It hardly seems possible that we are already planning for the 2021 Drexel Assessment Conference which will be our 8th year. The fist part of developing the program for the conference is to secure pre-conference workshops that are an optional supplement to the full program. Pre-conference workshops are scheduled before the opening plenary, so they are allotted three-hour time slots on the morning of day one which is, Wednesday, 9/08/2021. This longer time period allows presenters to delve deeper into the topics presented.
Pre-conference Workshops will provide a collaborative, active learning environment for the attendees which should include a mixture of individual/group activities, exercises, demonstrations, discussions, and lecture-style teaching. Attendees will leave with skills, knowledge, or materials that they can use in their own teaching practice or scholarship of learning and teaching. We invite members with expertise in a specific assessment topic to propose a 3 hour professional development workshop. If you have any questions about this process, please contact Manny Sanchez @ ms5285@drexel.edu.
Pandemic Challenges in Higher Education Assessment
This theme explores the specific challenges assessment professionals have faced and overcome in the past year during the Covid-19 pandemic. With the landscape shifting rapidly, a pivot had to be made to allow assessment to continue in a virtual environment. It is an opportunity to present and discuss strategies and methods that were successful and what opportunities were a result of this unprecedented year.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
This theme invites contributors to present research and practice on assessment related to tackling aspects of diversity in higher education. It will include investigations into the equality implications of assessment practices and the development of effective inclusion shaped or influenced by assessment.
Institutional Change and Assessment
This theme recognizes the disciplinary and local scale of many assessment investigations and innovations. It invites research which tackles assessment matters at the institutional level, particularly those concerning efforts at institutional-level change. Topics may include academic standards, policy development, rebalancing formative and summative assessment, grading systems, and initiatives aimed at transformational change.
Accreditation
This theme views accreditation as being transformed from a valued private-sector process—over which the federal government historically has exercised limited control—to a process that is subject to more and more federal involvement. What are the implications of this shift for faculty? For administration? For students? Are institutions experiencing a loss of appropriate authority and responsibility for key academic decisions—that is, judgments about curriculum, academic standards, and general education? Accreditation is a creation of colleges and universities that dates back more than a century. Its fundamental purposes are quality assurance and quality improvement in higher education. A process of self-regulation through peer and professional review, it is the oldest such system in the world. But, are the core academic values on which accreditation is built and in which faculty members invest at risk as the federal government role expands?
Compliance v. Continuous Improvement
We've heard it time and time again. "We are only doing assessment because it is mandated by..." Shifting from an institutional culture of compliance to one of strong continuous improvement is not easy and doesn't happen overnight. This theme will present ways in which assessment professionals have successfully begun this shift.
Presentation title: Create a catchy title that accurately reflects the assessment teaching/learning focus of your presentation and that makes the reader want to learn more. [15 word maximum]
Identification of all presenters: Full contact information includes name, title, address, telephone, email address and short biographies
Proposal Abstract: Answer the three questions below to build your proposal abstract. If accepted, this will be used in the conference program.
- Description: Please provide a description of your workshop topic including its currency and relevance. (approximately 100-200 words)
- Takeaways: Please describe the take-away skill, knowledge or material that attendees will acquire (approximately 100-200 words)
Additional Information: If you need more space to augment your proposal answers with more information, data, or references. Please include any other instances where you have previously presented this workshop. This will not be used in the program if your proposal is accepted.
Session Learning Outcomes [Three]: Articulate two most important outcomes that describe what audience members will gain, not what you want to tell them. What strategies, tools and knowledge are included in these outcomes?
Workshop Agenda: Please give details and approximate time allotted for each activity.
Attendee Engagement: Please describe how you will engage the presentation attendees outside of the traditional lecture presentation.
Special Requirements: Are there any special requirements for the room set up? (AV needs, tables, chairs or materials)
The audience level is determined by the person(s) designing the presentation. The determination is based on the amount and level of information as well as the pace at which the information will be presented.
Beginner Sessions have the following criteria:
- For individuals with limited or no prior knowledge or experience
- Helps individuals learn about assessment
- For individuals new to the field, just learning or starting out
- For individuals seeking to learn the fundamentals about assessment/teaching/learning
Intermediate Sessions have the following criteria:
- For individuals who have some knowledge of assessment/teaching/learning
- For individuals with experience in assessment/teaching/learning
- For individuals who are mid-level in the field with some degree of competence
- For individuals seeking to build on, apply or enhance knowledge in assessment/teaching/learning
Advanced Sessions have the following criteria:
- For individuals with experience and knowledge in assessment/teaching/learning
- For individuals well beyond the beginning and mid-level
- For individuals with greatly developed knowledge and seeking to heighten their knowledge
- For knowledgeable individuals seeking to move ahead in assessment/teaching/learning
- For individuals seeking the most up- to-date knowledge in the field
- For individuals who could be deemed a potential expert in the field