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Assessment Supporting Diversity: How to Assess Student Learning in Ways that Support CC’s Diversity MissionAmanda Udis-Kessler. Fall Conference 2017, 9:45-10:45 am, WES RoomColorado College is committed to supporting diversity “Colorado College values all persons and seeks to learn from their diverse experiences and perspectives. Achieving diversity of origin and thought is critical to fulfilling the College’s aim to provide a liberal arts education that is among the finest in the country.”“The cross disciplinary perspective of a liberal-arts education offers unparalleled opportunities for intercultural engagement. Personal interactions, in and outside of the classroom promote exposure to diverse social environments where students engage in dialogue about new ideas and complex issues. In this academic and social environment, students become more adept at understanding multiple perspectives and more capable of critical thinking in ways that enhance perspective, quality of life, and success in a diverse world of work and community.”The current white nationalist movement and its support by those in political power, particularly in the US, make this topic even more crucial than it already wasColorado College is also committed to carrying out assessment of student learning. However, we rarely bring diversity and assessment togetherTwo questionsWhy does diversity-engaged (“culturally responsive”) assessment matter?What might culturally responsive assessment look like at CC?Why does culturally responsive assessment matter?Social inequality (racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, religious inequality, colonialism, ableism, and many others) shapes the history of the US and, therefore, the reality of CC whether we want it to or notIncreasing numbers of international students attend CC, which inherently involves engagement with additional kinds of diversity. An example is that modes of argumentation in other cultures can be different from U.S. American ways of presenting and defending a is working to diversify its student, faculty and staff populationColorado College intends for all of its community to learn, grow and thrive, which by definition means being mindful of differences within the community and treating different people in ways that will maximize their opportunity to flourish at CCCulturally responsive assessment is “assessment that is mindful of the student populations the institution serves, using language that is appropriate for all students when developing learning outcomes, acknowledging students’ differences in the planning phases of an assessment effort developing and/or using assessment tools that are appropriate for different students, and being intentional in using assessment results to improve learning for all students” (Erick Montenegro and Natasha Jankowski, “Equity and Assessment: Moving Towards Culturally Responsive Assessment” National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment occasional paper #29, January 2017, p. 10)Assessment in the Context of DiversityDiversity-sensitive assessment should take larger diversity issues on campus into account:Demographics: does a course/minor/major/program attract and retain diverse students? Campus climate: are all students thriving in a course/minor/major/program? If not, are there any patterns of who thrives and who does not? Are any patterns connected to the campus’s broader diversity goals? Or to goals within certain disciplines or groups or disciplines? Within academia more broadly?Diversity in the classroom: are there specific courses, curricula, pedagogies, and/or other faculty-student interactions that are especially beneficial to students who belong to certain demographic groups? Example: The Global Scholars Program for multilingual students who would benefit from strengthening their fluency in academic EnglishDiversity, advising, and mentoring relationships: are there specific advising practices that are especially beneficial to students who belong to certain demographic groups?Example: intrusive advising, which may be helpful for some Bridge-eligible studentsInstitution-level academic priorities and diversity: do all students participate in high-impact practices (FYE, study abroad, capstone, research with faculty, etc.), and gain the same benefits from them? Are there any institutional barriers that keep students from certain groups from participating?Example: making sure there is financial aid available for study abroad.Starting with the Curriculum: Learning Outcomes (and Curricular Goals)Where possible and appropriate, include diversity-related learning outcomes in your curricular or co-curricular program. Already existing examples include the following:Feminist and Gender Studies: Selected learning outcome1. Articulate how gender… intersects with other systems of domination e.g., class, religion, sexuality, race, social class and sexual orientation.Philosophy: Selected Learning OutcomeStudents can identify at least one aspect of human experience assumed, embraced, or valued by a comparative perspective or tradition that is devalued, distorted, or rendered unintelligible by assumptions or claims privileged in the Western philosophical tradition.Sociology: Selected Learning OutcomeA student should be able to explain . . . [w]hy … patterns of inequality (based on race, class, gender, global relations, etc.) exist, persist, or change.General Education: Critical Perspectives: Social InequalityStudents will be able to articulate how a form of inequality (with respect to nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, class, or sexuality) is experienced by those in the marginalized or subjugated population.For diversity