State Mandated Assessments: Coming to a Town Near you?

What's up everyone! So... did the title set the hook in you? That was my homage to the upcoming fishing opener by the way! Anyhow, this is a serious topic I am writing about today. Could MNSCU decide to mandate assessment to the individual programs within the institutions that comprise it? What would be involved in this prescription? What can we do? Let's take a look at these topics in a bit more in depth.


Can and will MNSCU mandate assessment to individual programs system-wide? If this were Jeopardy, the answer would be, "Alex, what is yes!" Assessment is being mandated to some technical programs at this time. It is currently a pilot study that encompasses five programs statewide, including Business, Financial Management, and Accounting, Therapeutic Health, Law Enforcement, Network Systems, and Plant Systems. It is slated to be expanded... how wide will this expand? Good question! A part of this is the mandated assessment of core competencies utilizing standardized assessment tools.


If you go to the website linked below, you will find more information and an example on this topic:


http://www.cte.mnscu.edu/programs/Tech%20Skill%20Asses/MN_Business_Accounting_Public_Fi.pdf

Okay... we've tied down the fact that MNSCU can and has "mandated" assessment of some programs, with more to come. The next question is equally pressing: what is involved in this prescription of assessment? Well, this is a sticky situation, Alex! Essentially, MNSCU and the Department of Education determined core competencies for the programs listed above, hopefully with input from program faculty members. These core competencies are the competencies that will need to be assessed. What does this mean for those in the programs, such as accounting? It means that you'll need to ensure that your core competencies are in line with those MNSCU core competencies. Does this mean that you start "teaching to the test?" Good question. It hinges on what is done with the results of the assessments carried out.


If you go to the website linked below, you will find more information on this topic:


http://www.cte.mnscu.edu/programs/Tech%20Skill%20Asses/CTE_Asessment_Background_Report,.pdf

And now, the final question: what can we do? First and foremost, if you get an email survey from the Department of Education or MNSCU, take the time to complete it, as they may be seeking input on those core competencies. Also, research the links above to see why this is being carried out before rhetoric starts flying around.


Quite honestly, I do not like what I'm seeing here. But I do see why it is happening. I am just the messenger- a blogger. An assessment coordinator. A faculty member.


Happy Days,


Wayne Whitmore

Assess your Learners Before you Assess your Learners!

What Kind of Learners Do YOU Have?

 

This seems like a rather simplistic question to many people. I have talked to many people about this around the college, and two responses really stood out to me. The first response was that, "I have learners who pay to be here." Another response I have heard is, "It does not matter what their learning style is, as long as they learn what I am teaching."

 

I suppose that in the big picture of things, our learners do in fact pay to be here, and our learners are supposed to learn what they are being taught. From this perspective, these folks were correct in their statements. Now, we need to narrow our focus just a bit.

 

To do this, I repeat the question to you: what kind of learners do you have sitting in your classroom chairs or sitting in their own chairs or in a coffee shop or wherever else they choose to work on their online class work? How do you know? How can you know? And finally, why should you care?

 

In four years of teaching (and learning from) both face-to-face and online courses, as well as advising students who are taking these courses, I have come to conclude that we should know what kind of learners we have and yes, we should care about what kind of learners we have in our real or electronic classrooms. Hear ye, hear ye, let the clamoring now commence... how am I supposed to know the learning style of my students? Why should I care? I'm teaching too many sections of classes and I have too many students in those classes to become this involved with the students.

 

Well, let me tell you. Let me show you the way. You do not necessarily have to care about individual students to care about their success rates in your classes. We have tools available to us as faculty members to assess our student’s capacity to learn from various instructional techniques and styles. If we do nothing more than have our students self assess their learning styles to give them an opportunity to choose classes that fit their learning styles, then I feel we have done a great service to our students and potentially have increased our retention rates as well. Let's look at a real-world example now:

 

We had a student sign up for our program a couple of years ago. He was a nontraditional student referred to us by the workforce center. He also lived about 30 miles from the college. The student took a learning styles assessment which indicated that he learned best from having a person physically talk to him regarding the materials. His worst score was in self directed learning. Upon presentation of advising, this student decided to sign up for online courses so he would not have to travel to and from the college. Unfortunately, this student could barely even power a computer up, let alone operate it in a cogent fashion. Ultimately, the student was self-motivated enough to complete the required coursework online with a low "C" average, although he may have failed a class or two along the way. He also eventually decided to work towards a certificate rather than a degree, given the difficulties he encountered.

 

What could this student have done differently? What could we have done differently? This student could have taken classes in a face-to-face manner which befitted his learning style. However, this would have meant that the student would have to drive to campus three days a week. We could have more strongly advised the student to avoid online course work, as he was not a good self-directed learner.

