Overview of General Education atLaredo Community College

DAVID V. ARREAZOLA

DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS AND ASSESSMENT

MARISSA G. LONGORIA

DEAN OF THE DIVIS ION OF COLLEGE READINESS

Outline of Today’s Presentation

History/Background

General Education Competencies and Specific Outcomes

Assessment of General Education

Communication Assessment Rubric and Video

Grading Activity

What is General Education/ Core Curriculum?Core curriculum is defined as the curriculum in the liberal arts, humanities, sciences, and political, social and cultural history that all undergraduate students of a particular Texas institution of higher education are required to complete before receiving an associate or bachelor’s degree.

The general education core curriculum provides the common learning experience for all Laredo Community College students and is a substantial component of each associate degree.

What is General Education/ Core Curriculum?The General Education Core Curriculum focuses on strengthening six basic competencies that help define the educated person:

•Communication,

•Critical Thinking,

•Empirical and Quantitative Skills,

•Teamwork,

•Social Responsibility , and

•Personal Responsibility

Why Assess General Education?Internally, assessment is used• To determine levels of student

attainment of a general education

• To promote improvement in teaching and learning

• To make decisions about instruction

Why Assess General Education?The purpose of assessment of the Texas Common Core (TCC) is for institutions to discover, document and seek to improve student attainment of the six core objectives.

Institutions use multiple measures for effective assessment, including at least one direct measure per core objective.

Institutions must electronically submit their assessment report of the core objectives to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) every 10 years.

Accountability for assessment of the core objectives is at the institutional level.

Why Assess General Education?Comprehensive Standard 3.5.1

The institution identifies college-level general education competencies and the extent to which students have attained them. (General education competencies)

Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1.1

The institution identifies expected outcomes in its educational programs (to include student learning outcomes), assesses the extent to which it achieves these outcomes, and provides evidence of improvement based on analysis of the results (Institutional effectiveness)

Federal Requirement 4.1 The institution evaluates success with respect to student achievement.

The General Education Competencies and Specific Outcomes

General Education Institutional PortfolioThe Laredo Community College General Education

Institutional Portfolio is a collection of student artifacts from across general education courses used to assess communication, critical thinking, empirical and quantitative skills, teamwork, social responsibility and personal responsibility; this portfolio serves as the primary general education assessment instrument.

These artifacts are scored by a Gen Ed Committee of Assessors using Common Rubrics

Rubrics- Where did they come from?

Association of American Colleges and Universities ◦ Teams of faculty nationwide reviewed existing rubrics to identify

commonalities, clarify language, and develop broad agreement on outcomes criteria (openedpractices.org)

◦ Developed 15 rubrics

◦ To date accessed by over 2000 institutions- Domestic & international, K-12

Gen Ed Competencies Laredo Community College has identified Six college-level general education competencies. They are:

Communication-LCC students develop and express ideas through effective written, oral, and visual communication for various academic and professional contexts.

Critical Thinking-LCC students use inquiry and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information, and innovation and creative thinking.

Empirical and Quantitative Skills-LCC students apply scientific and mathematical concepts to analyze and solve problems to investigate hypotheses.

Gen Ed Competencies Laredo Community College has identified Six college-level general education competencies. They are:

Teamwork-LCC students consider different points of view and work effectively with others to support a shared purpose or goal.

Social Responsibility-LCC students demonstrate intercultural competency, civic knowledge, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and/or global communities.

Personal Responsibility-LCC students connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making.

Communication Rubric

Specific Outcomes- Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking Rubric

Specific Outcomes-Empirical and Quantitative Skills

Empirical and Quantitative Skills Rubric

Specific Outcome-TeamworkSpecific Outcomes

Contribution- The students

makes a quality contribution to

the Team Activity

Attitude Towards Others- The

student treats fellow team

members courteously and

respectfully

Engagement-The student was

fully engaged in the work of the

team.

Teamwork Rubric

Social Responsibility Rubric

Personal Responsibility Rubric

Communication Rubric and Video TrainingFocus of 2016-2017 Academic Year

Along with Critical Thinking, Communication is required of all Core Courses

Training outlines alignment of assessments with the rubric

Specific Outcomes-Communication

Communication Rubric

Communication Rubric

Assessment of General EducationAT LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE

The General Education Committee

The General Education Committee is charged with guiding the institution’s assessment of General Education.

Assessment of the Texas Common Core/General Education Competencies is conducted at the institutional level and is designed to meet the requirements of the Texas Core Curriculum Assessment Guidelines and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges’ (SACSCOC) Comprehensive Standard 3.5.1.

Laredo Community College (LCC) conducts internal and external assessment of general education competencies through both direct and indirect means of assessment.

Committee MembersDavid Arreazola Institutional Effectiveness and

Assessment DirectorMary Bausman Visual and Performing Arts

Dr. Laura Cruz Social and Behavioral Sciences

Oscar GomezRadiologic Technology Director

Marissa G. Longoria Dean of College Readiness

Dr. Veronica MartinezAssessment and QEP Coordinator

Maribel MitsuiMathematics Department

Marco MondragonIE Technician

Dr. Orlando PatricioNatural Sciences

Dr. Horacio SalinasDepartment Chair of Social and

Behavioral SciencesAlan WebbEnglish & Communications

Methodology – General Education Assessment

Community College Survey of Student Engagement

ETS Proficiency ProfileETS® Proficiency Profile – A standardized instrument that assesses college-level skills in critical thinking, reading, writing and mathematics and provides a comprehensive measure of the academic skills developed through general education courses.

Community College Survey of Student Engagement

Community College Survey of Student Engagement - a research-based survey that asks students to report the frequency in which they engage in a number of institutional practices and student behaviors correlated with student learning and retention.

Institutional Portfolio•Embedded assignments that are blind reviewed by institution wide committees using a rubric (Internal Direct Measure)

•An interdisciplinary committee of faculty agreed upon the common analytical rubrics used as a direct means of assessment and evaluation of student work.

•Samples of student work are collected each semester by faculty in designated classes and are uploaded to a shared drive.

•The institutional portfolio is scored by an assessment committee of faculty members using Common Core Competency Rubrics.

•The competencies are assessed every year, with data collection occurring in the fall and/or spring and assessment occurring in the fall.

Communication Assessment Rubric and Video

Link to Video

http://www.laredo.edu/html5/nonportal/embed.php?v=5944504

Grading Activity

Grading Activity Instructions

◦ Review each artifact

◦ Review the Communication Rubric

◦ Score the artifact as “does not meet, partially meets, meets, exceeds” expectation standards

◦ Assessor may score student sample a 0 if performance on any criteria is unacceptable /invalid.

Calibration ExerciseScoring Steps:

◦ Review rubric to familiarize yourself with structure, language, and performance levels.

◦ Ask questions about the rubric for clarification or to get input from others regarding interpretation.

◦ Read student work samples.

◦ Connect specific points of evidence in work sample with each criterion at the appropriate performance level (if applicable).

One tab for each competency

Enter the Student

Palomino ID

Your name will be listed

here

Scores of 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 entered here

The Assessor’s Log

Discussion QuestionsHow did your group rate the sample? Why?

Were there any differences between graders? How?