Pepperdine University Portfolio Assessment

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Pepperdine UniversityPortfolio Assessment

• Background
• Research
• Recommendations
• Outcomes

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Background

• Created in 1994 by Faculty Members Don Thompson
  (Mathematics Great Books) Lee Carroll
  (English)
• Comprehensive Longitudinal Portfolio Assessment
  of Undergraduate Student Work
• 50-150 Student Participants per year 1994-2004
• Portfolios Contain Papers, Assignments, Syllabi,
  Exams, Self-Reflective Audio Interviews
• Portfolios Reviewed by Faculty to Measure Mission
  Critical Student Learning Experience

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Research

• Faculty Participate In Summer Workshops to
  Analyze Portfolios
• Inductive Reading
• Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis
• Curricular Recommendations
• Portfolio Analysis Focuses on Mission Goals
• Critical Thinking, Moral Ethical Development,
  Multicultural Perspective, Service Learning,
  Christian Mission

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Critical Thinking Exemplar

• Mission Statement Excerpt
• the ability to think clearly, logically,
  independently, and critically to synthesize and
  integrate knowledge, not simply to accumulate it.

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Faculty Research Questions

• What does critical thinking mean in each
  discipline?
• How do we evaluate portfolios across disciplines?
• What constitutes evidence of critical thinking?

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Critical Thinking Assessment Model

Syllabus
10
All Assignments
Self-Assessment
5
0
Instructor Feedback
Student Feedback
Portfolio
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Model Components 1,2

• Spoke 1--Syllabus
• Is there language reflecting critical thinking
  goals?
• How will these be demonstrated in the course?
• Spoke 2 --Assignment
• What kind of critical thinking is asked for by
  the professor in written form, e.g. assigned
  papers, tests, quizzes, assigned
  homework,assigned reports, labs, . . . ?

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Model Components 3,4

• Spoke 3-- Instructor Feedback
• What evidence of critical thinking goals
  expectations exists in the professors-
• Grading rubric?
• Written marginal comments?
• Spoke 4-- Portfolio
• What evidence of critical thinking is present in
  written form in the student portfolio?

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Model Components 5,6

• Spoke 5--Student Feedback
• Is there evidence that the student has been asked
  to do self-evaluation about acquired skills or
  about the way the professor evaluated the
  assignment?
• Spoke 6--Self-Assessment
• In the student's semester-end academic
  self-assessment, what evidence is there of
  reflection on the quality of critical thinking
  this course?
• Is there any mention of critical thinking
  enhancement?

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CRITICAL THINKING RUBRIC -BLOOMS TAXONOMY

• COGNITIVE LEVELS
  AFFECTIVE LEVELS

Characterizing value or value complex
Organizing
Valuing
Responding
Receiving
SYLLABUS ASSIGNMENTS PROFESSOR FEEDBACK STUDENT
WORK (PORT) STUDENT FEEDBACK STUDENT SELF-EVAL
(WRITTEN/ORAL)
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English 101 Portfolio Analysis

Syllabus
10
All Assignments
Self-Assessment
5
0
Instructor Feedback
Student Feedback
Portfolio
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Recommendations

• Design assignments that are directly linked to
  syllabus
• Write course syllabi to promote critical
  thinking/reasoning
• Require assignments that ask students to think
  critically at multiple levels
• Require that students engage in multiple
  self-assessments
• Design a multifaceted program for information
  literacy (including workbooks, tours and faculty
  development).

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Presentations

• "Shared Learning CD-ROM Student Portfolio
  Project," a concurrent session presented at the
  11th AAHE Conference on Assessment Quality,
  Washington D.C., June 8-12, 1996, Don Thompson.
• "Digital Assessment on the World Wide Web," a
  presentation made at the NCTLA What Works II
  National Conference on Postsecondary Education in
  the 21st Century, Penn State University, June
  21-23, 1996, Don Thompson.

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Publications

• "CD-ROM Student Portfolio Project at Pepperdine
  University," Adult Assessment Forum Journal of
  Quality in Adult-Centered Education, Volume V,
  Number 4, Winter 1995-96, Don Thompson Charles
  Manning.
• "A Change in Culture Pepperdine Universitys
  CD-ROM Student Portfolio Project," Assessment
  Update, July-August 1997, Don Thompson Cynthia
  Cornell Novak.
• Rehearsing New Roles How College Students
  Develop as Writers, Lee Carroll, SIU Press, 2002.

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Campus Impact

• General Education Reform
• Junior Writing Portfolio Requirement
• Writing Intensive Major Course Requirement
• Cultural Diversity Requirement
• Irvine Foundation Grant Assessment Protocol
• Diversity Statement in Strategic Planning Process