 

So, the question now is, "How do I know what kind of learner I have?" We will look briefly at two of the tools available to us to assess learning styles of our learners. These tools include the Vark Learning Styles Questionnaire and the READI.

 

Vark Learning Styles Questionnaire: the name for this tool is derived from the following: Visual, Aural, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic. It seems to speak for itself. This free questionnaire is marketed as a tool to help you understand your learning style, as well as helping you to develop study strategies to best fit your style of learning. Students go to the website, click on the link to the questionnaire, and complete the questionnaire in a short period of time. Upon completion, they are given their scores and an explanation of what the scores mean. There is also a printable paper and pen version of the Vark available on the website. I require all first-year students in my classes to complete this questionnaire and send the results along to me. I also require a discussion posting in D2L in which the students talk about their learning style. At the end of the day, I feel that my students have gained some valuable insight from having completed this questionnaire and having written about the results.

 

This questionnaire is free, and the website provides much detailed information regarding results and the deciphering of these results. Thanks to Peter Johnson, computer careers instructor, for tuning me in to this most excellent tool!

 

• A link to the website is provided here: http://www.vark-learn.com/english/index.asp

 

READI: this tool is designed to identify levels of student readiness for online courses. It is a diagnostic tool which measures the student’s traits, skills, and knowledge to help identify how well prepared the student is for an online course. Upon completion of this tool, students are presented with an easy to read report that displays their readiness for an online course in several categories, including learning style, academic personal attributes, reading rate and recall, technical competency and knowledge, and typing speed and accuracy.

 

South Central College has obtained administration rights to this assessment tool for our students to utilize in determining whether or not to take an online course. In other words, it is free! I will be requiring all new online students in my courses to complete this tool at the beginning of the semester. They will then send the results along to me, as well as posting a discussion analyzing their learning style. Thanks to Evan Peterson for turning me on to this most excellent tool as well!

 

• A link to the READI is provided here: http://southcentral.readi.info/
• The user name is: sccstudent and the password is: student.

 At the end of the day, you may or may not care about your students learning styles. Nothing I can say may be enough to convince you that you should be. But here is what I do know:

 

• Student success in your course may be better if they know their learning style and you know their learning style.
• Retention is tied to student success; the more successful students are, the more likely we are to retain them within our programs and within the college.
• Given the Academic Program Prioritization (APP) process that programs and disciplines will be going through each year, retention is very important as it is a measure that shows up in the APP process.
• These tools are free and require little or no direct input from you unless you so desire to provide input.

Ultimately, I feel that we are here for our students; they are our customers, consumers, learners, or any other buzzword you may feel free to attach to them. If we can provide assistance in the form of a low-key assessment tool that may educate them as to their learning style and preference or their readiness for an online course, then I believe we should take full advantage of this and have them complete one or both of them.

 

This is my spiel for the month, and I'm sticking to it. How about you? I'll take my leave now, with a quote from Groucho Marx:

 

Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others.

 

Well, well, well... the HLC visit is over and we were successful in our endeavors! Full reaccreditation for the next 10 years. That said, assessment was not mentioned as a weakness- a victory- or as a strength. Essentially we are doing okay with assessment, as we have obviously improved in leaps and bounds over our previous visit. However, we have not achieved the holy grail- assessment as a strength. 


This means we need to persist in bringing the fight to the enemy! Our enemy at this point in regards to assessment is the status quo. It is also the lackadasical attitude that we have made it and can now relax for eight years!  Now is the time to continue to strike whilst the iron is hot and finish what we've started. Some of my newer readers may wonder, "What have we started?" Let's take a look at some assessment initiatives that are ongoing at this time: 

1. Assessment of our College Core Competencies: we've started; now we need to push through by mandating assessment for our graduating students. We also need to push through in locating or developing instruments to measure our other core competencies.
2. Assessment in LAS: We have a good start here also. The eFolio process is continuing to evolve and will continue to become a greater tool of assessment in LAS. In addition to this, there are pushes for alternative assessment methods in LAS, which means that relevant discussions regarding assessment are occurring and the creative juices are flowing.
3. Technical Assessment: This area of assessment has a long track record and continues to grow and evolve as well. Many programs are utilizing standardized assessment instruments from NOCTI and Skills USA. There have been some issues and some glitches, but we are moving onward and upward.
4. Assessment of Student Affairs: We have begun a new era with the push for varied assessments in student affairs. Dean Linda Beer is working diligently to increase assessment in her division in order to address accountability issues and to improve service to our most valued customers- the students.
5. Examination of our College Core Competencies: The Student Learning Committee will be re-examining our college core competencies this Spring to ensure their relevance and usefulness. For example, do we wish to have a core competency of Technological Literacy or one of Informational Literacy? What is better? What's the difference? Join the SLC and join the debate!

