Exploring Evidence-Based Outcomes Through Self Reflection on Teaching

Experiences

Presenters

Dr. Margaret M. McMenaminExecutive Vice President Educational Services

Brookdale Community Collegemmcmenamin@brookdalecc.edu

Maris A. LownDean Science & Health Science

mlown@brookdalecc.edu

Avis McMillonManager Public Relations

Chair of Governanceamcmillon@brookdalecc.edu

Brookdale Community College

• Dr. Peter F. Burnham, President

• The County College of Monmouth

• Located along the Jersey Shore

• Collective bargaining environment

• Two-campus system• >15,000 Credit students

• 260 Full-time faculty

Governance Structure

• Governance Forum

• Steering Committee

• Standing Committees

• Permanent College-wide Committees

• Governance Gazette

Governance Authority

• Governance does not make final decisions

• Aids in policy formulation & dissemination

• Recommends policies to President

• Board of Trustees approves policies

Steering Committee

• Leadership body of governance system

• Chair elected from among the constituent groups (administration, faculty, staff)

• Monitors committee membership

• Develops agenda for Forum meetings

Steering Committee, cont.

• Develops charges for standing committees

• Routes issues to appropriate committees

• Manages a year round agenda/meetings

• Conducts year end retreat

Voting Constituencies

• Full-time faculty

• Full-time and part-time staff

• Full-time and part-time administrators

• 14 students who serve on standing committees

Standing Committees

• Academic Council• Functions as the College curriculum committee

• Initiates/revises programs and courses

• Academic Standards• Addresses College wide academic regulations

Standing Committees, cont.

• Institutional Planning & Effectiveness• Assesses strategic planning process

• Guides formulation of strategic planning Matrix

• Monitors Major Indicators of Institutional Effectiveness

Standing Committees, cont.

• Professional Development• Guides College-wide PD initiatives

• Coordinates new employee orientation with HR

• Student Development• Addresses student behavior issues

• Addresses student extra-curricular concerns

Standing Committees, cont.

• College Life• Addresses campus environment

• Addresses non-academic services

• Diversity Council• Advises on strategies to foster an open,

diverse, & inclusive environment• Plans & implements programs to achieve

College-wide commitment to diversity

Reflective Practice

• Evaluation of experiences, beliefs and knowledge

• Data used in conjunction with reflection to develop and verify insights

• Practitioner understands and appreciates self within the context of learning

• Reflection used to improve practice

Reflective Practice• Pre-reflective – knowledge is certain

• Quasi reflective – knowledge is uncertain but personal and

interpreted by individuals

• Reflective – knowledge is constructed from inquiry leading to evidence based reasonable solutions

Reflective Practice in Governance• Creates time and space for inquiry

• Inculcates a culture of using research and information

• Educates faculty and staff regarding the larger issues through committee charg.

• Encourages faculty and staff to apply the research and information from governance to parochial issue

