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!”

And now… another exciting episode of “Ask the Assessment Guy!”

Dear Assessment guy, I am a musician and movie producer who has decided that my passion lays in teaching. I’ve accepted a fulltime position at SCC in the Music and film department over in building J, behind the campus theater. My question: How do I develop learning outcomes effectively and plan in advance to assess these outcomes?

Sincerely, Robert Zombie

Well Rob, that is an excellent question! You, any other new faculty, and existing faculty can utilize the best tool available, which is the Online Assessment Training Tool (OATT), located in D2L under the heading “training”. This tool will help you to understand the concept of learning outcomes, including effective development and assessment of these outcomes. The OATT will also educate you on many other areas of assessment, including direct and indirect measures, rubric use and development, and a general overview of the approach to assessment at SCC. BTW… I loved your first movie!

Dear Assessment Guy, I am a new instructor in the Law Enforcement Program through CBI. Whilst enforcing the law is my calling, I believe I can be an excellent teacher. However, some old guy named Al Kleaver or Kluever mentioned “rubrics” and I thought they were talking about a new assault rifle. Boy, did I look like an idiot! And nobody makes Sheriff Buford T. Justice look like an idiot! So, what exactly is a rubric?

Sincerely, Sheriff Buford T Justice

Sheriff Justice, the best resources for rubrics, their development, and their use is the Online Assessment Training Tool (OATT). Go into D2L and look under “training” and link to this tool. When there, explore it; you cannot break it. It will provide you a plethora of information regarding rubrics and assessment. Another source is located in the Staffnet portal… once in the portal, roll your mouse over “resources” at the top. Click on assessment, which is the first resource you’ll see. You’ll see all kinds of great information here, including rubrics for you to modify and use as your own. It is a great tool to explore as well. BTW… loved your movies. Sorry the bandit escaped justice. And it’s a Ruger, not a rubric!

Dear Assessment Guy, I’m an external stakeholder in the college and want to see what the college is doing assessment-wise regarding the graduating students who are coming to my door to apply for jobs in non-linear thermonuclear car propulsion utilizing imaginary numbers with the force. Are your graduates qualified? Exactly what are you assessing? How are you assessing? Is there any way for me to find out? Help!

Sincerely, Obi Wan Kenobi

Great question this is, Mr. Kenobi! I believe the answers to all your questions can be answered by checking out our website on assessment (www.southcentral.edu/assessment)! It will not tell you who Luke’s father is, but I think we all know that by now. It will tell you many things, including why assessment is so important, the goals of assessment at SCC, quotes from our administrative team regarding assessment, and you can even view and review assessment plans from various programs. In the near future, even more cool stuff will be there, including copies of CCO’s, lists of committee members, info on technical-specific assessment and LAS-specific assessment, and a link to the new and improved Assessment Guide for SCC. Exciting stuff! Check it out, Obi.

Dear Assessment Guy, I used to work for the government, but now freelance. I’ve decided to move into technical education after a certain fiasco in Grosse Pointe. My question is this: my dean expects me to complete an assessment program. What the heck is that? How do I do it? How do I know if I’m doing it right?

Sincerely, Martin Blank

Mr, Blank, good questions! By the way, you got the girl, so everything turned out okay in Michigan. In brief, an assessment program is the assessment and operational plan packet you’ll need to fill out. For instructions on how to fill it out, you can seek out the assessment coordinator, a member of the student learning committee, a mentor through the student learning committee, or… you can check out the Online Assessment Training Tool (OATT) through D2L and located under tools. This can give you a walk-through of completing the form. You can also check out the new Assessment Guide for information as well. You can also go to the assessment website or into staffnet portal’s link to assessment and actually view completed assessment plans as an example to help guide you. The Student Learning Committee will be reviewing the plans and offering to provide feedback to you as a program to assist you in completing them properly.

