Media coverage
4
Media coverage
Title The measure of a student Degree of recognition Regional Media type Web Country/Territory Canada Date 1/11/18 Description Queen's University Gazette article: The Learning Outcomes Assessment project sought to determine how important skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and lifelong learning skills improved over a student’s four years at Queen’s Producer/Author Phil Gaudreau URL https://www.queensu.ca/gazette/stories/measure-student Persons Natalie Simper Title Learning Outcomes Assessment and Program Improvement at Queen’s University - Bay View Alliance Degree of recognition International Media name/outlet Bayview Alliance Media type Web Country/Territory United States Date 30/10/18 Description Queen’s University (Kingston) has published a report for a four-year project on Learning Outcomes Assessment funded by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO).
The findings are important not just for Queen’s University but for the higher education sector as a whole. The project demonstrated that there was a measurable increase in students’ abilities in higher order cognitive skills like critical thinking, problem solving and written communication across a four-year degree. The project also led to important insights about the strengths and limitations of assessment tools, and about student motivation and faculty engagement.
The work on the above-mentioned project relates directly to the Bay View Alliance’s RAC2, focusing on assessment of transferable higher-order skills in higher education. The aim is to build a multi-institutional consortium of universities, all of which will be engaged in measuring learning gains from start to end of an academic program.URL https://bayviewalliance.org/learning-outcomes-assessment-and-program-improvement-at-queens-university/ Persons Natalie Simper Title Learning Outcomes Assessment project into new phase. Degree of recognition Regional Media type Web Country/Territory Canada Date 28/02/18 Description During their undergraduate years, students are busy mastering their course curriculums. But there is a growing focus across the university on ensuring their critical thinking, creative thinking, and problem solving skills are also being put to the test at every opportunity. These transferable skills are what employers are interested in, and can really help when students get out into the job market.
This is where the ongoing Learning Outcomes Assessment project at Queen’s comes in. It’s funded by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) and has now entered a new phase with the launch of the Cognitive Assessment Redesign (CAR) initiative.Producer/Author Peter Jeffrey URL https://www.queensu.ca/gazette/stories/learning-outcomes-assessment-project-new-phase Persons Natalie Simper Title Learning Outcomes Assessment project sharing results. Degree of recognition Regional Media type Web Country/Territory Canada Date 10/11/17 Description Queen’s University is a leader in research measuring how students gain critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills.
The project implementation began back in September 2013. That’s when nearly 2,000 first year students took a set of standardized assessment tests during their classes, and allowed exams and assignments from some of their courses to be studied. At the same time, a group of fourth year students were also sampled from the same departments using the same tests. Once the research team had these baseline result in hand, they then tested the first year group again in their second, third and fourth years. The goal was to measure and track four important student learning outcomes as they progressed through Queen’s, namely, critical thinking, problem solving, communication and lifelong learning.Producer/Author Peter Jeffrey URL www.queensu.ca/gazette/stories/learning-outcomes-assessment-project-sharing-results Persons Natalie Simper