General Education and Assessment 3.0: Next-Level Practices Now
Pre-Conference Workshops
All workshops are full; we are no longer accepting registrations
Thursday, March 3, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Workshop 1: Elements of Good Practice in General Education Reform: FULL
What are common and distinct issues that institutions face in implementing outcomes based
general education? What milestones might campuses use to chart progress? The
facilitators will highlight elements of good practice for general education reform, and
participants will identify issues surrounding reform on their own campuses. Significant
attention will be given to problem solving, strategies for change, and methods for
leveraging institutional mission and culture.
Rita Kean, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and
Dean Pribbenow, Dean of the School of Integrative Studies, Edgewood College
Workshop 2: Engaging Faculty in Curriculum Revision: FULL
Facilitators will discuss how to engage faculty in general education revision, including
ways to define learning outcomes and introduce promising practices. Participants will
examine concrete steps to support faculty in using engaged pedagogies and developing
innovative courses that contribute to new general education designs.
Betsy E. Brown, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, North Carolina State University; and
John M. Burney, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Doane College
Workshop 3: Leveraging Learner-Centered Assessment for
Educational Change: FULL
This workshop will help participants develop strategies for implementing learner centered
approaches to assessment. Focusing on rubrics and e-portfolios, participants
will discuss ways to use assessment to meaningfully improve programs while satisfying
accountability demands. The workshop will focus on nuts-and-bolts aspects of creating
authentic assessments that align with teaching and learning. Participants will develop a
toolkit of learner-centered assessment strategies and a network of colleagues interested
in meaningful programmatic assessment.
Kathryne Drezek McConnell, Assistant Director of Academic Assessment; and Marc
Zaldivar, Director, ePortfolio Initiative—both of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University
Workshop 4: Using Creative Artifacts to Assess Liberal Learning: FULL
Creative artifacts (novels, films, artwork, etc.) are valued when they are produced by
established creators, but when assessing student learning, faculty are likely to ask
for expository prose rather than creative work. This workshop will invite participants
to assess authentic student work that aims to cultivate liberal learning outcomes by
wedding creative expression in different media to wide-ranging intellectual inquiry.
Participants will consider the potential of artistic/creative production to generate—and
serve as evidence of—liberal learning. They will discuss the extent to which they believe
these pieces demonstrate achievement of outcomes, then work to create a provisional
assessment rubric that speaks to liberal learning. This workshop is designed for anyone
interested in exploring creative ways of assessing liberal learning.
Robert C. Lagueux, Assistant Professor of English and Director, First-Year Seminar,
Columbia College Chicago; and David H. Krause, Associate Provost, Dominican University
Workshop 5: Contexts for Collaboration and Support of
Student Learning:
The Roles of Deans and Administrators: FULL
Deans and other administrators are partners with faculty in the design, implementation,
and assessment of general education; the articulation of learning outcomes; and the
development of curricular and cocurricular connections. This workshop will use multi-institutional
case studies to focus on the role deans and other administrators can play in
fostering innovative practices and policies to enhance student learning. Participants will
contextualize approaches to their own campus contexts.
Beth E. Barnett, Provost and Academic Vice President, Ramapo College of New Jersey;
Scott E. Evenbeck, Founding President, new community college of City University of New
York; Frank E. Ross, Associate Provost for Student Success, University of North Texas at
Dallas; and Sara B. Varhus, Vice President, Academic Affairs, Nazareth College
Sponsored by the American Conference of Academic Deans
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