assignments in informal ways. 3.  Support for collaboraKve work on assignment design

is provided through workshops and other events. 4.  Evidence from assignments is used in the insKtuKon’s

approach to student outcomes assessment. 5.  Work on assignments is seen as scholarly work and

appropriately rewarded. 6.  Some other reality?

NILOA’s mission is to discover and disseminate effec9ve

use of assessment data to strengthen undergraduate educa9on and support ins9tu9ons in their assessment

efforts. ● SURVEYS ● WEB SCANS ● CASE STUDIES ● FOCUS GROUPS ● OCCASIONAL PAPERS ● WEBSITE ● RESOURCES ● NEWSLETTER ● PRESENTATIONS ● TRANSPARENCY FRAMEWORK ● FEATURED WEBSITES ● ACCREDITATION RESOURCES ● ASSESSMENT EVENT CALENDAR ● ASSESSMENT NEWS ● MEASURING QUALITY INVENTORY ● POLICY ANALYSIS ● ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN ● DEGREE QUALIFICATIONS PROFILE AND TUNING ● ASSIGNMENT LIBRARY INITIATIVE

www.learningoutcomesassessment.org

What is the DQP? •  A framework for what students should be expected to know and do in all majors

•  In 5 areas of proficiency

•  At 3 successive degree levels

•  Intellectual Skills •  Specialized Knowledge

•  Broad IntegraKve Knowledge

•  Civic and Global Learning

•  Applied and CollaboraKve Learning

Tuning the Disciplines A five step process for idenKfying what students should know and be able to do in the major

The Tuning Process

•  IdenKfy essenKal learning •  Map career pathways •  Consult stakeholders •  Hone core competencies and learning outcomes

•  Implement locally

NILOA as Harvester of DQP/Tuning Work: What We’ve Learned

•  Clarifying and aligning outcomes •  Curriculum mapping •  FacilitaKng transfer •  Rethinking assessment •  A focus on assignments

NILOA’s Response

•  InviKng faculty applicaKons (with drad assignment)

•  Bringing the group together for a day-‐long meeKng

•  Working in 5-‐6 person, facilitated “charre8es”

The Assignment Library

•  www.assignmentlibrary.org •  50-‐some assignments aligned with DQP proficiencies

•  Contributed by faculty from a wide range of fields and insKtuKonal types

•  Online, indexed, and searchable •  With a scholarly citaKon and CC license •  SKmulaKng assignment work on campuses

BRAD’S SLIDES HERE

Achieving Learning Outcomes Using a Public RelaKons Course to achieve DQP related learning

outcomes and moKvate colleagues to do the same – while scaffolding skills and discipline specific outcomes

Public RelaKons Group Project Design a non-‐profit organizaKon with a mission to solve a parKcular social issue. Write a 5 page paper that:

• Describes the mission of the organizaKon • ArKculates the parKcular social issue addressed • Outlines 3 public relaKons strategies/events to address the social issue

Prepare a 30 minute presentaKon designed to introduce a general audience to the non-‐profit and highlight the strategies and events that the non-‐profit would undertake. All members of the team must speak during the presentaKon. A quesKon and answer session will follow each presentaKon. AAC&U developed rubrics to be used to evaluate your project.

Using AAC&U Rubrics

•  Inquiry and Analysis (24 points available total)

•  CreaKve Thinking (24 points available total)

•  Oral CommunicaKon (20 points available total)

•  InformaKon Literacy (20 points available total)

•  Team Work (20 points available total)

•  Civic Engagement (24 points available total)

•  18 points assigned by team

l)

Assignment Tweaking: Charre8e Style

Crisis Management Exercise – adding a level of ‘real’

Assignment Outcomes

•  More CreaKve Projects •  Clear expectaKons appreciated by students

•  Be8er oral presentaKons

•  Be8er team work •  Easier to evaluate projects

MoKvaKng Faculty Leading by Example

•  Team of faculty parKcipaKng in next design charre8e – three faculty worked together to scaffold assignment in lower division courses to prepare students for senior seminar be8er

•  Assignment Design Workshops at department meeKngs each semester – two or three faculty volunteer to present assignments and all department members provide feedback

Next Steps for Saint Xavier’s CommunicaKon Department

Using the NaKonal CommunicaKon AssociaKon’s (NCA) Learning Outcome Project and Assignment Design As a Guide to Improve Learning

GuYman Community College

•  Part of the City University of New York (CUNY)

•  Opened in August, 2012 •  Diverse, Urban Student Body –  90% of students under-‐prepared for college-‐level work

