PROCESS EDUCATION: STRIVE FOR QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION, PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Dr. Dan Apple, Pacific Crest
Dr. Betty Lawrence, Empire State College
Friday, July 18th, 10:00-11:00
LOCATION: Auditorium

ABSTRACT

Process Education (PE), a term that came into being twenty-five years ago, is built upon a foundation of educational philosophies and approaches centered in active and facilitated learning. This session on the past, present and future of Process Education will engage participants in small groups to reflect on how Process Education has impacted professional development. Opportunities for community engagement and development will be highlighted, such as the Academy for Process Education, International Journal of Process Education, and the Performance Measurement and Enhancement System (PMES). The session will conclude with participants developing and sharing personal implementation plans for incorporating Process Education into their work for the coming year.

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QUALITY RUBRICS FOR PROJECTS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Dr. Cy Leise, Bellevue University
Friday, July 18th, 11:10-12:00
LOCATION: Eagle I & II

ABSTRACT

In process education the goal always is to design learning and growth opportunities that are challenging and relevant to growth. An essential skill for reaching these standards is proficiency in selecting or designing high-quality assessment and evaluation tools. The Faculty Guidebook includes examples of \u201cholistic\u201d and \u201canalytic\u201d rubrics, e.g., for writing, and for design, that can be used as a foundation for customized rubrics. This session will review the fundamentals of rubrics and explore how to create customized rubrics that will fit specific projects and assignments. Examples will be analyzed to gain insight how to identify important and valid criteria for inclusion in customized rubrics and how to create structure rubrics for clarity, efficiency, and flexibility.

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LEARNING TO LEARN CAMPS

Dr. Mae Cathyrne Jackson, Hinds Community College
Dr. Arlene King Berry, University of District of Columbia
Friday, July 18th, 11:10-12:00
LOCATION: Eagle III

ABSTRACT

Learning-to-Learn Camps provide transformational change opportunities for pre-college and recently matriculated students as well as professional development for camp faculty and staff. Through the use of learning communities, strong mentoring, cooperative learning, and frequent self-assessments, camp participants take responsibility for their own learning and growth. During the camp, students complete a life vision portfolio, engage in a wide variety of structured learning activities, and experience public as well as private accountability. Faculty and staff gain first-hand experience implementing principles of a quality learning environment, which helps them elevate the level of challenge and risk-taking in any higher education setting. This session will include anecdotes about Learning-to-Learn camps held a Hinds Community College and the University of District of Columbia.

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TEACHING A PROBLEM SOLVING COURSE

Dr. Jim Morgan, Texas A&M University
Friday, July 18th, 11:10-12:00
LOCATION: Talon

ABSTRACT

Improved problem solving ability among graduates of our schools and universities is desired by all professions. It is the job of faculty at these schools and universities to facilitate the development of problem solving abilities in their students. This session addresses several issues related to teaching problem solving. These include:
  1. What is problem solving?
  2. What does a good problem solver look like?
  3. What process or methodology will help in learning problem solving?
  4. What skills are needed by students in a problem solving class?
  5. How do we know our class is developing these skills?
  6. How should courses be structured to facilitate learning of problem solving?
  7. What skills are needed to teach problem solving?

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READY ACCESS TO EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH FOR IMPROVING TEACHING & LEARNING

Panel Discussion
facilitated by Dr. Steven Beyerlein, University of Idaho
Friday, July 18th, 1:30-2:20
LOCATION: Talon

ABSTRACT

This panel discussion introduces paper and electronic versions of the Faculty Guidebook composed of 145, just-in-time, 1000-3000 word modules that connect the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL) literature with best teaching/learning practices. This project began in 2001 and has continued to the present with the publication of the 4th edition in 2007.

Features of the Faculty Guidebook include: (a) design specifications for collaborative SoTL project by over 50 faculty members in multiple disciplines, (b) organization of modules into sections and chapters using graphical navigational scheme based on a systems model of higher education, (c) use of a context-sensitive glossary as a tool for building shared language, and (d) module layouts for different teaching/learning needs (e.g. overview, methodologies, teaching practices, tools, and annotated bibliographies). In this session a subset of editors for the Faculty Guidebook will share case studies of their usage of this resource in tackling teaching/learning problems associated with curriculum design, facilitation, and assessment. They will respond to questions by a dean who has recently purchased the Faculty Guidebook for use at Hinds Community College.

