1. Teachers College
1.1. Assessment Overview
1.1.1. Teachers College has a well-established and active program of assessment directed at evaluating institutional effectiveness, academic program effectiveness, and student learning. Each academic and administrative unit within the College is responsible for the design and implementation of regular and systematic assessment activities to gauge achievement of the unit's mission and goals and the unit's contribution to the College's mission and goals.
1.2. Student Learning
1.2.1. Teachers College strives to adhere to the Nine Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning developed by the American Association for Higher Education and Accreditation(AAHEA).
1.2.1.1. 1
1.2.1.1.1. The assessment of student learning begins with educational values. Assessment involves the development and implementation of a vision for the kinds of learning that we value most for students. When conducted meaningfully, assessment can be a beneficial tool for the institution, the teacher, and the learner. The educational values of an institution will determine, in part, not only what we assess, but also how we assess. The focus on values and mission helps to prevent assessment from becoming an exercise of measuring what is easy, rather than what educators care about. With the use of clearly defined assessment tools, students can gain timely constructive feedback about their understanding of the subject matter, and they may use this feedback to adjust their learning and to identify areas for further growth. Such processes foster an environment that benefits student concerns and enriches the educational experience.
1.2.1.2. 2
1.2.1.2.1. Assessment is most effective when it reflects an understanding of learning as multidimensional, integrated, and revealed in performance over time. The complex processes of learning intertwine what students know and what they can do with what they know. Learning involves knowledge, abilities, values, attitudes, and habits of mind that affect academic success and performance beyond the classroom. Assessment should include a mixed array of methods that are used over time to reveal change, growth, and increasing degrees of knowledge acquisition, integration, and, potentially, creation.
1.2.1.3. 3
1.2.1.3.1. Assessment works best when the program it seeks to improve has clear, explicitly stated purposes. Assessment is a goal-oriented process that involves comparing performance with purpose and expectations that are derived from an institution’s mission, program and course design, and student goals. In the absence of specificity, the process of assessment encourages clarity, focus, and direction.
1.2.1.4. 4
1.2.1.4.1. Assessment requires attention to outcomes but also and equally to the experiences that lead to those outcomes. Outcomes, or where students “end up,” are of high importance. But in order to improve these outcomes, institutions need to know more about the student experience including the curriculum, teaching, and what leads to particular outcomes. Assessment can help programs better understand which students learn best under what types of conditions. This information facilitates the improvements of the entire learning processes for a variety of diverse student learning styles, needs, and aspirations.
1.2.1.5. 5
1.2.1.5.1. Assessment works best when it is ongoing not episodic. Assessment is most effective when it’s a cumulative and ongoing process of activities over time. The object is to measure progress toward intended goals over time, and in the spirit of continuous improvement. During this time, the assessment process itself should be re-evaluated and adjusted according to new information and insight.
1.2.1.6. 6
1.2.1.6.1. Assessment fosters wider improvement when representatives from across the educational community are involved. Student learning is a community-wide responsibility, and assessment is one way of enacting that responsibility. The aim is to involve people from different offices as well as administrators, students, and faculty. Assessment may also involve people from outside the immediate campus including alumni, trustees, and employers.
1.2.1.7. 7
1.2.1.7.1. Assessment makes a difference when it begins with issues of use and illuminates questions that people really care about. Assessment recognizes the value of information as a key component of improvement. However, information must be closely tied to an important issue or question in order to be useful. The purpose of assessment is not to gather data and produce results. Rather, it is a process that starts with questions and moves to gathering and interpreting data that helps to guide improvement.
1.2.1.8. 8
1.2.1.8.1. Assessment is most likely to lead to improvement when it is part of a larger set of conditions that promote change. Assessment by itself changes little. Its contribution comes mostly from campuses where teaching and learning are highly valued and continuously improved. At these campuses, efforts to improve quality of education are a key component of the institution’s planning, budgeting, and personnel decisions.
1.2.1.9. 9
1.2.1.9.1. Through assessment, educators meet responsibilities to students and to the public. The public is often heavily invested in education. Institutions therefore have the responsibility to provide information about how students meet goals and expectations.
1.3. Institutional Effectiveness
1.3.1. Overview
1.3.1.1. Teachers College is an urban, independent, graduate and professional school of education founded in 1887 and, since 1898, affiliated with Columbia University under an agreement whereby the College retained its legal and financial independence. Under this agreement, the College remains a separate corporation, with its own Board of Trustees responsible for the general oversight of its affairs and for its financial support.
1.3.2. Mission
1.3.2.1. Teachers College engages in programs of research, teaching, and service through six principal activities:
1.3.2.1.1. 1
1.3.2.1.2. 2
1.3.2.1.3. 3
1.3.2.1.4. 4
1.3.2.1.5. 5
1.3.2.1.6. 6
2. Michael's Course
2.1. Department
2.1.1. Math, Science, & Technology
2.1.1.1. Mission
2.1.1.1.1. Mathematics, Science, and Technology programs focus on issues of educational practice and related professions in mathematics, science, technology, and cognate human sciences, including the relationships among these disciplines. Our modern world has been transformed by the achievements in pure and applied disciplines grounded in mathematics, science and technology. Current reforms in education place increasing significance on broad-based public understanding of these three fields of human endeavor. The study of communication and technology in education is broadly based and enriched by cultural and historical wisdom that provides a scholarly perspective on the role of media and technology in society and particularly in educational subject areas. Within this unifying view, the Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology includes specialized programs to address the needs of professional practitioners in each area. The Department incorporates the programs in three areas: Mathematics Education; Science Education; and Communication, Media, and Learning Technologies Design.
2.1.1.2. Programs
2.1.1.2.1. Math Education
2.1.1.2.2. Science Education
2.1.1.2.3. Communication, Media, and Learning Technologies Design (CMLTD