In the higher education context, students are often on the table but not at the table in decision-making exercises. Similarly, students are often data sources in the assessment process rather than true partners in the assessment endeavor. Students are reported on but reports aren’t usually for students. Attend this session to learn about the various creative ways in which student collaborations were actively sought, created, and affirmed to foster meaningful student partnership, voice, and engagement in assessment across multiple projects and in diverse ways at one institution. You will leave with a plethora of ideas after discussion, reflection, and brainstorming, on how you can expand student partnerships and equity at your institution as well.

Divya Bheda, Director, Educational Assessment, Santa Clara University

Billionaire investor/entrepreneur Mark Cuban says the future of higher education as it relates to the workplace is liberal arts. Why? Not just automation, Cuban says we need “freer thinkers”.
https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-liberal-arts-is-the-future-2017-2

In undertaking an informal review of courses in our departments, we have found that student responses to essay questions are increasingly too similar; and not because they are plagiarizing – not even necessarily because of AI. What we are often seeing is essentially a regurgitation of the material presented to them, with no real engagement with ideas or attempts at critical thought. This is largely not the fault of students; simply put, discussion and essay questions need to be more intentional, even directive; this does not mean they need to be more difficult; it’s not even about the “right” questions. Instead we need to create the strongest possible questions that guide students to where we want them to be; and to help them make connections not just in the course materials, but also to make connections between their ideas and the ideas of their classmates. This would lead to an optimization of the aims of the discussion, pointing in the direction of as-yet unexplored areas while still working from the established foundational structure. A further aim in Intentional Questioning, which is tied to Socratic Thinking, is to engage students with follow-up questions that are tailored specifically for the individual and unique to not only their initial response, but perhaps even to their unique experiences in the world.

In this workshop, we will also discuss the often overlooked principles of the Socratic Method; most importantly, discovering what the student thinks about the facts, not what others think (the latter being what we are encountering too often in essay question responses). And because the interaction between Intentional Questioning and Socratic Thinking promotes a more individualized response, if students want to utilize AI as a tool, they will be moved to examine their ability to develop questions for AI, and in the process further cement their knowledge acquisition by practicing the very Intentional Questioning they are being exposed to and are attempting!

Chris Trevett, Department Chair, The Claremont Core®, Claremont Lincoln University
Stephanie Varnon-Hughes, Executive Dean of Academic Affairs, Claremont Lincoln University

In a previous assessment of information literacy, Cal Poly Pomona normed and scored student papers using a rubric. While this approach generated insightful assessment findings, it also revealed imperfections in the process. The campus recently reconsidered this methodology by developing a multi-part tool embedded in its learning management system. This session describes the rationale for this new approach and how AI was incorporated in its development. Preliminary findings and lessons learned will also be shared with attendees.

Jocelyn Chong, Coordinator, Office of Assessment and Program Review, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona