I think that there are a few issues here. One of them is the old/new school issue. Many people who have been in academia for a while have really never had to do program assessment (at least at not the level they are being asked to now). So, now, when they are asked to prove student learning, they view it as an insult (that's why I really don't like the term authentic assessment) or additional work (with no extra pay or time off) where as the newer faculty have always been expected to, so they see it as a normal part of the job. Second - and this may relate to the old school issue - I have had people tell me that they do assessments and nothing ever seems to come out of all their work. It is as if "Well, we did the required assessment for the accrediting body - now we don't have to do anything for the next 5-10 years!!"
Claudia Stanny wrote: >Annette and Marc raise two interesting perceptions of the role of >psychologists in the work on assessment. > > > >In some institutions, psychologists and psychology departments take a >leadership role, modeling good assessment practices and providing >consultation to other departments on the development of assessments and >interpretation of findings. > > > >In other institutions, psychologists and psychology departments are >identified as highly resistant. I attended one assessment conference in >which I made the comment that assessment made sense to me because it >seemed to be an application of my skills in research and cognition. The >workshop facilitator's response was that at her institution, cognitive >psychologists were the most difficult people to deal with because they >were so demanding for methodological "purity" (control groups, high >levels of reliability and validity for assessment instruments) > > > >I'm curious about the situation at your institution. > >Where would you place the participation of your department on this >continuum? > >What do you perceive to be the drivers for why your department >participates (or resists)? > > > >Respond directly to me off list if you prefer. (csta...@uwf.edu) > >This may be a topic of specialized and limited interest. > > > >My biases on this issue are obvious from my current job title. J > >But I am curious about learning more about the rationale underlying >faculty decisions about assessment. > > > >I'll post a summary later for interested parties. > > > >Claudia J. Stanny, Ph.D. > >Director, Center for University Teaching, Learning, and Assessment > >Associate Professor, Psychology > >University of West Florida > >Pensacola, FL 32514 - 5751 > > > >Phone: (850) 857-6355 or 473-7435 > >e-mail: csta...@uwf.edu <mailto:csta...@uwf.edu> > > > >CUTLA Web Site: http://uwf.edu/cutla/ <http://uwf.edu/cutla/> > >Personal Web Pages: http://uwf.edu/cstanny/website/index.htm ><http://uwf.edu/cstanny/website/index.htm> > > > > >--- >To make changes to your subscription contact: > >Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) ---------------------------------- Deb Dr. Deborah S. Briihl Dept. of Psychology and Counseling Valdosta State University 229-333-5994 dbri...@valdosta.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
