July 8, 2003
Assessing
Student Learning:
An Informal
Inventory of Current Berkeley Practices
Faculty and administrators at Berkeley share a commitment
to the intent of assessment of student learning (even
if the term is not in common use)—a commitment to better
understand how well students learn, what they learn,
how they use what they learn, and when and where they
learn.
Given our campus culture of decentralization and intellectual
independence, the institution of a single campus-wide
standard or set of standards for student learning outcomes
is not likely. Rather, a multiplicity of methods and
approaches can best meet the needs of such a large
and complex institution. At the same time, we recognize
the importance of developing ways of assessing student
learning that can give us an institution-wide overview
of how well we are meeting our learning goals for students.
We have been tracking a number of indicators related
to student learning over more than a decade as part
of the Quality of Undergraduate Education Assessment
Project (QUEAP). More recently, new developments in
web-based technologies are allowing us to develop more
effective and efficient means of collecting and disseminating
data, including more direct input from students through
the UC Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES) and
the Career Destination Survey. The Academic Senate
and administration will also be working jointly to
develop some common questions and metrics related to
assessment of student learning as part of the course
proposal, course evaluation, and academic program review
processes. All these efforts focus attention on student
learning and will lead to more comprehensive and integrated
assessments.
Below we list an informal inventory of current Berkeley
practices of assessing student learning at the institutional,
departmental and course level, together with some representative
examples of how these practices are being implemented.
This inventory is a work-in-progress. It was developed
out of a number of recent campus-wide conversations
involving faculty, staff, and students, including the
WASC campus accreditation self-study process, the e-Berkeley
symposium on Reinventing Large-Enrollment Courses,
the Mellon Faculty Institute for Undergraduate Research,
and the Distinguished Teachers Group. Some of these
practices are more typical of some disciplines than
others, and the list is meant to be suggestive rather
than exhaustive. We hope to expand and develop this
framework as we continue our efforts to assess student
learning.
Institutional Assessment of Student Learning
Examples of Departmental Assessments of Student
Learning
- placement tests determine the appropriate
course for a student to take. (Mathematics, English
as a Second Language Summer Program, and Chinese,
among others, offer placement tests.)
- departmental agreement on the content and textbooks of
major gateway courses can provide consistency of
student learning. (The Mathematics department has
determined
the key concepts and common textbooks for its large-enrollment
lower-division courses. Physics has also adopted
a single text for its lower-division courses.)
- standardized testing at the completion
of a sequence of courses determines cumulative learning.
(The Russian program is using standardized tests
created
in Russia for the EU to evaluate student progress
across the first four semesters of their program.)
- capstone courses provide evidence of how
well students can integrate and apply a body of
knowledge in a culminating project. (History, Environmental
Sciences,
among others offer capstone courses.)
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~es196/index.html
- portfolios of student work encompassing all
their courses in the major assess cumulative learning.
(Architecture encourages students to develop portfolios.)
http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/people/students/portfolio/index.htm
- exit surveys or interviews of graduating seniors solicit
their opinions about the nature, extent, and scope
of their learning. (Political Economy of Industrial
Societies surveys its graduating seniors.) http://econ161.berkeley.edu/PEIS/PEIS_grad_survey200105.html
- follow-up studies of alumni show how well
the department has prepared students for advanced work
or future careers. (Sociology surveys its alumni.)
http://sociology.berkeley.edu/alumni/survey/Summary.html
- surveys of employers are periodically conducted
by some units, such as the Department of Electrical
Engineering and Computer Sciences, to elicit feedback
on the effectiveness of our educational processes.
http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/IPRO/abet.html
Examples of Course-Level Assessments of Student
Learning
- learning outcomes specified in the syllabus
let students know what they will be expected to know
or do as a result of taking the course. (Biology 1B
has developed a detailed set of learning objectives.)
http://ib.berkeley.edu/courses/bio1b/lo.html
- pre-assessments of students’ knowledge
or competencies at the beginning of the term give
faculty
members a sense of whether students have the requisite
background and skills to succeed in the course.