We absolutely cannot lose focus and drop the ball at this point! We've expended too much time, money, and energy to get to where we are to regress to where we used to be. Maintain your vigilance and continue to fight the fight to assess for both your and your student's sake. 

We are accredited! Celebrate your hard work. Now get up, dust yourself off, and lets march to achieve assessment perfection!

Wayne Whitmore

Assessment: Who Should Take the Lead? Who Wants to Take the Lead?

There are surely some things set in stone at a college, be it a two or four-year environment. Assessment is one of the foundational stones upon which a college is built. We can all agree with this, with few exceptions. Regardless of the department or area in a college that you may work, chances are that there are both internal and external expectations and standards that likely apply to you. Thus, you are assessed. Likewise, most areas of the college work for and with students, faculty, other staff and administration. You likely assess those you work with, whether you do so formally or informally.

Okay… we’ve reached agreement that assessment is important, and that we assess and are assessed. If assessment is truly important, and we do it, we need someone to lead the charge on assessment?

And now, the question of the ages… who should lead the charge on assessment? Should assessment be driven from the top down? The bottom up? Are there advantages either way? Any disadvantages?

Let’s look briefly at both scenarios. Assessment can be driven from the top down. Administration can dictate assessment; indeed they do dictate assessment. We are mandated to assess by our college. Assessment programs of one type or another are completed by all academic programs, and this trend is beginning to move into non-academic areas as well. The question? Is this the best method? Does this method work? Some buy into assessment, thoughtfully and diligently working to create the best process possible, and others do it because they have to do it. And some choose not to do it.

We’ll flip it now. Assessment can be faculty-driven. The faculty choose to take a leadership role in assessment college-wide. Assessment is still mandated, given its nature as one of the cornerstones of education. What would the end result be? Some will buy into assessment, thoughtfully and diligently working to create the best process possible, and others do it because they have to do it. And some will choose not to do it. A devilish conundrum indeed!

We need to drive a change from faculty reluctance to faculty engagement. The issue is how to do this. In the online journal Academic Leadership, Don Haviland writes that, “Assessment of student learning seems to have stalled as a vehicle for transforming higher education.”  He made this statement because assessment is not tied to our planning and budget processes, it is not a performance expectation of faculty, and overall, there is no true culture of assessment.

Some suggestions offered include leading assessment proactively. This means that assessment is more than just another activity to be undertaken. It should lead to a paradigm change within the organization, leading to a true culture of assessment.

Another suggestion is to articulate a relevant vision. This vision should be a clear vision, and one that is not driven by external accreditation. This may be a good place to start, but we as a college need to build upon it and own it both individually and as a collective. 

This is but a taste of what this article has to offer. For a complete viewing, please go to:

http://www.academicleadership.org/ideas_worth_merit/601.shtml

Have a great month!

Wayne Whitmore, Student Learning Coordinator 

A New Semester has Began!

I know, I know, assessment was the last thing on your mind over the last few weeks! Especially for faculty members! Well, I am here to tell you a simple fact: we continued to assess even though we weren't at work! You likely believe me to be obviously out of my head at this point. You shout, "I didn't even think about work over the holidays!" And I believe you... to a point. But, we did continue to carry out assessments whilst on break. Let's examine a short but interesting list of some assessments you performed over the break, shall we?

1. Holiday travel: we assessed, based upon the weather report and our own personal sensory experiences, whether it was safe and reasonable to travel over the so-called hills and through the "woods" to visit gramma or mom or Aunt Susan or whomever.
2. Holiday meal: we assessed, based upon our personal sensory and bodily feelings and possibly goals for the new year whether to have seconds or thirds of the feast of the day.
3. Holiday libations: we assessed, with some of us weighing possible consequences as to how much we could legally consume at the holiday party and drive home. We may also have assessed, based upon new years goals, the caloric intake of beer or whether or not we should consume anything at all. 
4. Holiday shopping: we assessed, based on our knowledge, whether or not we could afford to buy that extra gift for mom or for the spouse. We weighed the pros and cons and either pulled the trigger on the gift or put the wallet back in your pocket or purse!

You get the point, as I obviously could go on and on with this. We assess, whether we actively think about it or not. That said, let's make a concerted effort to not only assess our students this semester, but to record what, why, and how we do it and incorporate those results! If we do this, we will truly be living the "culture of assessment" that we epitomise here at SCC.

One last thing... The HLC Reaccreditation team will be here in a scant 2 weeks and 4 days! Read the report that so many of you worked so hard on because the team will be asking questions! Go out to: http://southcentral.edu/accreditation2010/selfstudy.cfm and read what was written!

