Education Commons^™

Fulbright Foreign Student Program At Wmu Assessment Of Student Needs & Support, Michelle Metro-Rolland

Assessment Grants

Funding is sought to conduct a survey and focus groups with the Fulbright Foreign Students (FFS) at Western Michigan University and recent Fulbright graduates in order to assess student needs and better align program support. Fulbright students are supported by the Fulbright Foreign Student Advisor who liaisons with the placement agencies, departments, and international admissions as well as provides guidance to students in navigating university bureaucracy. The FSA also provides cultural programming.

Aligning Course Learning Objectives And Program Learning Outcomes With Data Visualization, Jessica Cataldo

Assessment Grants

The proposed project will result in the creation of two data visualization tools that map course learning objectives to program learning outcomes for the new Health Administration bachelor’s program. These tools will guide the development of a skill level curriculum map to determine which course(s) are most appropriate to assess program outcomes. Since the program is new, program assessment is in its infancy, thus the project will serve as a catalyst for developing a comprehensive program assessment plan. The project will also support the program’s goal of obtaining Association of University Programs in Health Administration certification.

Exit Survey Development, Melinda Koelling, Cynthia Klekar, Todd Kuchta, Heather Petcovic, Linda Borish

Assessment Grants

In a department like Geography, an exit interview is used to assess programs. In a department like Mathematics, there is no existing exit interview or survey. Even for those interview and survey questions that exist, the questions could be shared and improved. A core group of chairs from Mathematics, Geography, and Philosophy would like to develop exit assessments. A larger group of units proposes to work together to develop a bank of exit interview assessment questions that can be used to assess undergraduate and graduate programs.

Take A Bite Out Of Health Disparities, Betty D. Dennis

Assessment Grants

In spring 2023, the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) launched a new lunch and learn series called “Take a bite out of health disparities.” Speakers, internal and external to CHHS, are invited to lead informal conversations about four specialty topics to address the myriad of individual, environmental, and social factors that contribute to these various health disparities. We also discuss the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexual identity. The goal is to teach faculty, staff, and students in health services their role in teaching compassionate care. We will expand this series in 2023-2024 by adding new topics and …

Assessing Inspera Assessment, Matthew Ross

Assessment Grants

This mini grant will allow for preliminary assessment of Inspera Assessment software at WMU. The Norwegian company Inspera AS presents a more versatile digital assessment platform than the Respondus lockdown browser which is the current WMU platform. Specifically, Inspera offers MS Excel enabled examinations which is not possible with Respondus or similar platforms such as Proctorio or TopHat. However, assessing the capabilities of Inspera is expected to be a challenging, multidisciplinary, and time-consuming endeavor. This grant application requests funding for faculty time to document the capacity of Inspera Assessment to support WMU finance courses.

Assessment Of An Interdisciplinary Climate Change Facultylearning Community: From Course Redesign To Implementation, Elise Decamp

Assessment Grants

This project is an IRB approved secondary data analysis that serves as a program assessment of the Climate Change Across the Curriculum learning community facilitated in Spring 2022. The primary objectives are to evaluate the learning community’s (1) success in supporting the integration of the complex topic of climate change across the curriculum through interdisciplinary faculty collaboration and (2) the role of this programming in promoting climate literacy among WMU students. Data include pre-/post-survey data on the learning community’s faculty participants, session notes, faculty module and course revision plans, faculty reflections on implementation of their plans, and pre-/post-climate literacy quizzes.

Curriculum Re-Mapping For Fashion Merchandising Program, Zee-Sun Yun, Kelly Weathers, Chitra Singh

Assessment Grants

This project was the re-mapping of the Fashion Merchandising major (FMEJ) curriculum to improve the program curriculum and meet the standards of Textile and Apparel Programs Accreditation Commission (TAPAC) curricula and learning outcomes. The review feedback from diverse professional sources (i.e., the TAPAC committee, program faculty, industry professional, and expert) guided our decision to revise the FMEJ curriculum by proposing new courses, the proper sequencing of fashion merchandising courses, the degree to which the curriculum supports student learning, and the extent to which learning outcomes are appropriately addressed.

