Reviewers' Workshop II

The Center of Inquiry is hosting its second Reviewers’ Workshop September 16-18. The goal of this workshop is to bring in talented graduate students, faculty, and institutional researchers from across the country to discuss and review various assessment instruments and research methodologies. Written reviews of 8-10 different test instruments will provide information to institutional researchers, faculty, and administrators across the country who are interested in information on assessing liberal arts outcomes. These reviews will be added to our online Assessment Toolkit.

Summary

The Center of Inquiry invited ten writers with experience and expertise in higher education assessment to participate in our second Reviewers’ Workshop. This event served as a collective forum for discussing and reviewing various assessment instruments and research methodologies. Participants in this event reviewed several instruments, including the four described here: (1) The Reasoning about Current Issues Test (RCI) measures reflective judgment and focuses on the capacity to recognize and endorse statements that describe attributes of reflective thinking. It is designed to assess how respondents think about current issues and controversial topics. (2) The Defining Issues Test (DIT-2) is a well-validated and widely-used measure of moral judgment. It is derived from Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, but is based on a different set of assumptions about how this development unfolds. (3) The Socially Responsible Leadership Scale (SRLS) is designed to measure the values associated with the Social Change Model for leadership development. These values are consciousness of self, congruence, commitment, collaboration, common purpose, and controversy with civility. (4) The Need for Cognition Scale measures how much people enjoy engaging in effortful cognitive activities.

At the Center of Inquiry’s second Reviewers’ Workshop, each participant researched a specific instrument or methodological approach thoroughly. After researching, each was asked to write a 5-10 page review of the instrument or method, to be added to our online Assessment Toolkit. We believe our workshop approach is practical for replication by higher education researchers and student affairs departments, and is suited to the busy schedule of the scholar/practitioner. Setting aside a specific block of time allows a reviewer to write, away from the distractions of work, producing an original piece of publishable material. Another important feature of the workshop model is the provision of time and space for participants to build working relationships with others in their field. Offering a focused event enables this network to assemble, exchange ideas, and collaborate, while at the same time shaping their individual reviews. Institutions could arrange workshops to generate various types of useful or publishable items. Specifically, if they ask participants to review assessment tools, as we have, they could construct assessment "toolkits" unique to their own needs and the needs of their student populations. 

For more information on upcoming Reviewers’ Workshops at the Center of Inquiry, please contact Kimberly Kline or Debra Gentry at assessment@wabash.edu.