Education Commons^™

Strategic Planning: Maintaining The Leadership Of The Joint Committee On Standards For Educational Evaluation, Brad Watts

Academic Leadership Academy

The Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (JCSEE) was founded in 1975 as a collaborative effort between professional organizations in the U.S. and Canada that are concerned with the quality of evaluations being produced. The Evaluation Center at WMU was also involved in the creation of the JCSEE and housed the organization for many years. Over the past four decades, the JCSEE has published sets of standards through three major publications: •The Program Evaluation Standards •The Personnel Evaluation Standards •The Student Evaluation Standards.

The purpose of this project is to: •Help lead the JCSEE in the development of a …

Do Incentives Increase Response Rates To An Internet Survey Of American Evaluation Association Members?, Lyssa N. Wilson

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

This randomized experiment examines the effect of different incentive types on online survey response rates. The primary objective of this study was to determine the most effective incentive type to increase response rates to online surveys of American Evaluation Association (AEA) members, specifically.

Pre-Service Teachers Establishing Professional Identities In The 21st Century, Hsiao-Chin Kuo, Susan Piazza

Assessment Grants

This project investigates how pre-service teachers document their developing professional identities and learning outcomes through an ePortfolio assignment. The goal is to strengthen the program’s ability to improve and document student learning outcomes. Direct measures that determine the development of effective teachers is becoming more challenging with traditional paper and print-based artifacts. An increasing number of programs in higher education utilize web-based portfolios to measure learning outcomes. The ePortfolio developed in an undergraduate literacy course will make use of formative and summative assessments. Data is collected via multiple sources, including pre-service teachers’ ePortfolios and other class artifacts, classroom observations and …

Assessing Inter-Professional Teamwork Through Low-Fidelity Simulation, Lisa Singleterry, Sally Vliem, Kristine Gibson, Scott Gaynor

Assessment Grants

In 2003, it was determined that health-related education needed to shift from discipline-specific silos and into the arena of inter-professional teams. Given this goal, teamwork – which includes communication and the opportunity to learn about, with, and from multiple health disciplines – is the focus of this assessment grant. A sub-group of the faculty in training team of WMU professionals accelerating clinical education redesign (PACER) chose to utilize a low-fidelity simulation (one which uses verbal descriptions, case studies, discussion and role play to explore a particular topic, engaging all simulation participants in an active learning atmosphere) for medical students, clinical …

Topic Generation And Development In The Freshman Research Paper, Edward J. Eckel

Assessment Grants

This study will help better understand the cognitive process students go through in developing their research paper topics by examining how students in selected sections of a freshman engineering writing class come up with an initial topic for their course research paper, how they refine or develop that topic into something they can find adequate research on, and how they shape that topic into a purpose statement for their final research paper. Research methodologies include short online surveys, in-person interviews at the end of the semester, and use of a rubric to assess the final submitted purpose statements for their …

Examining Changes In Students' Intercultural Development In Student Affairs Professional Preparation, D. Eric Archer

Assessment Grants

This project is to assess if the multicultural mission of the WMU Higher Education and Student Affairs masters’ program (i.e., “recognize the centrality of diversity and inclusiveness to higher education and to effectively and ethically lead and serve in a dynamic educational culture”) is being fulfilled. Students in the HESA program will complete the Intercultural Development Inventory assessment during their first semester in the program (Fall 2016) and again in their final semester (Spring 2018). This pre-and post-test assessment will provide information regarding students’ intercultural development as a result of completing the program, which places an emphasis within the curriculum …

Defining Outcomes, Gloria Rogers

Assessment in Action Conference

This workshop will engage participants in the writing of measurable outcomes and how they relate to scoring rubrics. Group discussion and formal feedback will enhance the understanding of the critical role of well‐defined outcomes in the assessment process.

Transforming Data Into Information, Gloria Rogers

Assessment in Action Conference

Data are collected but how do we transform the data to meaningful information that can be used to improve student learning. A case study will be used to explore the criteria for an assessment plan that will lead to actionable information.

Using Data To Tell Your Story, Kristen Mckinney

Assessment in Action Conference

We are increasingly faced with a dizzying array of options for how to display data. How do we make informed choices about what will really aid the user in telling a compelling story versus those that are just “pretty”? This session will review aspects of visual perception that influence how we process visual information, as well as discuss the messages conveyed by various visual displays and how to select options that best aid the reader in understanding key data points.

Honing In On What To Measure, Kristen Mckinney

Assessment in Action Conference

Institutional and departmental outcomes are framed in necessarily broad terms as we articulate the key values and goals of our work. Bridging the gap between those broad outcomes and more tailored and measurable program and service specific outcomes can be difficult. This session will present some ideas and strategies for developing outcomes and guide participants through the process of drafting outcomes for their own programs.

Assessment As Ally: Focusing On What Matters, Gloria Rogers

Assessment in Action Conference

Too many times, the assessment of student learning becomes an exercise of futility where faculty time is squandered and the result is many data and no information that is useful for the improvement of student learning. When properly understood and implemented, the assessment process can provide meaningful results that inform faculty about the achievement of outcomes, the alignment of the curriculum, and what can be done to improve student learning. Topics which will be discussed are the importance of well‐defined outcomes, curriculum mapping, the development of systematic processes, and reporting results for action.

Western Michigan University 2017 Assessment Conference, Office Of Assessment And Undergraduate Studies

Assessment in Action Conference

Included here is the schedule and session descriptions from the 8th Annual WMU Assessment Conference held on March 17, 2017. The conference, sponsored by the Office of Assessment and Undergraduate Studies at Western Michigan University, is a one-day event where those new to outcomes assessment can come and learn fundamental knowledge about the field, but it is also a place where those who have worked as leaders in outcomes assessment can come and extend their knowledge and skills and network with colleagues. Conference offerings included learning opportunities on various assessment topics for both academic and student supports units.

Reconnecting With “Why” To Move Beyond Assessment Sticking Points, Kristen Mckinney

Assessment in Action Conference

We have made great steps forward in developing assessment infrastructure on our campuses, but often find ourselves still struggling with really making use of the data we collect. Assessment can feel like a chore rather than something that truly has meaning for our work. In this session, Dr. McKinney will discuss how re‐connecting assessment with our core goals and purposes can help refocus our energy and attention in ways that help us use data more effectively to tell our story.

Bba Quantitative Skills: Assessing The Prerequisites, Matthew Ross, A. Michelle Wright

Assessment Grants

We examine determinants of prerequisite quantitative skill among Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) students. Preliminary results suggest that undergraduate students are deficient in quantitative skills, even among a sample of finance students whom show greater quantitative ability than the mean BBA student. Mean math quiz performance among 164 student participants substantially lags faculty established expectations. We extend beyond traditional BBA pedagogy research by incorporating the Attitudes Toward Mathematics Inventory (ATMI) and language analysis in a business finance context. We find strong evidence for learning theory explanations involving quantitative prerequisite ability and non-cognitive measures. However, theories involving knowledge decay and demographic …

Designing Impact Studies In Education In The Past 15 Years: Have We Made Any Progress?, Jessaca Spybrook

Spring Convocation

Dr. Spybrook presented this at the 2017 Spring Convocation as the Emerging SCholar for 2016 at Western Michigan University. It was based on research done with Ran Shi and Ben Kelcey.