purposes, consider assessing not just knowledge (history of the Civil Rights movement, queer literature) and academic skills (analysis of racism across societal institutions) but also attitudes about diversity, emotional capabilities such as empathy, and interpersonal skills such as the ability to have empirically focused conversations about diversity matters in the context of a course. See Diversity and Social Justice Rubric handout.Diversity as a curricular matter may seem to fall more naturally in the social sciences, humanities, and interdisciplinary programs, but the natural sciences are good candidates for certain kinds of diversity-related learning outcomes. For example, the ability to work in diverse groups is an important skill in many scientific disciplines.Diversifying Assessment Itself: Assessment Measures/Demonstrations of LearningConsider the following two quotes:“Psychology majors like tests, English majors like texts.” – adapted from the book Assessing Study Abroad: Theory, Tools, and Practice, (2015, ed. Victor Savicki and Elizabeth Brewer, Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing), p. 4“The demonstration of learning chosen should not interfere with the student’s ability to demonstrate learning” – anonymousIt is possible to take a diversity of student strengths and skills into account when assessing student learning, whether at the course or program level. While I do not usually cover this topic in assessment work with departments and programs, it is currently receiving a great deal of discussion among assessment professionals with a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and has been for almost a decade. See the two sample citations at the end of the section.Embedded program or course assessment can involve different kinds of assignments built in from the beginning (or modify such a course/major in this direction) so that students with different talents for how to demonstrate learning can do so without any confusion about what they know or can do.Alternately, any given assignment can be carried out in such a way as to permit different students to show what they know or can do in different ways; the same learning outcome can be assessed differently but using the same rubricA poor test taker can create a poster and talk about the poster with the professorSomeone with weaker English skills may be able to create a multimedia project rather than write a paperSomeone who is exceedingly anxious about speaking in public can write a paper or take a testConsider the same point, phrased positively:Someone from a culture that values collaboration can be assigned a group projectSomeone with strong visual skills can use charts, graphs, or other visual productsSomeone who is a particularly strong public speaker can give a presentationThe assignment or exam itself can be framed in such a way as to avoid stereotyping groups or leaving out people who are members of traditionally devalued groups, as with Professor Emeritus Barbara Whitten’s “Physics for Everyone” project ()Consider the possibility of assessing for knowledge or skill gain rather than for absolute knowledge/skills. Find out what people know early in the major and at its conclusion, or at the beginning and end of a course. For a student from an under-resourced high school, making a certain degree of progress may be as meaningful as (or more meaningful than) a student from an academically strong high school making a strong showing on a demonstration of learning but actually having begun the process with knowledge or skills in the academic area in question. Assessing for gain avoids confusing the issue of who learned what material at what point.Sample Resources:Montenegro, Erick, and Natasha A. Jankowski. (2017, January). “Equity and Assessment: Moving Towards Culturally Responsive Assessment. (Occasional Paper No. 29). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois and Indiana University; National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA).Suskie, Linda. (2009), Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Assessment Results: Closing the Loop with Diversity in MindArguably, the most important part of assessment is the review, reflection, and departmental conversation following the information collection. If we must do assessment, we might as well learn something from it; assessment should be measurable and manageable, but also meaningful.To make assessment meaningful with regards to diversity, consider breaking down (disaggregating) results in order to better understand the different social patterns within the assessment results.This action needs to be done carefully and in such a way as to avoid stereotyping any group; that said, if done well it can help you see patterns in learning that may be diluted if you only review grades (since grades often include attendance, participation, and multiple aspects of learning that are beyond the small number of learning outcomes of interest for assessment purposes).If your majors, or the students in your class, are in fact diverse in ways that are important to you or your program, you may find opportunities to modify your teaching (curriculum, pedagogy, faculty-student interactions) in ways that will increase the opportunity of all students to learn in the most effective way possible.Workshop Time1. Pair discussion: how could you incorporate the CC diversity commitment into your own assessment work? Come up with specific ideas to share with the whole group. Consider the following aspects of assessment:Curricular goals/learning outcomesAssessment measures/demonstrations of learningClosing the loop2. Group discussion3. Final questions or thoughts?Thank you! ................
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