Description
One of the greatest challenges in assessing student learning in general education programs is addressing the tension between selecting easy-to-measure learning outcomes that have little value or bearing on our institutions' goals and selecting meaningful and substantial learning outcomes that are complex and difficult to assess. Many institutions that have recently replaced their cafeteria-style general education programs with general education programs that focus on complex student learning outcomes find themselves at a loss in attempting to gather evidence on student achievement of these outcomes for internal improvement and external accountability purposes. This volume of New Directions for Institutional Research makes a compelling case that institutions can and should be assessing consequential, complex general education student learning outcomes. It also gives faculty members and assessment leaders the tools and resources to take ownership of this important work. Part One of this volume provides an argument for why we should be assessing general education and describes a framework, based on a rigorous psychological research approach, for engaging in assessment. The six chapters in Part Two show how this work can be (and is being) done for six important learning outcomes: critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, teamwork, intercultural competence, civic knowledge and engagement, and integrative learning. The volume closes with recommendations on needed innovations in general education assessment and presents a research agenda for future work. Book jacket.