Dear Assessment Guy, I used to run a video shop for my dad. My friend Jerry erased them all with his magnetic body, so we started filming them ourselves. This led me to my job at SCC in the music and film department over in building J. My question is this: I hear a lot about assessment at SCC, so I wonder what are the differing levels of assessment that occur at SCC? Where can I go to answer this question? I teach online, so the internet would be a good delivery method for me. Let me know soon!

Sincerely, Jerry Fletcher

Well Jerry, I heard about your dilemma up in Passaic, NJ. My answer to your question is for you to go online through D2L to Training and click on the Online Assessment Training Tool (OATT). This site should be easy to find, since you use D2L every day. Go to content and look in module 2 at the levels of assessment. You’ll find a cornucopia of information regarding the various levels of assessment at SCC, including elaborations on classroom assessment, program assessment, and program review. Other modules in the OATT will also help you with other facets of assessment, including formative, summative, direct, and indirect methods of assessment. BTW… I hope your dad has fun on his Fats Waller excursion!

This column is syndicated worldwide through Werling enterprises. Two things:

1. The first person to read this and correctly identify the movies referred to in the questions and answers will win a bookstore gift certificate. Submit your responses via email to Wayne.Whitmore@southcentral.edu utilizing punctuation and capitalization. Don't Bother! Someone has already won at this point!

2. The first person to read this, peruse the website, and tell me what the OATT refers to as the starting point for a coordinated and manageable approach to assessment will also win a bookstore gift certificate. Submit your responses via email to Wayne.Whitmore@southcentral.edu utilizing punctuation and capitalization. Don't Bother! Someone has already won at this point!

Welcome back faculty members and students! It is the beginning of another exciting and energy-filled term here on campus at South Central College. The sleepy days of summer are slowly but inexorably slipping by the wayside, and the early mornings are ripe with a chill that is but a taste of things to come. Assessment has not been sleeping in over the summer… well maybe for a few days.

So, why do we bother with assessment? Grades are one issue; we have to assign grades to our students. Another issue is student learning. Are our students actually learning what we are teaching? If so, fine. If not, what do we need to change to ensure that those who are paying to be here for an education are actually getting one? Other reasons for assessment include determining whether the services being provided to our learners by entities such as the Student Affairs Center are efficient and productive. This is something for all of us to ponder as we go through our days and nights at SCC this semester.

So, you wonder, what is going on with assessment? What’s the word on the street, so to speak? We are continuing some assessment initiatives from last year, and we are going to begin some new initiatives this academic year. Results of the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency will be announced after the first Student Learning Committee meeting in September. The results of the Global Perspectives Inventory will also be announced at that time. Yada, yada, yada, you say… tell us the new assessment initiatives! Over this academic year, there are several initiatives being pushed forward, including:

• Assessment of the college core competency of Technological Literacy.
• Assessment of the college core competency of Professionalism.
• Continuation of development of assessment of student services.
• Continuation of development of assessment of CBI.
• Creation of an “Assessment Academy” college-wide to train and educate on assessment.
• Finalization of an assessment website, which will allow for transparency of our assessment process.

This is a short list of heavy-duty goals for one calendar year of nine months in length! Additionally, I have been asked, “Why do we need to assess these core competencies? We already assess communication, math, and critical thinking!” Well, my answer to this is that when SCC made them college core competencies, the institution decided these were key areas of importance for our students. Thus, we need to measure to ensure that our graduates and our transferring students have the requisite skills that we determined our graduates need to possess.

You will also note a change in the assessment plan as a whole this semester, as the Operational Plan has become a part of the Assessment Program at SCC. The packet you will be receiving contains both the Operational Plan and the Assessment plan, as both documents are linked.

And now, for the rest of the story! PERKINS FUNDING is available again this year for programmatic assessment initiatives. It cannot fund a project already tried and/or funded through another source, however. There are many Skills USA assessments out there which could benefit several programs on campus.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments! Also, please feel free to attend and become a member of the Student Learning Committee!

Wayne Whitmore