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DESIGNING COURSE DELIVERABLES WITH �STUDENTS’ LIVED EXPERIENCES IN MIND

Jennifer O’Hara, J.D.

Associate Professor and Department Chair, Business & Accounting

SUNY Corning Community College

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WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE

  • Polls:
  • On what type of assessment did you best perform?
  • Was your favorite way to be assessed the same as your best performance?
  • What is the method of assessment you most often use today?

https://forms.gle/dRmff3RZwUHX8jiQ7

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LET’S FOCUS IN ON THE FIRST THREE

Principle 3

We prioritize design’s impact on the community over the intentions of the designer.

Principle 2

We center the voices of those who are directly impacted by the outcomes of the design process.

Principle 1

We use design to sustain, heal, and empower our communities, as well as to seek liberation from exploitative and oppressive systems.

*Salem Community College Students, https://www.salemcc.edu/

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OBSTACLES

  • It’s hard to know what our students’ lived experiences are.
  • Our students’ lived experiences are quite varied
  • Workload of faculty
  • Resistance to change by some faculty and some administrators.
  • Others?

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IDEAS THAT SERVE MANY STUDENTS

  • “Students’ Choice” final project
    • Heavily weighted
    • Clear rubrics
    • Example
  • “You weight it”
    • Clear course deliverables
    • Multiple styles
    • Let students decide how it will be weighted
    • Example
  • “Best Performance Weighting”
    • Have a certain number of deliverables
    • Have a ranked weighting
    • The best performance gets the highest weight and worst gets lowest
    • Example
  • “Multiple Methods Many Chances”
    • Have many different types of assessment
    • Cumulate your points
    • Make each worth greater than 100 points
    • Example
  • Other ideas?

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  • Final Synthesis.

A range of synthesis format options to choose from – see choice board below.

You have now collected data that at least include observations of activities, samples of discourse, and interviews with participants at your site. You have examined this data through three interrelated lenses (e.g., learning as participation, positioning, identity etc.). Review your prior work on identity, interaction, and practices that organize opportunities to learn at your site. What threads or themes run across the findings you articulated in these memos? Regardless of the product option you select for your synthesis, please ensure it includes all of the following elements:

1. Conceptual frame. Use course readings and other relevant readings to build a conceptual framework that you will later use to analyze your data. This conceptual frame can include overlapping and interrelated concepts from the course. (Clearly Evident:25 points; Partially Evident: 20 points; Barely Evident: 15 points)

2. Overall findings. Articulate any threads/themes that run across the data you collected and analyzed. In this section, you will demonstrate each finding by a) making an analytic claim and b) presenting supporting data to support that claim. Given the nature of the summative synthesis, you will have to be strategic about limiting the data you present to targeted snippets that instantiate your claim. (Clearly Evident:25 points; Partially Evident: 20 points; Barely Evident: 15 points)

3. Design and next steps. Briefly describe a vision for change that is anchored in the findings articulated above. This mini-design plan will clearly articulate WHAT might be different at this site and how that would be an improvement. In strong recommendations, a logical link exists between the recommendations and the evidence/analysis of the finding section. (Clearly Evident:25 points; Partially Evident: 20 points; Barely Evident: 15 points)

4. Overall technical design, effort and creativity. (Clearly Evident:25 points; Partially Evident: 20 points; Barely Evident: 15 points)

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CHOICE BOARD:

Web page

Portfolio

Multi-modal presentation

Wiki

Prezi

Video

Spatial map

Poem or story

Song

One Act Play

Good ol’ fashion written paper (no longer than 10 pages)

STUDENT’S CHOICE

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IDEAS THAT SERVE MANY STUDENTS

  • “Students’ Choice” final project
    • Heavily weighted
    • Clear rubrics
    • Example
  • “You weight it”
    • Clear course deliverables
    • Multiple styles
    • Let students decide how it will be weighted
    • Example
  • “Best Performance Weighting”
    • Have a certain number of deliverables
    • Have a ranked weighting
    • The best performance gets the highest weight and worst gets lowest
    • Example
  • “Multiple Methods Many Chances”
    • Have many different types of assessment
    • Cumulate your points
    • Make each worth greater than 100 points
    • Example
  • Other ideas?

