In fall 2000, the Assessment Committee approved funding, supplemented by the campus provost, for Linda Simmons (MA) to present "Assessing Service/Assessing Learning" at the 7th national conference sponsored by The National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience & Students in Transition in Cincinnati in November. This organization focuses on collecting and disseminating information about the first college year and other significant student transitions. The format of her presentation was a 75-minute roundtable discussion on the differences in assessing the service and learning components of service learning.
The Committee also approved a grant submitted by Jennifer Egan to attend the week-long Master Teacher Seminar held at Hampden Sydney College during July 2001. In her grant proposal, Ms. Egan stated that she wanted to learn more about the assessment of student interaction with and learning in web-based courses and using web-based instructional materials. She plans to use information gained by attending the conference to improve her teaching strategies and course materials for LBR110. Her on-campus instruction will also benefit from new methods of using and designing web-based materials to teach students.
Laura Franklin (AL) and Janice Heiges (LO) were given travel and registration funds to attend the annual Virginia Assessment Group (VAG) conference in November. Dr. Franklin presented a session on her use of Flashlight On-line to assess student perception of the use of technology on their learning in her courses.
Travel, lodging, and conference fees were provided to testing center and learning lab coordinators, technical support specialists, and ESL coordinators to attend the COMPASS/ASSET conference in November 2000. The following people attended the conference: Kevin Kelley (LO), Donna Carlton (LO), Marsha Fisher (MA), Sally Cool (WO), Heidi Moore (AN), David Babel (AL), Frank Dreistadt (MA), Judith Paiva (AL), and Charlotte Calobrisi (AL).
Travel funds were granted to Pamela Leggatt (AN) and Nancy Bixler (AN) to attend the International Reading Association Conference in January 2001.
To support a research grant from the VCCS to Nancy McTaggart (WO), the Assessment Committee approved the purchase of C.I.T.E. Learning and Working Styles Inventory to assess students' learning preferences. This data will be used to develop strategies to improve student learning and retention in developmental classes. In conjunction with this project, Pamela Narney (WO) was granted a stipend to develop student surveys to be administered periodically throughout the semester to track student perception of the learning environment.
In spring 2001, the Assessment Committee approved a proposal submitted by Heather Jeddy (LO) to supplement a VCCS grant she had received to create a developmental writing handbook. The manual will contain curriculum for developmental writing courses and will guide faculty in the use of various assessment methods for these courses.
