“[R]ather than divide the undergraduate experience into separate camps, general versus specialized education, the curriculum of a college of quality will bring the two together.” Ernest Boyer, 2001 We proposed a collaborative project to examine this complementary relationship between general education and the major, and, in particular, to establish methods of assessment that allow us to learn Report from a project funded about, improve, and strengthen the achievement of liberal learning by the Teagle Foundation to goals by all of our students, irrespective of the major they choose. Beloit, Knox, Monmouth, Ripon Marion Fass, Kevin Hastings, Frank Gersich, Robin Woods We wanted to develop a project that put faculty members first in assessment We know that both students and faculty have distinct interests and skills Faculty members would define their own goals What happens after General Education courses? Develop their own measures of assessment How does course work in majors both support Maintain autonomy (Free-market perspective) growth in selected areas AND reinforce all college goals? How do faculty members define, teach to and But within the larger context of institutional assess these goals? mission Serial model of education Do all graduates have the same skills? Is that our goal? Parallel model of liberal arts- is it intentional? 1
2 volunteer departments per institution per As expected, quantitative reasoning in year Philosophy differs from that in Mathematics, but what about critical thinking or civic How departments address and reinforce all engagement? college goals ◦ Do we define these in our departments? ◦ CRITICAL THINKING ◦ Do we structure our curricula or advising to ◦ CIVIC ENGAGEMENT reinforce them? ◦ QUANTITATIVE REASONING ◦ How do we (do we?) measure what we do? We will discuss our experiences, and identify This process started with defining the issues that are important in our ongoing outcomes efforts at assessment. What do we know about what we do on 2 departments per college per year 2 departments per college per year each campus? Each department developed and carried ◦ NSSE out a plan, but not all the same ◦ Collegiate Learning Assessment Process takes more time than anticipated What do we want to share? Strategies ◦ Start with sharing on campus ◦ Focus groups ◦ Student surveys How do these results relate to our ◦ Review of student work and transcripts ◦ Links to NSSE, CLA departments? ◦ Embedded assessments Institution Institution Year One Year One Year Two Year Two Faculty “owned” within context of mission Beloit Philosophy/ Biology and goals Religion Psychology Anthropology ◦ Build upon disciplinary definitions Knox Mathematics Education ◦ Encouraged consideration of “out of discipline” English Economics skills, such as Quantitative Literacy for the English Ripon Physics French Sociology/ Economics major Anthropology ◦ Turned focus on curricular connections to Monmouth Art Communications community through civic engagement Biology and Theater Arts Accounting Departments defined engagement and community Faculty at dept level identify how to use this Handout identifies how each department information to improve student academic identified and measured progress on goals experiences 2
All see it as a central part of what we do: ◦ “We believe that by its nature, anthropology is about critical thinking. Cultural anthropology At the heart of the educational seeks to make the strange familiar and the process familiar strange.” (Beloit Anthropology) Critical thinking asks students to engage actively in their own learning But possibly because it is so central, some departments had trouble defining or even focusing on it: Most definitions include two essential “This is the area where we found the most assumptions components: and took the most for granted, given that we believe ◦ Perception: seeing the subject clearly this concept to be at the very heart of every single thing ◦ Analysis: questioning the subject toward which the English Department strives.” (Knox) Like assessment itself, something we often Models for critical thinking: prefer to take for granted. ◦ Open model, usually focusing on process The challenge is to look at the issue ◦ Discipline-specific model consciously—that is, critically. ◦ “We are committed to the idea that thinking “Critical thinking in Physics is centered on critically involves being able to recapitulate a line the investigation of physical systems…The of reasoning and engage in dialogue, raising student must be able to determine objections and concerns, to see if that reasoning quantitative parameters that describe a approaches truth.” (Philosophy Dept, Beloit) system and the accuracy of those parameters.” (Physics, Ripon) ◦ “Drawing on the work of other scholars….the sociology department defines critical thinking as thinking that requires students to evaluate and interpret evidence, identify and evaluate relevant arguments, develop and defend a position on an issue, and/or consider all sides of a question or issue without bias.” (Sociology Dept, Ripon) 3
*Direct measures of student learning: embedded assignments, writing/portfolio Indirect: Senior exit survey asks students to analysis evaluate how coursework has improved critical thinking skills, then asks about specific critical thinking skills: analyzing *Indirect measures: Student surveys and arguments, challenging assumptions, etc. evaluations, student focus groups, transcript analysis, course evaluations Direct: Portfolio analysis from different levels of student coursework, reading for coherence, critical distance, sophistication Portfolio review, including student reflection Students write papers applying two assignment with prompts that require competing theories to a single case. multiple thinking skills ◦ describe, apply, evaluate effectiveness Part I: Consider the courses you have taken this year (art and non -art): Results assessed according to rubric: Explain (i.e. describe and justify) the significant learning ◦ Two theories are discussed /accomplishments ◦ Discussion draws heavily from text Compare (i.e. describe and analyze) what you did accomplish ◦ Description in own words Determine (i.e. describe and relate) how ideas/content from ◦ Quotes used sparingly and appropriately your non-art courses can and do influence your art-making. ◦ Theories are Part II: Consider your personal development as an art-maker: Compare (i.e. describe and analyze) your struggles with your applied to the case in question successes. used correctly and not out of context Formulate goals and strategies for continuing your own synthesized or integrated with one another development that build on your strengths, achievements and successes and encounter your challenges. Beloit Philosophy Department: ◦ Mixed results: some get it, some don’t ◦ Frustration with small number of complete portfolios Resulting action: ◦ Capstone course doubled in work and credit load ◦ Students encouraged to meet with project advisor earlier ◦ Faculty begin discussing and modeling research process earlier in the term Changes are recent, but students are already showing improvement. 4
Movement grew in the mid-late 1990’s with falling test scores and calls for accountability ◦ Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its • global competitiveness Consequences , John Allen Paulos (1988) ◦ Principles and Standards for School Mathematics , • essential to logical thinking NCTM (2000) ◦ Mathematics and Democracy: The Case for • more information available to Quantitative Literacy , National Council on more people; less reliance on Education and the Disciplines (2001) experts ◦ Current Practices in Quantitative Literacy , MAA (2006) From mission statement of National Interpret mathematical models such as formulas, graphs, tables, and schematics, and draw Numeracy Network: “QL is the power and inferences from them. habit of mind to search out quantitative Represent mathematical information symbolically, information, critique it, reflect upon it, and visually, numerically, and verbally. apply it in our public, personal, and Use arithmetical, algebraic, geometric and professional lives.” statistical methods to solve problems. Estimate and check answers to mathematical Refining the definition: problems in order to determine reasonableness, identify alternatives, and select optimal results. Recognize that mathematical and statistical methods have limits. 5
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