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Refocusing General Education: A Dialectical Interplay of Accreditation Requirements, Assessment Methods, and Student Learning Competencies
Bobby L. MatthewsDirector, Office of Assessment and Evaluation
T. Gilmour ReeveVice Provost, Office of Academic Affairs
Rebecca OwensInstructor and Assistant to the Department Chair, College of Education
Refocusing General Education
Objectives
•Identify traditional and emerging concepts of general education
•Provide an overview of the evolution of general education assessment at LSU
•Describe the recent initiative to triangulate general education assessment through multiple layers within the university
Broad Goals of General Education Courses
Traditional (historical) goals of LSU general education:
(1) Help students develop subject matter knowledge & insights (e.g., Physics, Sociology, History)
(2) Help students develop fundamental skills and abilities (e.g., Writing, Speaking, Critical Thinking)
(3) Provide students with experience in how thought and learning are conducted in the specific General Education areas (e.g., Humanities, Social Sciences, Arts)
Broad Goals of General Education Courses
Current transitional goal for general education at LSU:
(4) Provide intentional teaching & learning strategies to reinforce students’ development of a profile of essential learning competencies
Why Competencies?
• Institutional - 2008-2009 Course Review - Showed many the stated learning outcomes not addressed
• Regional - SACSCOC: CS 3.5.1 - The institution determines general education competencies and the extent to which students achieve them.
• National - Consensus on profile of well-prepared graduates
National Profile of Sufficiently Prepared Student• Inquiry and analysis• Critical and creative thinking• Written and oral communication• Quantitative literacy• Information literacy• Teamwork and problem solving• Synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and
specialized studies• Civic knowledge and engagement- local and global• Intercultural knowledge and competence• Ethical reasoning and action• Foundations for lifelong learning
The LSU Student Profile: 6 Learning Competencies
• Communicate complex knowledge in multiple media
• Develop discourse with historical, cultural and philosophical complexity
• Conduct effective research-based inquiry
• Employ scientific and mathematical models in solving problems
• Be conversant with informing factors of global interdependence
• Be intelligently engaged in service to community
Basic Chronology of General Education • 1987-2007: Distribution “Requirement” across 6
general education areas, with 8 student learning “goals”
• 2007-2009: Distribution “Requirement” with criteria for each area and 26 student learning outcomes
• 2009-present: Distribution requirement with area criteria and 6 learning competencies
Refocusing General Education
Distribution “Requirement” with 8 Goals
•Specific course distribution requirement across 6 general education areas•39 course credit hours•8 Loosely construed “goals” for student learning
•No requirement for intentionality
Refocusing General Education
Distribution Requirement with 8 Goals
Sample Goal 1: effective command of written and spoken English
Sample 2: comprehension of how knowledge is acquired and applied
Sample 3: rational basis for selecting a vocation
Findings from the 1996-2000 Panel Study of Gen Ed “Requirement”• 65% of students rated effective writers
• Students’ writing did not improve 4 years
• Students not knowledgeable about gen ed
• Faculty unaware of gen ed goals
• Faculty unaware of interplay of gen ed courses
• Students do not value gen ed courses
Refocusing General Education
Status after completion of 2004 SACSCOC requirement for review of General Education
•Maintained 39 course credit hours – state-requirement•Maintained specific distribution requirement across 6 general education areas•Established criteria for each General Education Area•Established 26 learning outcomes•Established process for reviewing validity of courses
•No requirement for intentionality
Refocusing General Education
Post-2004 SACSCOC revisions
criteria for Natural Sciences area
For inclusion as a Physical Sciences course, a significant fraction of the course must be devoted to one or more of the following criteria:
• the structure and properties of atoms and matter; • chemical reactions, motions and forces; • the conservation of energy and the increase in disorder; • the interactions of energy and matter; • energy in the earth system, geochemical cycles, and the origin and evolution of the universe and the earth system.
Refocusing General Education
Post 2004-SACSCOC revisions
learning outcomes of Natural Sciences area
(1) Broad knowledge of existing subject matter in the discipline(2) Knowledge of the underlying principles that govern the natural world(3) A practical understanding of inductive and deductive reasoning processes and their roles in scientific investigation(4) The ability to interpret scientific material presented through various media and in the surrounding world(5) An ability to relate the field of study to other fields in the natural sciences.
Refocusing General Education
Key finding of ‘08-’09 Validity Review of 300+ General Education courses:
Many of the 26 learning outcomes were not being intentionally addressed in courses
Why Competencies?
• Institutional - 2008-2009 Course Review - Showed many the stated learning outcomes not addressed
• Regional - SACSCOC: CS 3.5.1 - The institution determines general education competencies and the extent to which students achieve them.
• National - Consensus on profile of well-prepared graduates
Refocusing General Education
Post-2008-2009 Validity Review of all GE courses:
Distribution requirement with area criteria and 6 learning competencies
•Maintains 39 course credit hours – state-requirement•Maintains specific distribution requirement across 6 general education areas•Maintains criteria for each General Education Area•Establishes 6 student learning competencies•Establishes Intentionality in course design & assessment•Establishes 5-year cycle for validity review of all courses
Refocusing General Education
Intentionality
ability to conduct research-based inquiry
Describe [specific] pedagogy [that] will improve students’ ability to conduct research-based inquiry. . . . How will the pedagogy utilize the criteria for the Arts Area to develop students’ ability to conduct research-based inquiry?
Refocusing General Education
Intentionality
assessment of ability to do research-based inquiry
Describe the valid and reliable assessment method [that] will provide direct evidence of the extent that students’ . . . ability to conduct research-based inquiry in the manner described in the competency has been developed in the course.
Refocusing General Education
Interactive interlude
Intentionality in the course-level implementation of the competency development component
Content of Annual Course Report on Students’ Development of Competency
(1) data gathered through implementation of the assessment methods (2) Summary of data analysis by the teaching faculty, with ref. to teaching strategies
(3) Statement of impact of analysis on structure and content of the course going forward
(4) expression of contribution the course is making to student learning in Gen Ed
Refocusing General EducationGeneral Education Course
Approval – Assessment - Renewal
INITIAL COURSE APPROVAL
ANNUAL COURSE ASSESSMENT
5-YEAR COURSE RENEWAL
Refocusing General Education
Multilayered (or Triangulated) Approach toAssessment of General Education Competencies
General Education Course Level
Graduating Students Level
Commercial Instruments Level
Refocusing General Education
Senior-level assessments
• Spring Interview of Graduating Students• Evaluation of Graduating Students’ Portfolios• Qualitative aggregation of degree program reports
on learning outcomes• CLA scores (commercial)• NSSE item scores (commercial/indirect)
Refocusing General Education
Triangulated Assessment of a Competency
LSU graduates will conduct research-based inquiry, including articulation of complex disciplinary and interdisciplinary problems, effective evaluation and analysis of primary and secondary sources, and integration of relevant information into original discourse.
Refocusing General Education
Triangulated assessment of learning competency
•Annual departmental course report on competency development•NSSE benchmarks & CLA sub-scores•Rubric-based evaluation of graduating student portfolios•Rubric-based evaluation of graduating student interview responses•Qualitative aggregation of degree-program reports on assessment of learning outcome based on inquiry
LSU General Education Outcomes Assessments
LSU Student Profile As Evidenced Through Triangulated Assessments
Refocusing General Education
Concluding Points
•Active assessment is essential to an effectively implemented general education concept
•General Education can be a dynamic component of undergraduate education - not just a collection of required courses – even at a sprawling university
•Focus on competencies in general education course design can bring intentionality to a distributional model