Creating A Culture Of Assessment: Building A Sustainable Model For Communicating Results To Guide Change, Amy Heath, Carrie Barrett

Assessment Grants

The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) has been an active program at Western Michigan University for three years. Using data from the first cohort that completed the DPT program, the Curriculum and Program Evaluation and Assessment Committee (CPEAC) is reviewing the DPT course content and sequencing within the curriculum for efficiency and effectiveness. This grant will fund a model comprised of (a) data analysis and (b) a retreat to discuss results with faculty instructors. The model will improve best-practice in higher level education curricular assessment, engage faculty, assess student outcomes, and provide a curricular assessment blueprint for other university departments.

Understanding Student Perspective’S Around Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Within The School Of Social Work, Anna Yelick, Dee Sherwood

Assessment Grants

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has become a prominent fixture within the social work profession, with educational and professional organizations paying closer attention to issues related to DEI. The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), the governing body for accrediting social work education programs, has required social work programs to demonstrate a commitment to DEI in their implicit curriculum. Therefore, the School of Social Work is interested in understanding student perspectives and experiences of DEI efforts particularly within the implicit curriculum.

Establishing Content Validity For Wmu’S Special Education Key Assessments, Rena Vanderwall, Kate Lalonde

Assessment Grants

This project seeks to validate the content in the key assessments used in three special education programs at WMU. The purpose of key assessments is to assess student performance and drive ongoing program improvement. Shared key assessments across WMU’s teacher education programs have been validated, but those specific to special education have not been. Establishing content validity includes gathering evidence to demonstrate that the assessment content fairly and adequately represents a defined domain of knowledge or performance. Validation of these assessments will lead to stronger assessment of teacher candidates’ performance and continual improvement of these programs.

Creation And Assessment Of Inclusive Pedagogical Materials In The Spanish Program, Germán Zárate-Sández

Assessment Grants

Data compiled in the Department of Spanish showed that Black students at Western begin Spanish education at high rates but are less likely to advance to upper-level courses and more likely to obtain lower final grades than other groups. Assuming that part of this issue derives from current materials that do not represent Black students, the goal of this mini grant is to develop Spanish learning materials that are more inclusive and representative of the Black experience in Hispanic communities. The materials are expected to be a contribution to improving retention and academic achievement of Black students in the Spanish …

Celcis Assessment Plan/Process Revision, Eva Copija

Assessment Grants

This project will involve revising CELCIS assessment plan/process to make it more meaningful, measurable and manageable and to follow the guidelines of the Commission on English Program Accreditation (CEA), which recommended such revision in response to our 5-year interim report. The steps will include: revising learning outcomes for four kinds of courses at four different levels: elementary, intermediate, pre-advanced and advanced to make them more specific and measurable; aligning evaluation instruments with the learning outcomes; updating our model syllabi to make them reflect the correspondence between the learning outcomes and evaluation instruments, and redesigning progress reports given to students.

Itlc Lilly Online Conference, Veronica Rice Mccray

Assessment Grants

For 40 years, Lilly Conferences have provided opportunities for the presentation of the scholarship of teaching and learning. Conference participants are made up of faculty and administrators at various stages in their academic careers that come from across the world representing nearly every discipline found in higher education. The mission is to provide a forum to share and model a scholarly approach to teaching and learning that reports quality student learning outcomes while promoting professional development of faculty.

The main purpose of attending Lilly Online Conference is to learn new approaches to student assessment and refine existing approaches. The secondary …

Identifying And Negotiating Learning Needs Of Tutors And Tutees From The Lens Of Socially Just Literacy Teaching, Elizabeth Isidro

Assessment Grants

The purpose of this project was to describe the learning needs of McGinnis Reading Center (MRC) tutors and tutees from the lens of socially just literacy teaching. To accomplish this, it was necessary to conduct a needs assessment of tutors and tutees through a survey and individual interviews. Determining their learning needs is crucial to enable the reading center director (henceforth referred to as the principal investigator or PI) to initiate program planning and engage in continuous program evaluation. Articulated needs would serve as the basis for program goals, learning outcomes, activities, data collection/analysis, and program modifications.

Student Needs Assessment Tool, Kourtney Bakalyar, Katie Easley

Assessment Grants

The purpose for the Student Needs Assessment Tool is to develop a tool for quickly assessing the unique needs of individual students within the WMU community and connecting them with services and supports on campus. The overall goal of the Student Needs Assessment Tool is to help students thrive, complete their classes, and complete a degree at WMU. While developing this tool, the PIs would survey support programs at WMU to create a tool that is easy to use and accessible for other programs at WMU. Planning for data collection and analysis will occur while developing this tool.

Aligning Dance Student Learning Outcomes Within A Vibrant Curriculum Through Curriculum Mapping, Megan Slayter, Jeremy Blair

Assessment Grants

The intent of this project is to investigate and articulate through curriculum mapping how specific skills associated with student learning outcomes for the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Dance are introduced, developed, and mastered through their respective curricula.

Curriculum Mapping For B.S. In Healthcare Services And Sciences, Janet Hahn

Assessment Grants

This project will build on the Healthcare Services and Sciences program competencies revised at a faculty retreat in February 2020. It will map the competencies along with a suggested student progression. WMU Essential Studies assessment data will be integrated into the curriculum map and overall program assessment plan.

Closing The Text Equity Gap: Using The Writing Pace Meeting To Increase Writing Practice And Performance, Brian Gogan

Assessment Grants

This project measures the impact of an intervention on the quality of WMU first-year writing students’ peer feedback practices. This project builds on research that associates peer review practice with increased student success. Further, it extends a prior assessment, which suggests that the intervention was effective in increasing the average quantity of peer-review text produced by the bottom two quartiles of first-year writers at WMU. To assess quality, the project uses an established coding scheme to analyze 1,400 student-written comments exchanged by English 1050 students. A statistical analysis of pre-invention codes and post-intervention codes provides the basis for the assessment.

Engagement Through Wmu Signature: The Student Perspective, Allison Grime, Evan Heiser

Assessment Grants

WMU Signature validates WMU students out-of-class learning experiences to help them stand out to future employers and graduate schools. Through WMU Signature students explore and identify a passion, and then complete a unique experience of putting that passion into action, earning them a designation on their diploma. WMU Signature is built on research showing that co-curricular/extracurricular involvement, especially involvement that includes reflection, increases student’s cognitive and intellectual growth in college, as well as their overall satisfaction and retention. The purpose of this assessment project was to gather student feedback to continue to improve WMU Signature.

Assessing Student Employees' Career Readiness, Ewa Urban, Wayne Bond

Assessment Grants

The purpose of this project was to measure, using direct assessment data, student employees’ career readiness competencies gained through campus student employment. Career and Student Employment Services developed and delivered a career readiness certification program to 148 student employees in 14 WMU campus departments. The program was designed to teach students to articulate, through resumes and answers to interview questions, the career readiness competencies required by employers in all industries. These competencies include: critical thinking, communication, teamwork, technology application, leadership, professionalism, career management, and intercultural fluency.

To address the program learning outcomes, students participated in a face-to-face workshop, completed a …

Students Learn About Trauma And Black Adolescents: Integrating Evidence-Based Instruction, Bridget Weller, Winifred Wilson

Assessment Grants

The purpose of this student learning assessment project was to evaluate the impact of integrating evidence-based instructional strategies in a graduate-level course on trauma and black adolescents. We addressed the following questions: (a) How well did the teaching strategies achieve the intended student learning outcomes? And, (b) what particular teaching strategies made a positive impact on student learning? Paired-sample t-test results suggested improvements in student learning outcomes. Results from qualitative analyses indicated students found a workshop approach to integrating evidence-based instructional approaches (e.g., guided notes, concept mapping, group work, in-the-moment feedback, and mini-lectures incorporating research and personal experiences) beneficial.

Health Mentors Program, Yvonne Jackson, Debra Lindstrom

Assessment Grants

Three disciplines (Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Physician Assistant) in the College of Health and Human Services at WMU have collaborated to provide interprofessional education experiences for entry level prelicensure students. First year students from the three disciplines were assigned to one of 16 small interprofessional teams for the academic year 2019-20. During this year, the students were expected to meet with their Health Mentors in their groups three times. The fall meeting was a luncheon with all the mentors and their small IPE teams. The spring meeting occurred at a place of the mentors’ choice. Preliminary assessment data from …

Assessing Student Needs To Clear Obstacles For Retention And Persistence, Josh Conley, Kelly Reed

