2020 Symposium on Assessment of Learning
The fifth annual Symposium on Assessment of Learning was held on February 21, 2020.
The symposium, titled "Transforming Your Teaching: Advancing Educational Equity through Assessment of Learning," featured presentations and discussions by faculty, assessment specialists, undergraduate, and graduate students from UC Santa Cruz and four other UC campuses. To see the full program, click here.
We were delighted to welcome invited speaker Eileen Camfield, teaching professor and Faculty Associate at the Center of Engaged Teaching & Learning at UC Merced. In her keynote address, Using Assessment to Activate Student Agency and Advance Equity, she spoke about her research on the issues impacting today's Gen Z students and shared practical strategies for engaging students and advancing equity in the classroom.
Couldn't make it to this year's symposium? Scroll down for videos and slides from our presenters.
PROGRAM
Session 1: Lessons & Insights from Assessment in Undergraduate Education |
How do you balance teaching complex theories and teaching writing to 300 students with very different levels of preparedness? UC Santa Cruz professor Hillary Angelo shares how she redesigned her course and restructured TAs’ roles to advance educational equity in her undergraduate Sociology class. (Video, Slides) |
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Research shows that engaging students in their own learning process is crucial for educational equity. Kara Moloney and Mahalia White from UC Davis reveal their groundbreakingly simple—and effective—approach to this challenge. (Video, Slides) |
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How can assessment be leveraged to improve student experience and reinvigorate a major currently in dramatic decline? UC San Diego History professor Mark Hendrickson discusses the challenges, lessons, and successes of an assessment project conducted in the midst of disciplinary crisis. (Video, Slides) |
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More and more instructors are being asked to use remote teaching and learning tools. Online education instructional design expert Aaron Zachmeier offers concrete examples of how UC Santa Cruz professors across diverse disciplines are implementing authentic and actionable assessment in their online courses. (Video, Slides) |
Session 2: Equity-Minded Assessment of Writing in the First Two Years of Undergraduate Curriculum
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What does it take to assess a curriculum that serves a large and extraordinarily diverse student body? The UCSC Writing Program Assessment Team explains the nuances and challenges of this massive-scale assessment project, and how projects like these can accelerate the closing of equity gaps. (Video, Slides) |
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It’s no secret that multilingual students usually fare worse than English-only students in traditional writing assessments. UC Irvine Composition Program Director Bradley Queen synthesizes quantitative and qualitative approaches to explore how equitable ePortfolios really are. |
Keynote Address: Using Assessment to Activate Student Agency and Advance Equity
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How do instructors’ assumptions about Gen Z students hinder educational equity? Eileen Camfield from UC Merced unpacks the potentially damaging effects of these hidden beliefs and shows how empathy and innovative assessment can empower students and improve equity. (Video, Slides) |
Session 3: Benefits of Engaging Graduate Student TAs in Assessment of Student Learning (Roundtable)
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What do graduate students have to gain from jumping onto the assessment wagon? Panelists Rebecca London, Elizabeth Goldman, Emily Lovell, and Priscilla Sung reflect on their personal experiences to share the many benefits of involving grad students in the assessment of student learning. (Audio) |
