In BLSCI’s application for the TIAA-CREF Hesburgh Award, we made use of the writing diagnostic assessment data to demonstrate the many ways the Institute has grown over the past 10 years.
As Figure 1 and 2 below show, BLSCI fellows support faculty teaching a number of distinct Communication Intensive Courses (CICs) across a variety of disciplines. As Figure 2 shows, the largest representation of faculty teaching CICs is in departments that have traditionally placed a heavy emphasis on both written and oral communication, such as English, Modern Languages, Marketing, Management, Performing Arts, Sociology and Anthropology. However, the institute has also supported CICs in departments that have not traditionally incorporated communication intensive elements into their curricula, such as Accountancy, Natural Sciences (e.g., biology, chemistry, and environmental sciences), and Computer Information Systems.
When we look at these data and hear about all of the great work going on at the Institute during our staff meetings, what we often don’t take into consideration is the amount of expansion that has taken place over the past ten years. As Figure 3 demonstrates, the number of faculty supported by BLSCI has steadily increased, reaching a peak of 144 last year. The number of faculty currently teaching CICs is nearly three times what it was ten years ago. Despite some minor fluctuations, the number of sections of CICs has also increased dramatically. Specifically, as shown in Figure 4, the number of sections of CICs offered last year is nearly five times as many as there were in 1997.
There is no doubt this kind of institutional growth contributed to BLSCI’s being awarded the Hesburgh award. However, the most interesting growth going on at the institute is arguably what happens on a more micro level among students, faculty, and fellows throughout continued mentorship and collaboration. Although we all get to observe this in our individual work, it’s often hard to demonstrate this kind of growth across the institute. As we keep on thinking about and celebrating growth at BLSCI we continue to think about ways to assess it. It’s my hope that this post will spark some ideas among readers on how we might approach this kind of assessment next semester.
WOW, thanks.
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Reply to Hillary
Hillary is speachless!
Reply to Agnieszka
Shocking, right?
Well, I'm not sure where in cyberspace my comment disappeared to, but I was interested in the challenge David threw down towards the end of his posting. Specifically, how we measure or demonstrate "micro level" growth, like collaboration or enhanced mentorship. It reminded me of when I taught Literacy at an elementary school & we had one teacher trainer who taught the 5 year-olds a prompt: "Can you say more?" After a read-aloud of "The Hungry Caterpillar," for example, they'd talk to each other about the book and press, "Can you say more?" Some students didn't even understand what they were saying, but it got them in the habit of extending their partner conversations.
Not only is this technique entertaining, but it seems like a good model, too. How can we press students to "say more" about how
they're being helped, or what their needs are, what they've heard before, or what they still don't get? The same goes for faculty colleagues and fellow fellows, too, I'd suppose. What kinds of strategies for substantial questioning can be built in, alongside diagnostic assessment data?
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