•

Reflective Practice in Governance

• General education courses

• Grading system

• Credit to contact hour ratios

Governance & Assessment

• Middle States Mandate

• Governance formed ad hoc committee to develop College Core Competencies

• Link with Program & Course Learning Outcomes

• Link with General Education

• Institutionalize Assessment

Core Competency Committee

• Formed as ad hoc Governance Committee

• Developed the Core Competencies

Academic Council

• Incorporated Student Learning Outcomes into course syllabi

• Implemented three levels of Student Learning Outcomes• Core Competencies

• Program Learning Outcomes

• Course Learning Outcomes

General Education Committee

• Linked Gen Ed requirements to Core Competencies

• Created rubrics for assessment of these competencies

Institutional Planning & Effectiveness

• Reviewed and revised Major Indicators of Institutional Effectiveness

• Created a dashboard of critical indicators

• Led college-wide planning & assessment efforts through Matrix development

Academic Leadership

• Student Learning Outcomes Plan• Initiated by Academic Dean

• Developed by Division Chairs

• Results• Initial resistance from everyone

• Streamlined process

• Increased acceptance

• Improved quality of the outcomes

Assessment Buddies

• Fostered faculty buy-in

• In-serviced on how to write SLOs

• Taught how to set up assessment projects

Educational Services Master Plan

• Developed collegially

• Includes an entire Chapter devoted to supporting assessment of SLO

Forum Presentations

• Committee reports

• Assessment Buddies reports

• SLOP dissemination by Chairs

• Assessment project presentations

• ESMP/FMP/ITSP/Matrix presentations

Reflective Practice in Governance & Assessment

• Reflection before action

• Reflection in action

• Reflection after action

Reflective Practice in Governance & Assessment

• The Buddies

• SLOs

• The SLOP

Levels of Student Learning Outcomes

Core Competencies

Program Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes

Examples of Student Learning Outcomes

Core Competency: Communication

PLO:Communicate the Economic Events

in the form of General Purpose Financial Statements including

Income Statements, Net Earnings Statements, Balance Sheets and

Cash Flow Statements

CLO: Analyze, measure and communicate

the business transactions of a business entity to decision makers

Curriculum Maps

• Core Competency by Program

• Core Competency by Course

• Program Learning Outcome by Course

Foundation Assessment Questions

Level 1: What do you want the students to learn?

Level 2: What tools are you using to assess achievement of learning outcomes?

Level 3: What data have you gathered regarding achievement of learning outcomes?

Level 4: What changes have you made to your instruction/curriculum based on assessment data?

Level 5: What evidence do you have that changes you made improved student learning?

Core Competency Data Sources

• Graduate Surveys

• Employer Surveys

• Advisory Committee Surveys

• Threaded assessment of CCs in the Career and General Education Courses

PLO Data Sources

• Employer Surveys

• Advisory Committee Surveys

• Student Program Evaluations

• Threaded assessment through CLO

• Assessment tools in capstone courses

• Embedded questions in comprehensive examinations

CLO Data Sources

• Internally developed rubrics

• Link instructional strategies to CLOs

• Thread assessment though CCC & PLO assessments

• “Blueprint” exams to reflect CLOs

• Standardize exams across the department

Artifacts

• Course Products– Exam blueprints– Rubrics– Research papers– Data

• Memorialized in Division Offices and in the office of the Dean of Academic Affairs

Reflective Practice in SLO Assessment

• Action Research – planning, action, reflection

• Creates an inquiry culture

• Integrates theory with practice

• Researching while teaching

Reflective Practice in SLO Assessment

• Speech – deconstruction

• Human Services – social inquiry

• Nursing – qualitative dialogue

Speech Assessment Project

• Level 1: CLO• Deliver demonstrative, informative, persuasive speeches

• Level 2: Assessment Strategies/Tools• Rubrics for the three types of speeches

• Level 3: Data• Data showed that grades on each speech decreased from the

first speech to the third speech

• Level 4: Curriculum Change• Speech sequence changed to informative, persuasive,

demonstrative

Speech

• Does changing the speech sequence result in better grades?

• Will students take the assignment more seriously?

• Will students confidence improve?

SpeechLevel 5: Improved student ability to deliver

demonstrative, informative, persuasive speeches

Changing the sequence resulted in

• Improved student performance in each type of speech

• Grades improved with each attempt

• Confidence levels of students increased

• Students took the speeches more seriously

Human Services Assessment Project

• Level 1: CLO• Conduct an effective client interview

• Level 2: Assessment Tools• Simulated interview/Rubric

• Level 3: Data• Students scored lower on “Exploratory Questions”

• Level 4: Curriculum Change• Increased instructional time devoted to question

development

Human Services

• Are students effectively conducting simulated initial Client/Counselor sessions?

• Will the use of Bloom’s taxonomy foster the use of exploratory questions?

Human Services

Level 5:

Awaiting fall 2008 results of student interview assessments to determine impact of increased instructional time devoted to question development

Nursing Assessment Project

• Level 1: CLO• Collaborate with clients, significant others, and members of the

healthcare team to evaluate the achievement of client outcomes

• Level 2: Assessment Strategies/Tools• Focus groups

• Level 3: Data• Students will evaluate information for patterns and themes

• Level 4: Curriculum Change

• Level 5: Did it work

Nursing

• Do individuals who work with entry level practitioners perceive that graduates have met program learning outcomes?

• Will students perceive that this learning experience strengthened their leadership skills?

• Will students confidence improve?

Future Projections on Assessment

• Engagement of Students

• Narrative Inquiry

• Qualitative Strategies

• Triangulation

• Dashboard/Top Box Model

• Standardized Testing and Mandated Metrics

Deliverables:Shared Governance System

• Results in demonstrable outcomes

• Improves documentation of student learning & institutional effectiveness

• Produces better assessment process

• Ensures buy-in from critical constituents

Deliverables:Shared Governance System

• Develops practitioners whose “knowledge of ill-structured problems is constructed from inquiry which leads to reasonable solutions based upon evidence currently available.” (King & Kitchener)

• Builds a learning organization. (Senge)