Ideas for pre-/post- assessment

 FUNCTIONS/OUTCOMES 

[Questioning my rationale: My current willingness to consider allocating class time to pre- and post-course data gathering implies that I see a pretty high value in this effort. Is it justifiable? What, exactly, do I think I can accomplish through this kind of data collection? Is it fair to think that my own curiosity around this kind of data would transfer to students in ways that would build their engagement in the course? Is it fair to think that GTAs would be willing and able to guide students through results? Is it realistic to move the data from raw form to some presentable form that students could explore--and who takes on this task? What help do I need to build a really good, reusable survey--one that ideally makes the move from raw to presentable form quicker? What broader composition conversations should the questions be able to speak to (and what opportunities for GTA/instructor publication can I set in motion?) Is it justifiable? I think the baseline answer to the question has to be grounded in its utility to the instructors and students. I have to know how it fits in the curriculum; it has to do work for the pedagogical goals of the course.]

What do I hope can be achieved through a pre-/post- assessment?

  • To track impacts to students of FYW (and FYE more broadly), ideally in ways that help create arguments/defenses for small-class/high-touch, impactful approaches and innovations.
  • To provide knowledge to instructors (and campus more broadly?) about incoming student experience/values/knowledge
  • To create a "data base" for potential exploration/study by students in ENGL 1010

POTENTIAL COMPONENTS/CATEGORIES

  • Stable ID (uwyo email username?)
  • Demographics (pre-test only?)
    • Months since graduating high school (0-12 months, 12-24 months, more than 24 months)
    • Distance from place where you graduated (<5 miles, 5-50 miles, 50-100 miles, 100-250 miles, >250 miles)
    • Hometown community type (rural/out-of-town, small community, mid-sized community, large city or urban area)
    • First-gen status (first in my immediate family to attend college)
    • Parent's educational levels
    • Average HS GPA? (or rank by quartile?)
    • Earned AA/AS/AAS degree (or college credits in high school?)
    • Anticipate working during college (on campus? off-campus? summers only?)
    • Sources of financial support? // Level of concern about paying for college
    • Number of colleges applied to?
    • Number of siblings?
    • Exposure to multi-lingual environments (see, eg., p. 16 of Cornell survey)
    • Pre-college experiences (See Cornell p. 6: visit another country, work on non-school research project, engage in voluntary community service, internship or job, 
    • Financial 
    • Race/ethnicity? (Use CIRP categories?)
    • Gender and sexual orientation? (Use CIRP categories?)
    • Religion (")
    • Political orientation
    • Social class
    • Disability? (see Cornell p. 12-13)

  • Writing knowledge/experience (pre- and post-)
    • Longest thing ever written (<2 pages, 2-5 pages, 5-8 pages, 8-12 pages, 12-20 pages, >20 pp)
    • Assigned experience with academic and other genres? (rhetorical analysis, literary analysis, summary writing, creative writing, scientific report, timed essays, professional letter/email/memo, public-facing writing (op-ed, letter to editor, social media post, ....?)
    • Sense of identity as a writer
    • General attitude about academic writing
    • Existing knowledge of specific writing concepts/practices
      • Rhetorical terminology
      • Integrating evidence
      • Citation
      • Grammar, mechanics, conventions
      • Using academic databases
      • Developing a thesis
      • Revision
      • Peer review
    • Reading experiences?
      • Evaluating sources for bias
      • Note-taking

  • College Readiness and Goals (pre- and post-?)
    • Perception that high school prepared them for college
    • Biggest concerns about college (see NCSU report p. 28; see Hanover p. 12)
    • Current college/major?
    • Level of confidence in planned major/general field of study?
    • Goals for undergraduate degrees (career, graduate school/further study, self-improvement, external pressure, uncertain; see also Cornell survey p. 4)
    • Co-curricular/experiential learning plans? (study abroad, internship/practicum, clubs/organization, ...)
    • Biggest appeal(s) of on-campus undergraduate experience (see NCSU report p. 27)
    • Motives for choosing UW (see CIRP p. 14)
  • Executive functioning / Self-efficacy (pre- and post-?)
    • Perceived readiness and value for general education goals and personal development goals (see NCSU report, pp. 8-14; full list of gen ed, personal dev, + world view goals on p. 16; see Q4 of HEDS)
    • Confidence using AI
    • Executive functioning sub-sets (see Dawson/Guare questionnaire)
    • Driving values (see CIRP pp. 15-16)
    • Persistence (See HEDS Q3)
    • Intended time expenditures during first year of college (studying/preparing for class, working, socializing, attending class, athletics/exercising, extracurricular/volunteering, research... see HEDS Q7)
    • Attitude about mental health support
  • Social issues (pre- and post-?) -- 
    • BELIEF statements (consider list on pp. 13-14 of CIRP/TFS)
      • Social media attitudes
      • Value of college
      • Future employment/economic situation
      • Overall state of American society
      • Social connection/community/friendships
      • Importance of art
      • Important of entertainment (gaming, movies, pleasure reading, ...)
      • Public education value
      • Taxation
      • Importance of physical and mental health

    • Social media participation (platforms)
    • Desire to be perceived as competent
REFERENCE SURVEYS


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