Assessment Grants

The Invisible Need Project works to support WMU students with unmet basic needs. This assessment project was implemented to help gain a better understanding of those needs and barriers faced by current Western students. As a part of this project, three focus groups were held during the Fall 2019 semester. Results found that students who are aware of INP are grateful for what it provides, but much more work can be done around raising awareness, for students and campus as a whole. Additionally, students helped to shed light on other barriers they face, including clothing and transportation. The Invisible Need …

Plan It 4-Ward: Assessment Of Student Awareness And Engagement, Andrea E. Bau, Steve Booher, Fanny Hernandez De Alvarez

Assessment Grants

Plan It 4-Ward is a tool that students can use to strategically plan their path to graduation while considering specific areas impacting the overall college experience: Academic, Career, Engagement, Financial, and Well-being. The idea is to plan in multiple areas while continuing to move 4-ward. Plan It 4-Ward is introduced to students in the First-Year Experience course, and students are encouraged to continue use of the tool beyond the first semester. The purpose of this assessment project was to: 1) Identify whether students found the tool useful in their first semester; 2) Understand if students continued to utilize the tool …

A Rather Different ‘Operating System’ For Courses, Learning And Assessments — A Formative, Objectives-Mastery, Modular System (Fomms), David Schuster

Assessment Grants

This project involves a different way of running courses and assessments, in line with a very formative philosophy on learning. Being a whole system, it involves several components working together. Topics are designed as a sequence of small natural ‘learning units’, each with specific learning objectives. The aim is for all students to eventually attain high-level ‘mastery’ of all topic objectives, given the opportunity. Structured ‘learning tasks’ occur during learning, and ‘mastery assessments’ after topic completion. Both are formative rather than summative, in that students have an opportunity to learn from feedback and try again for mastery (assessment for learning). …

Graduate Student Success: Developing A Holistic Assessment Process For The Electronic Portfolio Using The Acpa/Naspa Professional Competency Areas, Ramona B. Lewis, Casey Dornhecker

Assessment Grants

The purpose of this project is to develop a holistic and sustainable assessment process for the Performance Driven Leadership electronic portfolio that is completed as part of the M.A. in Educational Leadership Higher Education and Student Affairs Leadership (HESA) concentration.

Cliftonstrengths For Students: Developing Engaged And Thriving Students Through Strengths Awareness And Development, Adrienne Fraaza, Ewa Urban

Assessment Grants

The Office of Student Transitions embarked upon its second pilot year of implementing Gallup's CliftonStrengths for Students into First-Year Seminar (FYS) courses. Strengths development focuses on improving self-awareness and well-being, giving students a tool to understand how to leverage their natural talents for success. Nearly half of the FYS instructors chose to integrate Strengths activities and development into their courses. Final data indicated an increase in self-awareness, confidence, and affirmation of major/career choices. Nearly 89% of pilot students said that Strengths should be implemented in all FYS courses.

Assessing Creative Growth In The Frostic School Of Art, William Charland

Assessment Grants

This project examined the suitability of the Torrance Test of Creativity as a direct measure of determining growth in student creativity from matriculation to graduation among students enrolled in B.F.A. and B.A. programs across the areas of the Frostic School of Art (FSoA). Test takers were anonymous, representing an opportunity sample of incoming and outgoing student cohorts. This research project’s aim was to determine if creativity, as distinct from techniques and skills, increased between the first year and graduation among students in the FSoA.

Assessing The Assessors: Potential Barriers To Engaged Writing Assignments, Lisa Singleterry, Susan L. Caulfield

Assessment Grants

The aim of this project is to inform departments and schools within the College of Health and Human Services of how their faculty, in general, approach writing-related requirements with their courses. Authors adapted 3 surveys to measure faculty perceptions about writing, including faculty approaches to assigning writing, faculty comfort levels with writing and how equipped they are to assess writing. Data will be entered into SPSS for data analysis that will be used to inform needs for department and faculty support or policy development.

Collaborative Learning For High Voltage Engineering Education, Pablo Gomez, Edmund Tsang

Assessment Grants

The goal of this project is to evaluate the applicability and efficacy of a collaborative learning environment for high voltage (HV) engineering education. This environment is based on the interaction of two pedagogical approaches: computer simulation and experimental/laboratory work. Two courses on HV engineering were offered in parallel in the Fall 2018 semester – one taught at Western Michigan University focusing on computer simulation and the other one taught at Mississippi State University focusing on experimental/laboratory work.