Integrating Assessment and Faculty Development

Integrating Assessment and Faculty Development

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  Impact and Assessment:An Integrated Approach to Faculty Development Will Miller Institutional Research Flagler College Brian Smentkowski Faculty and Academic Development Appalachian State University
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  Overview • By focusingless on "what we can do" and more on "what we can do together", we can reintroduce a vital sense of community that is necessary for individuals and institutions to succeed. • By leveraging our resources, knowledge, and experience towards common goals, we can build structures that properly identify, support, and enhance faculty and institutional effectiveness.
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  Overview How Faculty Developmentand Institutional Research Can Align Institutional and Individual Goals, Objectives, Assessments, and Success Institutional Research Institutional Objectives Faculty Development
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  Taken for Granted •Data points collected by IR sometimes do not get back to faculty – DWF rates – Graduation rates – Retention rates – Career placement rates – Outcomes • Sometimes this is the fault of IR; sometimes, the faculty
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  The Goal • Weargue that IR data and FD/IR collaborations can provide a necessary sense of direction and also help plan, assess, and document the accomplishment of core institutional objectives. • This debunks the myth that IR data is all about the end game and instead provides a platform for successful evidence-based programming.
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  Integration and Alignment •Bifurcated implementation leads both sectors – administration and faculty– astray. • Integration and alignment of the institutional mission and the role of the faculty in furtherance of it is essential, but this requires four things: – 1. Knowledge and information–IR data, contextualized in collaboration with FD – 2. shared value/buy-in –using the data to make a case but linking that case to faculty interests and opportunities. – 3. support for innovation and implementation across campus (faculty development, student development, instructionally, and in research) – 4. assessments, both formative and summative (improvement and accountability paradigms)
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  The Process • Inorder to determine if these goals are met at the class, program, and institutional level, valid assessments must be developed. • This can spiral fast, so it is important to keep it simple. – When there is alignment of goals and outcomes, the improvement and accountability paradigms can be integrated.
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  Assessment • Faculty Developmentand Institutional Research can help the individual and the institution benefit from the same data. • Blending the Improvement and Accountability Paradigms, the same assessment data should be able to… – help the faculty teach – help the students learn – help the institution document steps towards success
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  Assessment Paradigms Based uponPeter T. Ewell’s Assessment, Accountability, and Improvement: Revisiting the Tension Strategic Dimension: Purpose and Strategy Improvement Paradigm Accountability Paradigm Intent Formative/faculty benefit Summative/institutional reporting Stance Internal. Evidence is gathered to assess learning External. Well-vetted, produces appropriate data Predominant Ethos Engagement Compliance Evidence Gathering Multiple/different methods for different kinds of evidence and courses Standardized Type of Evidence Qualitative or quantitative. Narratives are ok, often useful for buy-in Quantitative. Need to be translated Reference Points Are outcomes met? Can/do they change over time? Comparative (across programs) and fixed (are key markers met?) Communication of results Internally, developmental, consultative Transparent, institutional reporting Use of Results Individual/program improvement Are institutional and organization goals being met?
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  The Big Picture •Sharing and integrating knowledge is vital. • IR is–ought to be—indispensable here. • Institutionally, this requires some unsiloing. • It requires key personnel to effectively USE and not just have good IR data. • IR data can and should be used to inform and create opportunities for faculty to succeed. • It’s not just assessment–that’s vital, but really just one half of the equation–it’s also a starting point. • IR data and FD/IR collaborations can provide a necessary sense of direction and also help plan, assess, and document the accomplishment of core institutional objectives.
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  How? • Assuring datais sent to faculty in timely, understandable manner • Utilizing faculty committees to carry the weight with other faculty • Allowing faculty to contribute to interpretation of less academic measures (SSI, NSSE)
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  Questions?