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PERFORMANCE MEASURES: KEY TO QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Dr. Daniel Litynski, Western Michigan University
Friday, July 18th, 1:30-2:20
LOCATION: Eagle I & II

ABSTRACT

Stakeholders in Higher Education, including government and accreditation agencies, increasingly require higher learning institutions to measure performance and document effectiveness of improved student learning. Such performance measurement is necessary but not easy. Many faculty and staff lack basic assessment skills and are unsure of how to organize and use the resulting data to accurately document and improve performance. Capturing data in a standard format during a performance review at the course level makes it possible for that data to be analyzed in new ways at the program, college, university, and national levels. Pacific Crest Software plans to use technology coupled with its extensive experience to simplify the measurement and documentation of performance in order to enhance performance. It will provide ease of entry and analysis of performance across multiple organizations and domains. The Performance Measurement and Enhancement System (PMES) will make it easy to collect, store, assess, and analyze measurement data, enabling educational participants, both teachers and learners, to focus on doing the things that actually increase learning and growth. PMES has great potential to advance performance measurement across many societal domains. The Workshop will review Performance Measurement and introduce the concepts of the PMES.

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IMPROVING QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Dr. Kathy Burke, SUNY Cortland
Dr. Mohamed El-Sayed, Kettering University
Friday, July 18th, 2:30-3:20
LOCATION: Talon

ABSTRACT

In order to design a quality product or provide a quality service, the designer or service provider needs to understand the values and expectations of its consumer or receiver. This requirement also holds true in higher education. For example, in a class the students can be viewed as the consumer or receiver of the educational service. In this workshop, a quality improvement approach for education is illustrated through the transformation of routine student course evaluations into a quality improvement, assessment tool. Participants will learn to create the tool, calculate a quality index, and interpret the results to improve the quality of their product -- be it a class, curriculum or program.

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CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT THROUGH CAS STANDARDS

Karen Patty-Graham, Ed.D.
President-Elect, National Association for Developmental Education
Friday, July 18th, 2:30-3:20
LOCATION: Eagle I & II

ABSTRACT

This session introduces the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) standards and guidelines for program quality. This self-study tool may be used institution-wide, or in your department or program. You will learn about CAS, the CAS Self-Assessment Guide, and examples that could be used or adapted to meet local needs for assessing the quality of any postsecondary program.

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TEN CRITICAL IDEAS ABOUT ASSESSMENT TO BENEFIT EVERY EDUCATIONAL PROFESSIONAL

Tris Utschig, Georgia Institute of Technology
Friday, July 18th, 2:30-3:20
LOCATION: Eagle I & II

ABSTRACT

This paper presents 10 critical ideas about assessment that, when placed into practice, can significantly advance and add value to every academic professional's work. Together, these ideas form a set of principles and practices whose impact can be measured to provide a comprehensive picture of the assessment culture in an organization. Each idea presented here is supported by the literature and informed by the use of the idea in practice. Key terms and schema relating to assessment are defined, related resources are noted, and ways in which assessment can enhance student learning and growth, enhance faculty performance, and improve institutional effectiveness and quality in its collective learning environment are shown. The ideas presented here fall within three categories. The first category addresses vital issues in the relationship between assessment and evaluation. Specific topics addressed in this category are the role of measurement in assessment, common misconceptions about assessment, using assessment to enhance performance on an evaluation, and turning evaluation into assessment. The second category deals with assessment values, practice and mindset. Specific topics addressed in this category are key steps in the assessment process, writing clear performance criteria, assessing assessments, and self-assessment for growth. The third category deals with conditioning and historical cultural norms in higher education that prevent change toward an assessment culture. Specific topics addressed in this category are the role of assessment in the mentoring process and the assessment mindset. The paper closes with a brief description of issues regarding cultural change that must be confronted when an organization in higher education begins to embrace and implement these ideas.

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