Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Teaching to the Gen Ed Assessment

Posted by anne.grey

Presenters: Morgan Lindberg and Kathleen Doss.

Summary

In this presentation, Morgan Lindberg and Kathleen Doss introduce PCC’s General Education assessment process and explain how it connects to everyday teaching. The session reviews the purpose of General Education, how it supports student success and transfer, and why PCC assesses General Education outcomes as part of its commitment to continuous improvement and accreditation.

Presenters explain PCC’s General Education outcomes and the role of Discipline Studies Area Committees, or DSACs, in developing and maintaining assessment rubrics. Arts and Letters courses focus on integrative learning, Math, Science, and Computer Science courses assess quantitative reasoning, and Social Sciences courses assess social inquiry and analysis. Cultural Literacy courses also address social justice. These shared outcomes and rubrics help faculty across many disciplines identify the skills students should be able to demonstrate in General Education courses.

A major focus of the session is the signature assignment, which is used to measure how well students are meeting their course’s General Education outcome. Faculty are encouraged to map their signature assignment to the appropriate DSAC rubric and consider what student work at PCC’s benchmark Level 2 should look like. Signature assignments do not need to be entirely new activities and often work best when they grow from assignments and learning experiences already built into the course.

The presenters also emphasize preparing students for success through transparency and scaffolding. Faculty should explain the General Education outcome, discuss how the signature assignment will be evaluated, and provide learning activities that help students practice the skills they will need. Instructors may adapt or create signature assignments as long as the resulting student work provides an opportunity to demonstrate the required outcome at the benchmark level or above. The overall goal is to make General Education assessment an authentic part of learning rather than an activity added only for assessment purposes.

Presentation Slides: Teaching to the Gen Ed Assessment Presentation Slides

Presentation Outcomes

• Explain the purpose of General Education at PCC and how General Education assessment supports student learning and continuous improvement.
• Identify PCC’s General Education outcomes and determine which DSAC and assessment rubric are associated with a General Education course.
• Describe the purpose of signature assignments and how they are used to assess student achievement of General Education outcomes.
• Map a signature assignment to the appropriate DSAC rubric and identify opportunities for students to demonstrate benchmark Level 2 performance or higher.
• Use transparency and scaffolding to help students understand the General Education outcome, assignment expectations, evaluation criteria, and skills they are expected to demonstrate.
• Adapt or design authentic signature assignments that connect General Education assessment with the existing learning activities and goals of a course.
• Identify DSAC representatives and other PCC assessment resources that can provide guidance when developing or revising signature assignments.

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