Assessment Highlight: SUNY Cortland
By Amy Shellman, PhD, Assistant Professor, Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies Department
As a recipient of a Bringing Theory to Practice demonstration site award, SUNY Cortland’s primary objectives have been to assess the effect of high-impact learning practices, such as civic engagement and service learning, on the psychosocial well-being of students.
Using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design, the Transformational Learning Assessment was administered during the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 academic years. Specific outcomes assessed included perspective-taking, identity, emotional competence, resilience, and flourishing. Data collection began in fall 2010 and will continue through spring 2012 and beyond. Courses were targeted based on specific attributes, (e.g., designated as service-learning, learning communities for first-year students, etc.) and students were invited to complete the survey at the beginning and end of their course.
Comparable courses that were similar in content but which did not require service or were not part of a specific learning community were used for comparison purposes. Preliminary results from the 2010-2011 academic year indicated that the students surveyed at SUNY Cortland have a relatively high level of psychosocial well-being on the dimensions specified previously. Focus group interviews conducted on courses utilizing high-impact learning practices supported the role of such practices in helping students develop their perspective of others and themselves, and helped students identify personal strengths.
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