Preparing Your Course for Gen Ed Assessment
Gen Ed Assessment Checklist
Before the semster starts:
- Align Gen Ed area learning outcomes to your course-level outcomes
- Identify the classroom activities (lectures, readings, demonstrations, experiences) that scaffold and support student mastery of the outcomes
- Identify both and assessments you will employ.
- Use this alignment worksheet to map out these items
- What are your expectations for student performance? Write that down.
- Identify both your 'Big Question' and your 'Signature Assignment'.
- Remember to post your Signature Assignment in your Canvas course. The words 'signature assignment' must appear contiguously somewhere in the assignment title.
- Determine how you will collect assessment results.
- You can leverage the outcome tool in Canvas to automate data collection.
- If not using Canvas, identify another way to collect data.
At the conclusion of the semester:
- For each General Education outcome your course addresses, consider the following:
- Assessment results - how did students perform on the identified assessment(s)?
- What percentage of students achieved the level of performance you identified at the beginning of the term?
- Analyze and reflect on your results. Some questions to consider:
- Do my assessments align to my activities?
- Are my assessments appropriate for the level of learning I am trying to achieve ()?
- Are my assessments adequately scaffolded by class activities?
- Are my expectations reasonable? Are they too high or too low?
- Close the loop - what actions will you put in place to support improved student performance or experience?
- Don't forget to follow-up on the changes you make.
- Assessment results - how did students perform on the identified assessment(s)?
Worksheets to help you document your assessment are available: