2021 NEean Dialogues in the Disciplines
March 26, 2021
Keynote Address and Follow-up Q&A Session
Unintentional Consequences: The Case for Assessing Learning in Experiential Education
Experiential Education is a powerful model of educating students in authentic situations to apply classroom learning in the real world. However, without a solid way of assessing, we often do not really know what connections between theory and practice are occurring nor how students apply or interpret their learning. As educators our goal is not only to assess but to help students develop the skill to continue to assess themselves after they leave the academy. Together we will explore the characteristics of authentic experiential education, look at the ways we can measure success of our offering, but more importantly explore how to promote and measure the effect of experience for student learning in the classroom and off campus sites.
Presented by: Donna Qualters, Ph.D., Consultant and Author
Moderated by: Jennifer Galipeau, Johnson & Wales University
View the presentation here.
A hard copy of the presentation is available here.
Models and Practice Session 1
Assessing Skills Gained Through Internships
Employers place a significant value on internships when identifying recent college graduate hires. Internships offer students the opportunity to gain crucial practice in skills such as professionalism, communication, problem solving and collaboration. In this session, a university’s model for assessing interns for these “soft skills” will be shared. The development and use of university-approved “Experiential Education Outcomes” and the instruments used to capture quantitative and qualitative assessment data from students, sites and faculty will be shared. Insights into how findings support students individually and institutional curriculum as a whole will be discussed.
Presented by: Sheri Young, Ed.D., Dean of Experiential Education & Career Services, Johnson & Wales University
Moderated by: George Michna, University of Connecticut and Natalia Zagula, Goodwin University
A hard copy of the presentation is available here.
The site supervisor evaluation referenced in the session is here.
The student survey referenced in the session is here.
Models and Practice Session 2
Connecting Assessment to Learning Objectives for Faculty and Students
Students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute experience project-based learning (PBL) at scale, completing multiple individual and team-based projects throughout their four-year curriculum. However, faculty often learn how to teach and trust PBL by starting small, with a single assignment designed to facilitate learning objectives not easily met with traditional pedagogies. This session will explore the unique assessment needs of course-embedded PBL at three levels: assignment, course, and university. Explored through the lens of faculty development, examples will share challenges, successes, tools and frames for making meaning from assessment data.
Presented by: Kimberly LeChasseur, Ph.D., Research and Evaluation Associate, Center for Project Based Learning,
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Moderated by: Will Duffy, Bristol Community College and Mamta Saxena, Northeastern University
View the presentation here.
A hard copy of the presentation is available here.
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