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Assessing Assessment in University of Los Andes
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| Presenter(s):
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| Juny Montoya, Universidad de Los Andes, jmontoya@uniandes.edu.co
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| Abstract:
This paper presents a first attempt to systematize the experience of designing and implementing a strategy called "assessing assessment". This strategy is oriented towards fostering reflection among faculty about their teaching practices and to gather information useful to feed the evaluation system of educational program effectiveness at Los Andes University. This paper summarizes the pilot studies developed during the last three semesters at Los Andes and the analysis of the preliminary results. Partial results show that this strategy is useful to promote reflection among faculty about their teaching practices and the design of their courses. Some questions remain regarding the usefulness of the instrument for summative evaluation purposes; the degree in which learning objectives are being achieved in the courses analyzed also remains uncertain.
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Evaluating the Teaching and Use of Information Literacy Skills by Educators
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| Presenter(s):
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| Jill Hendrickson Lohmeier, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, jill_lohmeier@uml.edu
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| Patricia Fontaine, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, patricia_fontaine@uml.edu
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| Abstract:
This session will discuss the evaluation methods used and the findings from an evaluation of the teaching of information literacy skills for undergraduate education minors, initial teacher certification students and education doctoral students. We conducted faculty focus groups regarding faculty perceptions of their students' information literacy needs and skills. In addition, student focus groups and other data were collected in order to "track" what information literacy skills education students learn in their education classes and either teach with, or teach to their students when they do their student teaching. Although there is general agreement on the importance of information literacy skills, understanding exactly what they are and how to teach them is not always apparent to educators; thus evaluating the effectiveness of teaching these skills is not always straightforward.
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Aligning Curricular Planning, Teaching, and Program Evaluation to Facilitate Educational Program Improvement
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| Presenter(s):
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| Kathleen Bolland, University of Alabama, kbolland@sw.ua.edu
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| Javonda Williams, University of Alabama, jwilliams11@sw.ua.edu
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| Abstract:
When regional and disciplinary accrediting bodies focus on student learning outcomes or competencies and include mandates to base program improvement on evidence, higher education faculty may need to examine their evaluation/assessment plans as well as their programs. To facilitate program improvement based on evidence, it is sensible to align curricular planning, teaching, and evaluation/assessment. Unfortunately, many faculty members have little background in evaluation/assessment (Kuh & Ikenberry, 2009). Further, although literature abounds on curriculum development, instruction, and program evaluation, little advice has been published on aligning the three. We will describe how our faculty accomplished this alignment. We will discuss and provide examples of several tools that can help provide direction and consistency to faculty about to embark on the journey of aligning improvement efforts to evaluation/assessment and evaluation/assessment to student learning outcomes or competencies. Although we focus on social work, the process can be applied in any educational program.
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