Moving the Campus Forward

“Ethical Assessment and Institutional Advancement: Connecting Good Practice with the Need to Move Campuses Forward” – Finley

“Rather, the challenge with ethics in assessment refers to the nuances of conducting an inquiry about learning and student success within the environment of most postsecondary institutions”. (637). This sentence stuck out to me as I was leading one of the sessions within the conference I was assessing. I, along with another Pacific student, led a caucus on gay and queer men. The session was designed to provide an open space for the sharing of experiences, the successful resources of a campus, and the opportunity to ask questions. A question was raised about the LGBTQIA umbrella and whether or not we glorify certain sub groups and exclude those within our own identity group. It made me reflect on whether or not my evaluations had the same potential glorification due to my experience with certain groups and lack thereof with others. I am glad that I incorporated several open-ended questions in my evaluation for individuals to share their feelings if in fact the glorification was present.

The author also brings up the idea of instances where the identity of the students participating in assessment should be known. She goes on to talk about the learning and living components to collegiate life, along with the academic and social contexts of the student experience. Currently, I have started doing focus groups for my Action Research project, which is focused on the success and retention of the living learning communities here on campus. Some of the students that my partner and I are interviewing are involved within residential life and would be great resources for the office to have moving forward to their intended programs and structure. We were asked; however, to have the participants sign a confidentiality agreement for the sake of the project. I am trying to think of ways to bring these students to light because they felt so passionately about improving the quality of the residential facilities.

Sharing Results v. Respondents

“Ethical Issues” – Schuh and Upcraft

            This article talks about the importance of timing when it comes to sending out an assessment or evaluation. In an effort to get an adequate or “ideal” group of students to respond, the timing of when the assessment is handed out is crucial. For my assessment project, I place the conference evaluation in the program booklet that each participant got when they checked in for the conference. The thought behind it was that they would have their program book with them at all times during the conference; however, with an online application for the conference program and a multi-day conference, it was unlikely that the students would have the evaluation with them upon completion of the conference. It is usually a toss up as to whether or not a paper evaluation will have a higher response rate than an online version.

            The data access is also something that stuck out to me in this article. All of my evaluations were done anonymously; however, those who submitted the completed evaluation could also submit a form to win a raffle prize for completing the form.  I was asked to do my assessment project for a director on campus and it has never been defined what information he wants to have and what information isn’t of interest. We are both also on a committee for the conference that is comprised of over 10 individuals and so there is also grey area there as to what information should and would get passed along to them.

Making the Assessment Personal

“Assessing Attitudes, Values, Dispositions, and Habits of Mind” – Suskie

Assessing someone’s values seemed very easy to do until reading this article. I hadn’t realized how subjective the evaluator is potentially being when asking certain questions. This subjectivity also assumes that the participants all have some common understanding of what is being asked.

I also really appreciated Suskie pointing out the rise of reflection and the benefits of doing it. Sometimes allowing participants to use reflection as their outlet for assessment gives more answers than were expected. When I was an intern for my undergrad’s orientation program, we asked 10 of the 117 OLs to journal their experience from the time of being hired until the contracted ended, a six month commitment. Half of the journalists were newly hired OLs and the other half were returners. Their submissions were sent to my supervisor throughout the summer; their reflections provided our office with much more information on the feelings towards training, staff dynamics, and the takeaways that staff members were getting from this experience. We used their entries more than our formalized assessment when it came to making changed for the next summer.

I think it’s interesting that there was a bullet point to highlight that evaluators should put the option of “I don’t know” or “I can’t answer”. Originally, I saw that as an opt out for participants to finish the survey quickly and not pay attention to the questions; however, now I realize that it is a way for participants to highlights the areas that they are sure of which will give more accurate data in the long run.

You've Got Your Data...Now What?

“Analyzing and Interpreting Qualitative Data” – Patton

            It was great that this article came when it did during the semester; it’s as if my professors are talking with one another about the material they’re teaching. A lot of the material in this article aligns with my Action Research course and how to make sense of the data once we’ve received it.

            I appreciate knowing the difference between analysis and interpretation when it comes to data collection. In past projects, I have tried to do both at the same time, which has hindered me from really giving strong attention to either. For the interpretation, it is necessary to reflect upon all other parts of your project. I have taken my data and looked back to my problem and purpose statements along with my literature review to see if my project has filled any gaps, supported pre-existing findings, or providing new knowledge in the field.

            With qualitative research, there can be a lot of data that comes in and it is important to make sure that the researcher has a handle on it all and can make meaning of it. For Dr. Hallett’s class, we learned about the importance of coding our research and how beneficial it can be. For my assessment project, I plan to use coding when making connections between different questions as well as participants’ responses as they relate to the learning outcomes I created.

Rubrics (Cube)

“Using a Scoring Rubric to Plan and Evaluate an Assignment” – Suskie

            I am always so grateful when professors give me rubrics for assignments so that I am aware of all of the components they are looking for in my work. Having different levels of awareness and mastery also gives me a goal to strive towards. When it comes to creating mw own rubric; however, I find the process extremely daunting. I’m sure that you would start from the ideal or highest degree and work your way down but the small differences between levels are very hard for me to decipher.

I think it’s also very hard because the rubric has to be somewhat subjective to the one grading it. I have thought about the numerous times I have come to class this year after having read the articles or chapters for that given week and having my perspective on it and then after class discussion my viewpoint shifts. When creating a rubric, I would overthink everything in the case that someone will bring a new perspective or share new knowledge that would change my grading for the work that follows.

Listing all of the things that you are looking for is a crucial initial step. Even though I am hesitant to the specifics, I know that if I list everything out first, no matter how the writer or participant reaches that goal, they will receive the credit.

Does the Group Give Just One Answer?

“Assessing Group Educational Programs” – Schuh and Upcraft

            I have always thought that asking, “What are the weaknesses in _______?” was a good question to ask participants, maybe changing up the language but overall finding out what was lacking from the program or event. The author of this article states that by asking this question, “it may send participants on a downward spiral of unproductive negativity. Second, improvement tend to be mirror images of weaknesses; thus negative comments are framed in a more positive way and more useful” (p. 236). I chose to ask “What, if any, improvement would you make about this conference?” as the final question in my survey. I did so knowing that participants have filled out most of the survey already honestly and that answering this open-ended question would not change their answers. I do understand how there could be a downward spiral; however, I think it depends on the placement of this question within the assessment.

            As far as the content mastery, I asked a question in the overall assessment about the presenters’ knowledge on their respective topics but used individual evaluations for each educational session to try and get a better grasp on whether or not the audience took something away from the session. I think it will be interesting to see the success rate of the presenters who range from undergraduate students to campus administration to professionals in the non-profit field. I think it will depend on the topic as well; participants will either learn something new from an area they are already familiar with, enhancing their knowledge slightly and specifically or they will be exposed to something completely new.