Using Assessment Findings for Improvement: A Study of Types and Factors

• In Event: Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Assessment Methods and Use of Results

Abstract

Universities are increasingly expected to assess student learning under the assumption that these findings will drive improvements in educational practices but studies show that this goal has not been realized and the use of student learning evidence remains uncommon. This finding may result in part from a limited definition of the construct of “use”. This paper will discuss a project supported by Spencer Foundation to apply theories about different types of use from the evaluation field to an analysis of reported use of learning evidence to improve general education courses at a large research institution. How learning evidence is being used and association of that use with organizational context, information characteristics, professional development, and disciplinary field will be discussed.

Authors

• Jessica Loraine Jonson, University of Nebraska

• Timothy Guetterman, University of Nebraska - Lincoln