Teaching - Learning Fellows,
Summer 2003 Learning Outcome Project
WWU Primer on improving the
Teaching, Learning, Assessment Cycle
Janice Lapsansky, Project Leader
Beginning in June 2003, four faculty members engaged in a pilot project
designed to lead Western Washington University’s teaching community
in the regular and systematic assessment of student learning outcomes
(SLO) in undergraduate courses. Supported by the Vice Provost for Undergraduate
Education and the Office of Institutional Assessment, Research, and
Testing, this effort was launched as one mechanism to facilitate the
transition from program assessment to individual course assessment.
Sustainable implementation of regular and formal classroom assessment
was the central objective of this project. The program focused primarily
on assessment of learning outcomes in general education courses within
four disciplines: History, Environmental Science, Psychology, and Geology.
The primary goal was to produce exemplars of classroom assessment, incorporated
into an instructional design with the potential to help students become
more reflective and effective learners.
Each participating faculty member selected a student research partner
to access the student perspective in order to gain a deeper understanding
of student learning and of effective communication of course objectives
in classroom practice. The structure of the program and the methods
employed were characteristic of scholarship in any field: incorporating
literature review, creativity, collaboration, enactment, and dissemination
activities. The project leader solicited mid-point and final evaluations
from participants to document and make improvements to the process.
Below is a graphic depiction of the assessment learning cycle in which
the four faculty participated. More detailed synopses of each faculty
member's contributions to the project are available on the links to
environmental science, geology,
history, and psychology.
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