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  • Course deliverables:
    • 2 quarterly 50 question multiple choice tests, 100 points each, averaged together. (weeks 4 and 12)
    • 1 midterm essay exam 100 points. (week 8)
    • 1 final exam 100 points. (week 17)
    • 1 term paper 100 points. (due week 16)
  • By the end of the second week of class, YOU, the student, decide what the weight of each of these will be for you. You should think about how you have performed in the past on each of these types of assessments and the time frame that they happen. Your total weight must add up to 100%. No one item can be worth more than 50%. You are not and can not be exempt from any one of these. Completion of all is mandatory.
  • Please note that your choice is locked in at the end of week 2. If you do not indicate a choice, I will assign a 25% weight to each on your behalf.

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YOU WEIGHT IT

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IDEAS THAT SERVE MANY STUDENTS

  • “Students’ Choice” final project
    • Heavily weighted
    • Clear rubrics
    • Example
  • “You weight it”
    • Clear course deliverables
    • Multiple styles
    • Let students decide how it will be weighted
    • Example
  • “Best Performance Weighting”
    • Have a certain number of deliverables
    • Have a ranked weighting
    • The best performance gets the highest weight and worst gets lowest
    • Example
  • “Multiple Methods Many Chances”
    • Have many different types of assessment
    • Cumulate your points
    • Make each worth greater than 100 points
    • Example
  • Other ideas?

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  • Course deliverables:
    • 2 quarterly 50 question multiple choice tests, 100 points each, averaged together. (weeks 4 and 12)
    • 1 midterm essay exam 100 points. (week 8)
    • 1 final exam 100 points. (week 17)
    • 1 term paper 100 points. (due week 16)
  • The above assessments will be weighted as follows:
      • Your highest grade will receive 35% weight
      • Your second highest grade will receive 30% weight
      • Your third highest grade will receive 20 % weight
      • Your lowest grade will receive 15% weight
  • Please note: You are not and can not be exempt from any one of these. Completion of all is mandatory.

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BEST PERFORMANCE WEIGHTING

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IDEAS THAT SERVE MANY STUDENTS

  • “Students’ Choice” final project
    • Heavily weighted
    • Clear rubrics
    • Example
  • “You weight it”
    • Clear course deliverables
    • Multiple styles
    • Let students decide how it will be weighted
    • Example
  • “Best Performance Weighting”
    • Have a certain number of deliverables
    • Have a ranked weighting
    • The best performance gets the highest weight and worst gets lowest
    • Example
  • “Multiple Methods Many Chances”
    • Have many different types of assessment
    • Cumulate your points
    • Make each worth greater than 100 points
    • Example
  • Other ideas?

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  • Course deliverables:
    • 2 quarterly 50 question multiple choice tests, 125 points each, averaged together. (weeks 4 and 12)
    • 1 midterm essay exam 125 points. (week 8)
    • 1 final exam 125 points. (week 17)
    • 1 term paper 125 points. (due week 16)
  • Your grade in this course will calculated as follows:
    • A: 376+ points
    • B: 344-375 points
    • C: 288-374 points
    • D: 240-287 points
    • F: below 240 points

As each item is worth in excess of 100 points, stellar performance an any item will allow you to bank points. This is helpful in the event that life events or learning preferences cause you to score lower than you hoped on any one item. Cumulating the points allows you to make up or plan for undesired assessments.

  • Please note: You are not and can not be exempt from any one of these. Completion of all is mandatory.

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MULTIPLE METHODS, MANY CHANCES

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IDEAS THAT SERVE MANY STUDENTS

  • “Students’ Choice” final project
    • Heavily weighted
    • Clear rubrics
    • Example
  • “You weight it”
    • Clear course deliverables
    • Multiple styles
    • Let students decide how it will be weighted
    • Example
  • “Best Performance Weighting”
    • Have a certain number of deliverables
    • Have a ranked weighting
    • The best performance gets the highest weight and worst gets lowest
    • Example
  • “Multiple Methods Many Chances”
    • Have many different types of assessment
    • Cumulate your points
    • Make each worth greater than 100 points
    • Example
  • Other ideas?

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WHAT WILL YOU TRY?

  • Using the chat function put at least one idea that you’ll try in the chat.

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THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THINKING ABOUT IMPROVING STUDENT OUTCOMES WITH ME TODAY!

Contact info:

Jen O’Hara

jo008655@corning-cc.edu

607-425-7686 (c); 607-962-9426 (o)