Education Commons^™

Online Evaluation Training Program, Lori Wingate

Academic Leadership Academy

The Western Michigan University (WMU) Evaluation Center and Extended University Programs are developing an online professional development program in evaluation. The learner-centered program will include a mix of live and self-paced instruction, including webinars, videos, text, assessments, and practice exercises. The following qualities set this program apart from existing academic and ad hoc evaluation training programs:

Equity-informed: As a critical aspect of high-quality evaluation practice, the curriculum is infused with guidance on how to address equity throughout the evaluation process.

Practical: Instruction is connected to practical application so learners can use what they learn right away.

Accessible: Barriers to learning …

Measuring Intercultural Competency Of Wmu Study Abroad Students, Lee Penyak, Ryan Rounds

Assessment Grants

Using the Global Perspective Inventory (GPI), this project employs pre- and post-tests to measure the extent that study abroad programs influence the development of intercultural competency, if and how students move from monocultural to multicultural frames of mind, and the impact that international travel experiences have on fortifying the University’s third pillar of global engagement. This information will 1) be shared with current faculty directors to build intercultural learning objectives into program curriculum, 2) help WMU SA revise initial and final study abroad proposals by prospective faculty directors, and 3) be used to restructure pre-departure orientations provided by WMU SA …

Does The Past Predict The Future? A Retrospective Statistical Analysis Of Lower Level Course Grades And Program Outcomes At Graduation, Peter A. Gustafson

Assessment Grants

In this project, a retrospective statistical analysis was completed to try to establish the correlation between low-level engineering courses and several measures of student success at graduation. The intended outcomes of the study include a tool for prediction of GPA at graduation based on sophomore level courses. This tool will be useful for advising to identify at-risk students for early intervention and remediation. Furthermore, the tool will be useful for recruiting, as students who are likely to be successful in graduate programs can be identified and recruited early in their academic careers.

2018 Western Michigan University Assessment In Action Conference, Office Of Assessment And Undergraduate Studies

Assessment in Action Conference

Included here is the schedule and session descriptions from the 9th Annual WMU Assessment in Action Conference held on March 16, 2018. 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.

Using Elearning For Assessment, Katrina Davidson, Alyssa Moon

Assessment in Action Conference

There are many ways to formatively and summatively assess learner knowledge using an online learning environment. This session will give an overview of these tools and examine use cases.

Integrating Formative And Summative: Assessment Approaches In Student Support Work, Ciji Heiser

Assessment in Action Conference

This session will focus on how to integrate both formative and summative assessment approaches into programs and services provided for student support. We will discuss the assessment cycle including learning and operational outcomes, selecting and designing assessment tools (both formative and summative), collecting data, and analyzing data to make data-informed decisions.

Why Are We Doing This?, Linda Suskie

Assessment in Action Conference

Many find assessment to be a pointless paper-pushing exercise. Done right, however, it is essential to helping students learn and succeed. This presentation will summarize research on strategies that help students learn and succeed and explain the role of assessment in those strategies.

Creating Great Learning Experiences That Help Students Learn And Succeed, Linda Suskie

Assessment in Action Conference

Great learning activities have three components that connect to each other: a clear purpose, clear guidelines for activities that engage students, and clear grading criteria. In this fast-paced workshop, we will work through all three.

"What Is My Target?": Clarifying Student Learning Outcomes, Anthony Helms, David Paul

Assessment in Action Conference

This session will provide an overview of best practices in writing feasible and measurable learning and process outcomes, including hands-on time to work on your own outcomes.

Examination Of Student Outcomes In Hsv 3650: Information Literacy, Betty D. Dennis, Debra K. Lindstrom

Assessment Grants

Prior to 2014, faculty from the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) had observed that students in upper-level health sciences courses did not have the Information literacy skills needed to succeed in upper level-courses and graduate school curricula. To remedy this, faculty from the University Libraries and CHHS developed and implemented a program that requires students to either (a) successfully pass an information literacy pre-assessment examination, or (b) enroll in a two-credit information literacy course (HSV 3650: Information Literacy in Health Sciences). The purpose of this study was to examine how effective HSV 3650 has been in teaching students …

Assessing In-Course Projects And Students' Interest In Science, Heather Kasper, Mary Anne Sydlik, Susan R. Stapleton

Assessment Grants

An important question in higher education is "How do we best support students so that they stay at Western Michigan and remain or become interested in careers in one of the sciences?” One way seems to be getting students interested in research, which can spark and maintain their continued interest in STEM fields. Traditional laboratory activities often involve repeating classical experiments to reproduce known results rather than engaging students in experiments with the possibility of true discovery. Instead, we need to actively engage students to interest them in STEM and to keep them in the field. Our project uses data …