A New Approach to Learning Improvement: Starting with an Intervention

Laura Lambert & Megan Good   |    Volume 20 Issue 2  |   

In higher education, institutions routinely assess student learning in degree programs driven by institutional accreditation requirements. Assessment is intended to provide an avenue for improvement with collected data inspiring curricular change and future assessments providing evidence of the efficacy of those changes (i.e., learning improvement). However, evidence of actual learning improvement resulting from assessment is rare, partly because learning improvement projects are resource-intensive, requiring significant faculty time and potentially departmental funding. In this article, we explore a novel approach to learning improvement by using existing data in a STEM undergraduate program. We identified 11 student learning objectives aligned with a previously implemented curricular change. Trained faculty used a common rubric to evaluate student work submitted both before and after the curricular change was implemented. We found evidence of improved student learning. Our findings contribute to the definition of learning improvement generally and in STEM, noting the importance of resource considerations.

Click here to download the full article

« Back to Archive