Now I’m Ready: The Impact of a Professional Development Initiative on Faculty Concerns with Program Assessment

Abstract

This article examines the impact of a faculty professional development effort on the understanding, confidence, and attitudes of education faculty related to program assessment activities. We applied literature on the adoption of innovations, institutional effectiveness, and professional development to a case study of a series of workshops on assessment. The results suggest that faculty members had improved skills and knowledge, understanding, confidence, and attitudes regarding assessment following the workshops. The opportunity for faculty members to collaborate with colleagues on assessment and to develop an understanding of the kinds of supports in place for assessment work were important elements in the gains.

Beyond Compliance: Using Organizational Theory to Unleash the Potential of Assessment

“…There is evidence that faculty members will engage in and even embrace program effectiveness activities like assessment, provided leaders themselves take a broader view of the practice and move beyond seeing assessment as something that must be done to satisfy accrediting bodies (Haviland, Shin, & Turley, 2010, 2011Welsh & Metcalf, 2003). Wehlburg (2008) offered a vision of transformative assessment, a process that is owned and driven by faculty members, adapted to the context of each program, embraced as part of the culture, and recognized for providing meaningful data to improve programs.…”

“…However, professional development and other resources around assessment activities (e.g., writing learning outcomes, collecting and analyzing data) that are overlooked (Bresciani, 2008). These activities can give faculty members a chance to come together to understand, experience, and make sense of assessment as an innovation (Haviland et al, 2010(Haviland et al, , 2011Rogers, 1995;Sahin & Thompson, 2006) and are key parts of the adoption process (Hall & Hord, 2001). Accreditor-sponsored assessment academies, like that run by the Higher Learning Commission (2011), can be a good support.…”

“…If the process is to be viewed as both legitimate and valuable, faculty members must be recognized as leading and having ownership for assessment practice (Haviland et al, 2010(Haviland et al, , 2011Welsh & Metcalf, 2003). They must be able to believe that administrators are acting in good faith when it comes to assessment, that the process will be used for program improvement-not to hold individual faculty members accountable for their performance (Hadden & Davies, 2002).…”

Using a Value-Added Approach to Assess the Sociology Major

“…For assessment systems to work successfully, both departmental and institutional commitment should continue to develop. It is recommended that faculty members work together in defining programmatic goals and developing assessment tools (Eck et al 2001), with opportunities for collaboration and supports made clear by the institution (Haviland, Shin, and Turley 2010). Financial support for data collection may need to come from outside of departmental budgets (Senter 2001).…”

Managing Change—Engaging Faculty in Assessment Opportunities

“…Ideas abound for faculty support and development efforts, and institutions must determine what works for them. Table II categorizes best practices reflected in the literature (Angelo 1999;Eckel et al 1999;Haviland et al 2010;Jones 2009;Palomba and Banta 1999;Suskie 2009;Walvoord 2004).…”