Assessing Co-curricularLearning

Robert MundhenkVisiting Scholar

The Higher Learning Commission

Traditional Approaches to Assessment of Learning

Ask Institutional Research about graduation, retention, GPAs, and the like

Ask faculty about their teaching and the learning it produces—but not necessarily whether they know they’re producing learning

Ask faculty how they know they’re producing learning

Rescheduled for Jan. 19 at 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. YU 204•Co-curricular Assessment workshop presented by Bob Mundhenk                 Yellowjacket Union 203  While most institutions have devoted effort and resources to the effectiveness of the co-curricular services and programs they offer, only recently have they started to assess the learning these areas produce. This session will explore ways to assess the impact of co-curricular efforts on student learning and development.Targeted Audience:  Faculty and staff in non-academic units interested in assessment.     

The Institutional Mismatch

Traditional wisdom: Learning outcomes need to be aligned at course, program, and institutional levels

But where are many general education goals, like “tolerance” and “teamwork” and “the ability to function in an increasingly diverse world” and “inclination” taught and assessed?

Or is “taught” the right word???

Shifting Perspectives

What happens if we substitute the word “learned” for the word “taught”?

What are the implications of “Where are learning outcomes learned and assessed”?

Emphasis on student demonstration, not topic-covering

Ability to do or apply supersedes knowing Responsibility for learning is shared Site of learning becomes less specific, and

boundaries become more fungible

After Learning Reconsidered

“Learning” is not exclusively classroom-basedMany valued outcomes are not taught

exclusively in the classroomMany valued outcomes are the result of

processes outside the classroom “Learning” is a process based on three

interdependent student experiences: Understanding academic content and processes Student development Identity formation

After Learning Reconsidered

Responsibility for “learning” exists outside the classroom

Responsibility for “learning” doesn’t always take the same form; some entities on campus produce it, some facilitate it, some support it

Responsibility for assessing learning exists outside the classroom as well

Some Post-LR Examples of Learning

Civic Responsibility AA: Service learning SA: Student government, voter registration,

student judicial boards

Think and Engage as a Global Citizen AA: Language courses, Anthropology, Sociology SA: International experiences, culture days,

residence halls

UW- Superior’s Five Institutional Goals

Ability and inclination to:◦Think and make connections across disciplines◦Express oneself in multiple forms◦Analyze and reflect upon multiple perspectives

to arrive at a perspective of one’s own◦Think and engage as a global citizen◦Engage in evidence-based problem-solving

Ability and Inclination

How is ability made evident?Where and how is ability developed?Where is ability assessed?

What is “inclination”?How is it made evident?Where and how is it developed?Where is it assessed?

How Do These Outcomes Connect with Undergraduate Learning Outcomes?

Campus Life learning outcomes:◦Recognizing and enhancing leadership potential◦Developing an appreciation of human

differences◦Seeking opportunities to engage in the campus

community and beyond◦Expanding desire for life-long learning

What Ability or Inclination Do They Develop?

Campus Life learning outcomes:◦Recognizing and enhancing leadership potential◦Developing an appreciation of human

differences◦Seeking opportunities to engage in the campus

community and beyond◦Expanding desire for life-long learning

How Do We Know They’re Achieved?

Campus Life learning outcomes:◦Recognizing and enhancing leadership potential◦Developing an appreciation of human

differences◦Seeking opportunities to engage in the campus

community and beyond◦Expanding desire for life-long learning

Co-curricular Outcomes

Need to be intentionalNeed to be planned Need to be part of the structure of a

student’s experienceNeed to be assessed

BEING INTENTIONAL

Traditional Co-curricular Assessment

Efficiency models: Focus on process How well is this office/service functioning? Focus on numbers:

Clients served Graduation rates Tutorial visits Attendance at activities Student/staff ratios

Newer Co-curricular Assessment

Effectiveness Models: Indirect◦Based on surveys and other indirect indicators,

like NSSE◦Often rely on student self-reporting◦Tend to skew positively on outcomes, if not

always on the processes that led to them

Newer Co-curricular Assessment

Effectiveness Models: Direct◦Focuses on student performance◦Can be based on observation or objective

measures◦Require carefully designed and consistent

measuring practices

How to Assess Co-curricular Learning

Apply external standards, like CAS

Use surveys and questionnaires

Develop direct measurement strategies

All of the above

CAS Standards

Standards for 40 functional areasThirteen component parts:

Mission Program Leadership Organization and management Human resources Financial resources Facilities, technology, and equipment Legal responsibilities Equity and access Campus and community relations Diversity Ethics Assessment and evaluation

CAS’s Six Outcome Domains

Knowledge acquisition, construction, integration, and application

Cognitive complexityIntrapersonal DevelopmentInterpersonal competenceHumanitarianism/Civic EngagementPractical Competence

Using CAS Standards

Can easily document the efficiency of processes and organization

Can be used as well (through an emphasis on the domains) to chart the effectiveness of outcome development efforts—depending on outcome definition and quality of evidence

Outcome Definition

Career Services: As a result of interactions with the Career Services Office, students and alumni will:

Identify their skills, abilities, and strengths in order to make knowledgeable career decisions

Have the necessary resources and skills to prepare for life-long post-graduate experiences

How are these outcomes connected to institutional learning outcomes?

What are “resources and skills”?

Outcome Definition

College Unions: As a result of experiences in the Yellowjacket Union, students will:◦ Identify and utilize the opportunities and services

available to them◦Demonstrate a sense of ownership for the campus

community and civic involvement◦ Interact with and value individuals from diverse

backgrounds and lifestylesHow do you know you’ve achieved the second

and third outcomes?How do they overlap with institutional

outcomes?

Outcome Definition and Evidence

Clearly defined outcomes help determine the nature of evidence to be collected

Clearly defined outcomes focus on student performance and development, thus calling for both direct and indirect forms of evidence

Direct and Indirect Measures

DIRECT: uses performance or product, created by students, that can be compared to expected outcomes--Capstone courses, projects, internships, clinical experiences, etc.

INDIRECT: uses information that does not directly link the learning to the outcomes--graduation rates, grades, surveys, “usage” rates

Questions about Evidence

Is it relevant to the area’s stated mission and function?

Does it measure what we want it to measure?

Does it deal in some way with outcomes?Is the information derived useful?Can the information be used to improve

either function or learning?

Surveys and Questionnaires: Some Sample Questions

Did you accomplish what you hoped to accomplish in your meeting with your advisor?

How well did your experience at X prepare you for employment?

As a result of this First-Year program, do you feel better prepared for college?

Write a short essay in which you describe the ways in which your attitudes and values have changed as a result of your semester in Argentina.

Surveys and Questionnaires: Indirect Evidence

Traditional, indirect source of information on effectiveness

Limitations: Self-reporting Unvalidated opinion Response rates Opportunistic data Skewed samples

Surveys and Questionnaires

Kinds: Satisfaction Reflective Post-experience experience (alumni and

employers)Value:

True “customer” response Can indicate areas for improvement and

ratification Provides data for planning and review

Surveys and Questionnaires

Making them tools to assess learning: Use learning outcomes as basis for at least some

questions Validate by cross-referencing outcomes with

different populations (employers, alumni, graduate, current students)

Emphasize the learning outcomes in design and analysis of surveys and questionnaires

Direct Effectiveness Measures

If Learning Reconsidered made the case for cross-campus responsibility for learning, then assessment of learning outcomes is also a cross-campus responsibility

Adaptation of practices and devices already in use in academic settings

Standardized Judgment-based

Developing Direct Measures of Effectiveness

Intentional Planning:◦Determine areas of responsibility: what

office/function might be a logical place to contribute to particular learning outcomes?

◦Plan the outcome-based purpose of the activity◦Aim at the appropriate level of Bloom’s taxonomy◦Design non-passive activities (watching a film plus

discussion; International Days as more than food, costumes, and dance)

◦Design outcome-focused opportunities for processing

Understanding the Outcomes

What is “inclination” and how is it developed in co-curricular activities?

How does a student “express oneself in multiple forms”?

What is a “global citizen”?What does it mean to “make connections

across academic disciplines” and how might co-curricular activities have a role in developing this outcome?

Being Intentional

Choose one of the outcomes below and determine how your co-curricular area might have some responsibility for developing it. Name specific activities that might help develop the outcome and specify what their effect on the student should be.

Think and make connections across academic disciplines Express oneself in multiple forms Analyze and reflect upon multiple perspectives to arrive at a

perspective of one’s own Think and engage as a global citizen Engage in evidence-based problem-solving

Planning for the Long Term

Mapping:◦If the learning outcome is important, single

exposure isn’t enough◦How do first-year experiences differ from last-

year ones—or what difference is expected in student response?

◦How to assure student’s development of outcomes from first year to last?

Regular Assessment

One-shot assessment produces haphazard results that are usually insufficient for planning improvement

Tie assessments to logical stages of development, based on an outcome map

Be consistent in approach to assessingOptions:

Standardized instruments Self-generated tools

Self-generated Tools

ObservationsExpert judgmentsStudent self-reflectionEmployer/supervisor judgments

Using Self-Generated Tools

Consistency across observers is crucial, so a rubric of some kind is essential

Holistic rubrics: broad judgments (Acceptable/Not Acceptable/Needs Improvement)

Descriptive rubrics: defined criteria and measures

Descriptive Rubrics

First, determine the aspects of student performance that would indicate he/she has achieved an outcome (e.g., one aspect of a “social justice” outcome might be “the student’s writing demonstrates sensitivity to issues of class and power”)

Second, define the specific things a student would have to do to show he/she has mastered that aspect (e.g., “Clear understanding of the ways in which economic status affects behavior.” (Criteria)

Finally, describe degrees of achievement for each criterion (Measures)

Developing a Rubric

Using the outcome and the functional area you chose earlier, develop a rubric to measure student achievement, defining one performative aspect of the outcome, one criterion for measuring that aspect, and a system (holistic, descriptive, whatever) for describing degrees of attainment

Institutional Assessment

Assessments done across campus should ideally use the same rubrics or measures

When using the same tools is not possible, it is essential that there be a way to extract information that is usable at the institutional level while still serving the needs of the functional area

To conclude:◦Understand the meaning of the desired

outcomes and your role in developing them◦Separate efficiency from effectiveness◦Plan experiences and assessments carefully◦Focus on using assessment information to

improve learning, not to justify your existence◦Collect information that is relevant, meaningful,

and useful◦Design systems that are reasonable and

manageable

ROBERT MUNDHENKasmt357@aol.com

rmundhenk@hlcommission.org