facilitating and assessing community engagement and student learning across disciplines

FACILITATING AND ASSESSING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND STUDENT LEARNING ACROSS DISCIPLINES

• Dr. Marie Walker, Psychological Science• Dr. Angelique Dwyer, Modern Languages, Literatures

and Cultures• Dr. Kristian Braekkan, Economics and Management

Demographics of Gustavus Adolphus College

• Private Lutheran Liberal Arts College in rural MN• $40,000+ tuition• Trying to improve interdisciplinary collaboration• Working toward Carnegie classification

Who Are Our Students?• 18-22 yrs, majority White, Christian, MN natives • Millennials, midwest, expectation of more community

involvement• Students are engaged, but not used to uncertainty or

working outside comfort zone

Summary of Projects

Spring, Fall 2012

- 3rd, 4th year students- 75% women- Multiple majors- 3 classes of 25 students

1. Determine format and feasibility of a Mental Health Forum in St. Peter

Chill Out: Mental Health Wellness

Fair 2012

2. Use social media in marketing Mobile Crisis Team for Mankato’s South Central Crisis Center

3. Fund an Intermediate Care Facility for Children with Developmental Disabilities with

Nicollet County Social Services

Abnormal Psychology

Summary of Projects

Fall 2011, 2012

- 3rd, 4th year students- 75% women- Multiple majors

From Latin America to Latinos in the U.S.

Intercultural Mediator:

Latino Student

1 Latino Family

2 Spanish Students

Language Buddies Model

Summary of Projects

Justice and Equity in the Workplace

Fall 2012

- 1st year students- 62% women- Multiple majors- 1 class of 13 students

College professors

Groups of 3-4 students

Diversity Council

Purpose:Developing a “joint” understanding of the

employment relationship

Context: Immigration, race, gender, and poverty

Assessment of Projects

1. Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment Tools:

- Civic Attitudes and Skills Questionnaire CASQ (Moely et al., 2002)

- Open-Ended Reflection Questions

2. Assess multiple times (Beginning, Middle and End of semester)

- Learn student perspectives at different points in semester to be prepared for concerns, questions

The Civic Attitudes and Skills Questionnaire (CASQ)

• Measure of Civic Action, Interpersonal and Problem-Solving Skills, Political Awareness, Leadership Skills, Social Justice Attitudes, Diversity Attitudes

• CASQ values (ceiling effects – social desirability)• Self-report

• Made available to all faculty at Gustavus on SurveyMonkey, allows for control groups, frequently used by community based learning fellows and other faculty

• 44 items Moely, et al., 2002), five-point scale

• Internal consistencies (Cronbach’s coefficient alpha) values range from .69 to .88 (based on two samples; N = 761 & N = 725)

Results: Quantitative Assessment for All Classes

• N = 179 with different classes and control groups• 61% women• 39% men

MEANS for CASQ Subscales• Civic Action = 4.05, SD = .56• Interpersonal Problem Solving Skills = 4.28, SD = .38• Political Awareness = 3.15, SD = .65• Leadership Skills = 3.77, SD = .61• Social Justice Attitudes = 4.01, SD = .48• Diversity Attitudes = 3.85, SD = .52

Results: Quantitative Assessment - CASQ

At Time 1 – Similarities/Differences from the Outset

• Significantly highest subscale score on Interpersonal and Problem Solving Skills for entire sample

• Lowest subscale scores on Political Awareness• Justice and Equity FTS had higher scores on Political Awareness

(topic or age?)• Latin American Cultures had higher Social Justice Attitudes

Your Students and Civic Engagement

• Where will your students stand at Time 1 as a function of your discipline, course level, gender, college?

Results: Quantitative Assessment - CASQ

CBL vs. Control at Time 2 – Bottom Line

• Social Justice and Diversity Attitudes were significantly higher in the CBL group vs. the Control. • For Abnormal Psych, Civic Action was higher, too.

• Women higher than Men on • Civic Action, Interpersonal and Problem-Solving Skills, Social

Justice Attitudes and Diversity Attitudes

CBL vs. Control• Can you find a control group? Which class can you use?

• What differences are you expecting? Which will you find?

• Would you have similar findings for all your CBL classes?

Results: Quantitative Assessment - CASQ

Significant Subscales Change Over Time (not including Latin American Cultures) – perhaps due to age, topic and CBL

• Civic Action went down in Justice and Equity FTS over time, especially the Men. Similar effect in one of the Abnormal Psychology classes.

 • Also, Interpersonal and Problem Solving Skills, Leadership Skills and Social

Justice Attitudes went down in Justice and Equity FTS for Men over time.

 • Political Awareness went down in Justice and Equity over time. Political

Awareness went up in one section of Abnormal Psychology. Both effects were due to Men only.

 • Leadership Skills went down for Men over time.

  • Diversity Attitudes went up for Women and down for Men in Justice and Equity

FTS over time.

Changes in Civic Engagement Across Time

• What constitutes positive or negative change?• As a function of gender? Age? Discipline?

• What is the time span that you are devoting to the CBL project? Will you be able to discern change?

Results: Qualitative Assessment for All Classes

Before beginning the projects

Mid semester

At the end of the projects

Results: Qualitative Assessment for All Classes

Before beginning the projects

STUDENTS:• Put theory into practice• Gain real world experience• Group work• Increase individual knowledge• Application of specific skills• Benefit the community / contribute• Nervousness and/or excitement

Results: Qualitative Assessment for All Classes

At the end of the projects

STUDENTS:• Not enough time• Recognition of amount of work• Got a glimpse of “reality”• Mixed feelings: “disappointed” yet “proud”• Pushed out of our “comfort zone”

Pre and Post Qualitative Reflection

• Will your students recognize change in themselves?

• Have you seen different responses in your classes?

Benefits of Conducting Assessment Across Disciplines• Recognizing general goals of liberal arts curriculum that

apply across all disciplines• Sharing instruments• Learning better ways to engage in this type of learning• Broaden network of colleagues conducting CBL• Differences in use of technology to help do the CBL• Learn about differences and similarities in your own

majors• Reinforce development of applied skills across the

curriculum• Through assessment, identify areas of need for curricular

change

• What benefits do you foresee in working with colleagues from other disciplines? What have you experienced already?

• Is CBL assessment college-wide on your campus? Can it be?