The following programs are scheduled to complete our Outcomes Based Education (OBE) Process during Autumn Semester.

**Fitness Management

**Digital Game Design

**American Art, Design and Marketing

**Office Management

**Accounting

**Advanced Energy

 

 2012 Assessment Institute

 Magna Commons Webinars

A Message from the Coordinator...

May is capstone month at Hocking College! It is a time of celebration as students from many programs share their exciting projects with faculty, peers and experts in their field of study. These projects emphasize learning, engage students as active participants in the learning process, promote critical thinking and problem solving skills, connect new knowledge to what students know, and encourage concrete application of both program and general education outcomes. Special thanks to all capstone faculty for facilitating these outstanding learning experiences!

Kudos to the School of Public Safety Services for hosting their first capstone course Scenario Day on Friday, May 11, 2012!  The event simulated mock emergencies and provided an opportunity for Fire Science, Emergency Medical Services, Police Science and Social Services, Corrections and Criminal Justice to work together.   Advisory Board members assessed student response to the scenarios. Overall, the observers rated student performance as exemplary.

Programs should balance their assessment efforts with the collection of both formative and summative assessments of student learning. The terms formative and summative assessment are easily confused.

Formative assessment provides the faculty member an opportunity to adjust teaching and learning in real time. This assessment allows us to gauge student understanding during a class when adjustments can be made.   Formative assessment serves many purposes:

• Provides feedback for faculty to modify subsequent learning activities
• Encourages identification and remediation of group or individual deficiencies
• Emphasizes learning rather than grade achievement

Summative assessments are done at a specific point in time to measure student learning. They are often end of unit or chapter tests, end of term exams, end of program capstone projects or presentations. Summative assessments are utilized to evaluate the mastery of learning outcomes, the effectiveness of programs, and alignment of curriculum.

No matter how wonderful our classroom presentation may be, what the student hears is not always what we think we have said. The one-minute paper (described in Angelo and Cross, Classroom Assessment Techniques) is a quick and easy assessment tool that helps alert us when this disjuncture occurs, while it also gives the timid student an opportunity to ask questions and seek clarification.

In its basic format, the instructor takes the last minute (or, realistically, three minutes) of class and asks students to write down short answers to two questions:

• What was the most important point made in class today?
• What unanswered question do you still have?

The questions can be modified in various ways, but they should remain open-ended. Responses can be put on 3´5 cards that are handed out or on the student's own paper. Students can be allowed to respond anonymously, to encourage them to admit points of confusion they might hesitate to put their name to.

The purpose of the one-minute paper is to identify and clarify points of confusion, Faculty members can start the next class with a few minutes spent discussing student answers to the first question and explaining the misunderstandings that seemed to be shared by more than one student.

Reference
Angelo, T.A., & Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques (2nd ed.),  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

For many Hocking College faculty members using rubrics to score student achievement of learning outcomes is venturing into a new arena. Tina Romine, Coordinating Instructor for the Equine Health and Complementary Therapies program finds this arena nearly as comfortable as the horse riding arena. Tina was one of the first Hocking College instructors to implement rubrics to assess student performance related to beginning riding techniques. She found that identifying a set of expectations for students and then measuring student performance based on these expectations increased both student and instructor accountability for learning the required skills. The rubrics provided feedback to students that enabled them to celebrate their successes and work to improve skills that are more difficult. The instructor was able to review scores, analyze trends and improve curriculum and instruction based on learning evidence.

Over the years the use of rubrics has expanded and now the foundation courses required by all three equine programs (Equine Health and Complementary Therapies, Farrier Science and Business, and Wilderness Horsemanship) include the use of rubric based assessment score cards. These rubrics help faculty articulate more precisely what the learning they want their students to achieve actually looks like, and removes subjectivity.

Students are introduced to rubrics during their first quarter and work with them across their entire curriculum of study.  Rubrics utilized in the capstone course where students work with broodmares and provide foal care require students to apply the knowledge gained throughout the program. Synthesis of program outcomes during this experience includes overseeing care of a mare before and after birth, vital signs and assessment of mom and baby, and complete, concise documentation of conditions and care provided.  All of the Success Skills (our general education outcomes) are practiced in preserving the health and well-being of the foal and mare.

Tina will be retiring at the end of the quarter but her rubrics will continue to be an integral part of our equine programs. She leaves a legacy that will continue to promote student learning far into the future.

Hocking College observed Diversity Week, May 7-10, 2012. Faculty, staff and students enjoyed games, movies, dancing, food, good conversation and fun while respecting our differences and honoring our similarities.  Laura Kreider, a member of the Diversity Without Division Alliance which organizes the event emphasized that "the week provided a wonderful opportunity for students to learn about diversity and the Success Skill, Demonstrates Community, Cultural and Global Awareness".

Students from our English as a Second Language (ESL) program introduced the week with presentations, music, and demonstrations of various traditions from Oman, Venezuela, and Senegal.  Several students enjoyed the Diversity Games held Monday evening.  A movie, "Goodbye Solo" was held on Wednesday evening and the week concluded with a Diversity Dance/DJ Battle.

At our last meeting the council discussed, how to move forward to create a culture of assessment. Suggestions included:

• Need to increase faculty awareness of Success Skills and expectations.
• Faculty need to document where skills are located across the curriculum (plan to include this during Autumn Semester Assessment Day)
• Faculty should be reminded that their job description includes assessment.
• Deans and faculty need to buy-in. Provide professional development sessions related to assessment for Deans and Faculty. No opting out.
• Include more about assessment in Quality Instruction Program (QIP) Orientation. 
• Have all faculty review Success Skills and recommit to skills and indicators during the next academic year. Make additions/corrections to indicators (i.e. Information literacy, computer technology). 

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Hocking College provides a unique, innovative, and quality education in a supportive experience-based learning environment, preparing students for employment and transfer education opportunities, while teaching the value of lifelong learning, promoting diversity and developing citizens who are engaged in their local and global communities.

Bonnie Allen Smith, R.N., Ph.D.
Coordinator, Assessment of Student Academic Achievement
Office of Academic Affairs