Assessment Through Self-Reflection: Connecting Research to the Experiences of Leading Higher Education Diversity Initiatives

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 25
  In Roundtable Session: Culture and Assessment in Higher Education

Abstract

In resonance with the call for researchers and education stakeholders to collaborate for the public good (AERA 2020), our paper describes how emergent research findings support efforts to scale up and assess diversity initiatives. Our study follows the contours of a five-year, multi-institutional, interdisciplinary NSF-funded research project where engineering and computer science students develop inclusive professional identities by learning how to value both technical content knowledge and inclusion. While this project aims to cultivate inclusive professional identities, approaches for achieving this purpose vary greatly across the four participating institutions due to diversity in infrastructure, size, geography, demographics, and scope. We discuss how our research team conducted assessment through self-reflection and applied preliminary research findings to practices of leading diversity initiatives.

Authors

• Christina Paguyo, University of Denver

• Aramati Casper, Colorado State University

• Rebecca Atadero, Colorado State University

• Karen E. Rambo-Hernandez, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Valentina Iturbe-LaGrave, University of Denver

• Jody Paul, Metropolitan State University of Denver

• Ron DeLyser, University of Denver

• Scott Leutenegger, University of Denver

• Chris GauthierDickey, Davenport University