Archived Assessment Report

Given the human resources disruptions which occurred in this assessment cycle, we were unable to produce a quantitative analysis of student achievement variations. Rather, we conducted a qualitative survey of faculty observations about student success pertaining to the learning outcome. This was our best way to retain lessons about the effectiveness of curricular elements.

Based on the various assignments evaluated in relation to Practicing Community, we derived the following lessons to inform our teaching strategies and modalities going forward: (1) Place-based learning through immersive experiences can help students to engage much more directly with the concepts being taught, when appropriate guidance is given to structure how the students think about the activity. (2) Outdoor assignments such as data collection, which allow students to experience a geographic place while having a practical task that requires cooperation, did seem to produce a sense of community in practice. (3) Assignments involving more choice by students in terms of topics or learning materials are worth incorporating more frequently. (4) Assignments prone to AI misuse should perhaps be replaced with alternative ones, such as presentations.

Assessments of learning were based on qualitative evaluation of student engagement with both pre-existent and novel assignments and assignment modalities, which produced both positive and negative outcomes. Among the successful assignments was an immersive field exercise where students could experience a multi-cultural food environment; this proved an effective outcome for Practicing Community in the context of ethnic diversity. Another successful exercise was the geographic scavenger hunt, where students had to discover diverse and meaningful places, and take selfie photographs at these locations. This produced a sense of immersion within both social and physical landscapes. The scavenger hunt also limited the potential misuse of AI, thus more reliably yielding the learning outcome. Positive outcomes related to reading and subsequent knowledge retention were observed when students were asked to choose their own materials. Lastly, we observed more reliable engagement relating to the learning outcome based on stand-up presentations (virtual or in person) instead of term paper assignments, which are highly prone to AI misuse. Also effective for the learning objective under Practicing Community were field exercises where students surveyed native plant species on campus; such exercises allowed them to better appreciate their local physical environment, while also cooperating in practical ways in a community atmosphere. Achievement of the learning outcome was more questionable and difficult to assess for fully online courses, as compared to those with at least some in-person component. The less favorable learning outcomes resulted from: (1) assignments where students were asked to read an entire book throughout the term; (2) assignments where reliance on AI was possible. In summary, we learned that the practice of community requires some form of direct immersion as well as participation. Effectively involving the students within the physical and social environment is a great way to practice community.

The assessment process was severely interrupted due to the lack of an assessment coordinator for our department, for much of the 2025 cycle. The assessment process was therefore less systematic than hoped, and we switched to a more qualitative approach, in order to glean meaningful pedagogical lessons from the assessment. Other unmeasured effects may have resulted from changes in class modality between terms, where online sections may retain less knowledge and be more difficult to assess.