Enhancing the Relevance and Effectiveness of Course, Program and Department Evaluation: Improving the Utility and Usability of the Student Assessment of Learning Gains Site

Santa Clara University, Santa Clara CA

Investigators

Abstract

Assessment/Research (99) The project focuses on the development of interactive help and support systems for novice and expert users of the Student Assessment of their Learning Gains (SALG) course, department, and evaluator websites. The SALG is a web-based, course-evaluation instrument that focuses on students' assessments of how effectively course-design and teaching methods help them make learning gains. The expanded help and support systems increase the usability of the SALG sites for course, program, and departmental evaluation and enhance the power and number of ways that users have to interact with each other. Improvements to the SALG websites include three types of enhancements. First, the user-support functions expand the help sections on course, department, and evaluator sites by the inclusion of interactive tutorials and "Tips and Tactics" sections. These sections consist of advice about strategies and best practices and an archive of white-papers/articles on the SALG and links to articles on the use of SALG by others. An interactive forum provides a platform for users to access immediate practical help and to engage in discussions on broad issues concerning the assessment of learning. Second, the department site contains additional functions to assist users in exploiting the capabilities of the site by incorporating additional controls and features to assist in departmental level evaluation. Third, in addition to increased functionality to support program evaluation using the SALG, the evaluator site is a repository for SALG-like instruments (e.g., the Undergraduate Research Student Self-Assessment (URSSA) instrument) and includes an interactive forum for sharing information, resources, and expertise on assessment, evaluation, and student learning.