–  ~50% first generaKon

The GuYman Student Experience

Programs of Study

Limited number of majors Structured Pathways

First Year Experience

Full-‐Time A8endance

Required interdisciplinary

curriculum Learning CommuniKes/InstrucKonal Teams

Embedded remedial coursework

Summer Bridge

Required a8endance Introduce students to college and educaKonal model

ePor[olio and Assessment

ePor[olio •  Every student creates an

ePorrolio in Summer Bridge •  Place to learn, share, and

reflect on growth •  Connects individual student

learning components –  Personal growth –  Academic Growth –  Curriculum and ExperienKal

•  Used for assessment of student learning

GuYman Learning Outcomes •  5 GLOs

–  Broad IntegraKve Knowledge –  Specialized Knowledge –  Intellectual Skills –  Civic Learning –  Applied Learning Use ongoing assessment to

inform decisions about student learning and professional

development and to improve ins9tu9onal prac9ce.

Stella and Charles GuYman Community College will be a model

learning organiza9on

GuYman Assignment Design CharreYe

Intense, structured period of design •  Assigned faculty/advisor to interdisciplinary groups of 4

•  Each parKcipant brought 3 copies of an assignment or idea for an assignment


Step 1: Individual Assignment Review (30 min) •  Each person reviewed and took notes on the other 3 assignments in their group – What GLOs do you think students will be able to demonstrate with this assignment?

– What are the strengths of the assignment? – How will students reflect on and arKculate their learning?

– What quesKons do you have about the assignment?


Step 2: Carousel (4 rounds, 25 min each) •  1 presenter, 3 listeners –  Part I (5 min) Presenter: Introduces and discusses the assignment.

Listeners: Writes thoughts and quesKons without speaking. –  Part II (15 min)

Listeners: Respond, taking turns asking quesKons, sharing thoughts, feedback, ways to strengthen the assignment.

–  Part III (5 min) Listeners: Give presenter wri8en feedback and suggesKons. Presenter: Write down notes about assignment, based on feedback.


Step 3: Final WriYen Reflec9on (40 min) •  IdenKfy two or three concrete changes you will make to strengthen the assignment.

•  Assignment ReflecKon Form – Why did you create this assignment? –  How does this assignment relate to the rest of what you are teaching?

– What skills will students need to have or develop to successfully complete this assignment? What GLOs will it address?

– What evidence can students provide in this assignment that would show they have accomplished what you hoped they would accomplish when you created the assignment?

(Stevens & Levi, 2013)


Rubric Construc9on Ac9vity •  Step 1: Assignment ReflecKon Form

•  Step 2: LisKng •  Step 3: Grouping and Labeling

•  Step 4: ApplicaKon

GuYman Assignment Design Next Steps

•  Development of – Signature Assignment Framework for each course – Curriculum Map 2.0 development

•  Assignment Design Charre8e by Course/Discipline

•  Assessment of signature assignments in student ePorrolios

Where might we go from here? What is one thing you have done or would like to do to bring greater aYen9on to assignment design on your campus?

28

What Next? •  What does a focus on assignments suggest for… –  framing assignment work? – being explicit about learning? – connec9ng and aligning learning outcomes? –  rubric alignment?

Lessons from Campus Experience •  Start where people are (and good quesKons) •  Define “faculty” broadly •  Involve students •  Take advantage of exisKng structures for support and

coordinaKon •  Create mechanisms for making good work visible, and for

recogniKon and reward •  Collaborate across campuses, disciplines, with employers •  AnKcipate that this work prompts a8enKon to larger but

related issues—eg curriculum mapping, porrolio design…

•  76% of parKcipants said “it helped me more clearly see my assignment through my students’ eyes.

•  59%: I’m more aware of aligning my assignments with desired insKtuKonal outcomes.

•  38%: helped to lead or facilitate an event about assignment design on their campus

www.assignmentlibrary.org

Resources

•  Quality CollaboraKves: h8p://www.aacu.org/qc •  Peter Ewell: The Degree QualificaKons Profile: ImplicaKons for Assessment

•  Cliff Adleman: To Imagine a Verb: The Language and Syntax of Learning Outcomes Statements

•  Hutchings, Jankowski, & Ewell: Catalyzing Assignment Design on Your Campus

•  NILOA Assignment Library: www.assignmentlibrary.org •  DQP/Tuning coaches

Thank you! Email: [email protected]

[email protected]

www.degreeprofile.org www.assignmentlibrary.org

www.learningoutcomesassessment.org

Thank You

Documents

Assignment)Design)as)a)Hot)Spot) )for)Faculty)and)Ins9tu9onal) … · 2016-02-23 · ThePlan) • Context$ • SaintXavier$University$ • Gu8man$Community$College$ • Your$ideas$$$