Welcome to the Assessment Blog!

Good day to you all!

This blog is set to be used as a tool and as a forum of discussion for assessment and assessment-related topics. Please feel free to read and respond. I only ask that you do so in a respectful manner utilizing your name. Also feel free to direct any questions you may have regarding assessment to me.

I am not claiming to be an expert by any means, but I will try to cogently respond to any and all comments and/or queries. I will also be blogging on a topic of interest once weekly or so. I will also be posting links to new, interesting, and/or exciting articles through this blog.

So, check it out!

Wayne Whitmore

What is Your Mindset?

What is YOUR Mindset?

I was attending yet another meeting last week when my ears beheld an interesting concept regarding assessment. I thought about it, and decided there was some merit to the comments I had directed toward my person. I decided to delve a bit deeper on the topic, which has led to this wretchedly beautiful column in this month’s Connections Newsletter. What was this concept, you ask? Well, it involves the term mindset.

The term “mindset” can and has been defined in a variety of ways, including… The Oxford American Dictionary defines mindset as “an established set of attitudes held by someone.” Another definition from dictionary.com is “A fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person's responses to and interpretations of situations.”

Another way to look at this is “a set of assumptions, methods or notations held by one or more people or groups of people which is so established that it creates a powerful incentive within these people or groups to continue to adopt or accept prior behaviors, choices, or tools.” We’ve now entered the realm of cognitive biases!

Given my background and training as a Psychologist, I naturally did some research on the topic, discovering a plethora of research on mindset, including developmental research and research on terrorism among others. I’ll focus on Dr. Carol Dweck’s book Mindset. She proposes, based upon decades of research, that we all have either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.

A fixed mindset means simply that one is of the belief that we have a talent for something or we do not. We can either do something or we cannot; there is no real middle ground. Why put forth effort and energy on a topic when I ultimately will not be able to master it? A growth mindset, on the other hand, posits that anything and everything is possible. If you have an interest in something or have to learn something for work, you can and will do it. A fixed mindset will lead one to believe, “My intelligence is my intelligence and I cannot change it” while a growth mindset will lead one to believe “I can always significantly change how intelligent I am.”

So, I ask again… WHAT IS YOUR MINDSET?

When the talk turns to assessment, which are you? Are you fixed and rigid, unwilling to even try to learn and/or demonstrate assessment know-how? Are you fixed and rigid, doing assessment plans only because you have to? Are you fixed and rigid, refusing to even think of incorporating new and improved techniques? Are you fixed and rigid, refusing to even hear what others have to say about assessment because you’ve been doing it for 5, 10, or even 20 years and there is nothing YOU can tell me I don’t already know. If so, you have a fixed mindset!

Conversely, are you one of those who is open to learning and incorporating new ideas and techniques? Are you one of those who recognize that things change and you may need to change with them? Are you one of those who may freely admit that, intelligent though I am, I do not know everything about everything and am willing to listen and learn from others? If so, you have a growth mindset!

Your mindset can have a dramatic impact upon your performance. Back in the day when I worked formally and informally as a tutor and mentor to other college students, one of the lessons I tried to impart was the impact that mindset could have on your successfully completing a course. For example, a student may come to you and say, “I am terrible at math and I’ll never be able to learn it.” True or not, this statement indicates that the student has essentially given up before ever stepping in the classroom. Their performance will suffer accordingly. The same can be said of assessment. Those who do assessment “only because I have to” will likely not do a very good job of assessment.

Experience has shown me that many people have a fixed mindset regarding assessment. Your response to that last statement, by the way, was denial! J What we need to do is integrate assessment into our everyday daily activities. What? We already do that? Okay then, so why do we have the fixed mindset?

We need to not only do assessment, but to clearly document what and how we do it. At the abovementioned meeting, I heard another faculty member say, “Oh, we do this, this, and this, but we just don’t include it in our assessment plan.” The golden rule, as many of you know, states that, “If it is not written down, it does not exist and never happened.” Accrediting bodies, such as the HLC, want documentation- literally 10 years worth- to support what is written in the report we’ll be sending them soon. What of your program’s accrediting body?

We need to change our mindsets regarding assessment. Yes, assessment is “required” of us. However, the ultimate goal and purpose of assessment is to improve our student’s access to necessary materials and improve their ability to learn what they need to know in order to be successful in their varied endeavors. We should not be “going through the motions” because we have to; rather, we should all be concerned about our students and whether or not they are learning what they need to know- those three to five things we absolutely want to ensure they know when they walk out the door and down the aisle at graduation.

I end this article with the same question you were confronted with at the beginning, “WHAT IS YOUR MINDSET?” and the point that, “YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR MINDSET!”