(In French 2, the instructor administers a diagnostic
essay
on the first day of class.)
- observations of student behavior in a
particular setting or situation help faculty know
what students
can actually do. (In lab courses, student use of
equipment is closely monitored to ensure they learn
to use it
properly and safely.)
http://128.32.188.100/FAQs/faqlaboratoryself.html
- student participation in classroom discussions
is a way faculty determine whether students understand
course concepts. (A collaborative journal/online discussion
was conducted by students of College Writing R1A to
discuss The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and Fast
Food Nation by Eric Schlosser.)
http://writing.Berkeley.edu/courses/Sokolik/fall02/
http://sinclairjungle.blogspot.com/
(And
in IDS 110, students hold “office” discussions
online.)
http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~110info/
- research papers and homework assignments show
how well students can apply what they have learned.
(Assignments for History 138 are designed to help students
develop research skills.) http://history.berkeley.edu/faculty/Carson/fall02/138/writing.html
- oral presentations provide students an opportunity
to demonstrate competencies in public speaking. (Astronomy
149, UGBA 100-3, IB 148, and Chemistry 125 are some
of the classes that incorporate oral presentation into
their coursework.)
http://astron.berkeley.edu/~echiang/planet/planet.html
http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/courses/spring2003/UGBA100-3.html
http://polypedal.berkeley.edu/IB148-Spring99/Syllabus/IB148_syllabus.html
http://elearning.berkeley.edu:7000/SCRIPT/chem125_sp03/scripts/serve_home
- instructor-developed informal measures quickly
assess whether students are learning the material.
(In a variety of classes, instructors use minute
papers, paraphrasing, summarization, or other classroom
assessment
techniques.)
- tests, exams, and quizzes are traditional
ways of assessing student learning. (Russian,
Arabic, and French programs have created computer-based
formative tests for chapter units in their lower
level language classes. The format allows students
to take
a chapter test, receive feedback, and then retake
a different version to improve their grade.)
http://blc.Berkeley.edu/newsletterS2000.pdf
(p.8)
- common exams for multi-section stand-alone courses are
another way of assessing student learning. (Several
foreign language departments administer a common
test for introductory courses.)
- juried review of students’ projects or
performances is a common way of assessing student
learning in architecture
and the arts.
- portfolios that collect student work over
time provide longitudinal information about changes
in student learning. (The College Writing Programs
uses portfolios as part of their evaluation of
students' progress. Students compile a selection
of papers from
throughout the term and provide an annotated table
of contents and a reflective introduction to their
work. The portfolio is read both by each student's
own instructor and by another instructor. In addition
to making a passing or not passing determination,
the second instructor also provides comments about
the
work in the portfolio.)
- awards for student research papers recognize
outstanding achievement. (The Library Prize for
Undergraduate Research competition attracts the best
undergraduate
papers from courses taught in departments across
the campus.)
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/researchprize/
- invitations for students to present their research
findings is an indicator of student learning.
(Students have been asked to present to the Regents
and to the state legislature at UC Day in Sacramento).
http://research.berkeley.edu/ucday/
- publication of a student paper in a peer-reviewed
journal makes student learning public. (The campus
has student research journals with rigorous review
procedures, for example Berkeley McNair Research
Journal, Berkeley Undergraduate Journal,
and Berkeley Scientific.)
http://www-mcnair.berkeley.edu/2001journal/
http://learning.berkeley.edu/buj/
http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~bsj/
- research studies can yield comprehensive
information about the nature and effectiveness
of a course innovation. (Faculty teaching Mechanical
Engineering
39D used interviews, questionnaires, and an analysis
of the assignments to look at students’ perceptions
of the design process.)
http://education.berkeley.edu/accreditation/pdf/ME39D_study.pdf
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