Making assessment meaningful with FIG's
What is a FIG? -- A FACULTY INQUIRY GROUP
Definition: A Faculty Inquiry Group is a group of faculty who inquires, or asks questions and researches challenges they face.
“Faculty inquiry is a form of professional development in which teachers identify and investigate questions about the students’ learning. The inquiry process is ongoing, informed by evidence of student learning, and undertaken in a collaborative setting. Findings from the process come back to the classroom in the form of new curricula, new assessments, and new pedagogies.
Collaborative inquiry provides an opportunity for faculty to acknowledge common challenges and search together for solutions. Members of a FIG may design and analyze common final examinations or other methods for assessing outcomes over time. Such work can strengthen the content and continuity of a course or sequence of courses.
Interdisciplinary inquiry groups can break down silos across campus and create a network of relationships and trust. FIGs are powerful settings for sharing diverse perspectives, experiences, and resources.”
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. (2008) Faculty Inquiry in Action: Guidelines for Working Together to Improve Student Learning. Strengthening Pre-Collegiate Education in Community Colleges Series.
Grant Support: As part of SCC’s Title V grant in support of SLO and assessment, Faculty Inquiry Groups are formed to address questions or areas of concern regarding SLO assessment and participants may receive a stipend for their participation.
Goals: For faculty to work together to:
· Create a productive, efficient outcomes assessment program to be implemented in their area.
· Share assessment resources
· Generate enthusiasm and engagement in assessment through collaborative problem solving
· Create an awareness of the ways in which assessment improves teaching and learning
Questions Answered: FIGs at SCC have a faculty assessment emphasis that answers these questions:
1. What are we doing?
2. Is it working?
3. What are our challenges?
4. What are other departments and colleges doing?
5. What strategies and plans can we find for improvement?
6. What can we do, in terms of assessment, to be more successful and efficient, and to engage in sustainable continual meaningful assessment?
7. How can the message be effectively communicated to all faculty to commit to a program, that includes SLO assessment, a defined cycle of assessment, and a uniform standard of reporting?
Structure: What do I have to do?
Participation consists of attending four meetings during the semester and completing other activities such as: development of discussion questions, active participation in discussions, and formal knowledge-sharing with departments.
Participation: How do I get involved?
If you are interested in dialoging about ways to improve teaching and learning, as well as developing high quality assessment instruments and understanding assessment results in meaningful ways, simply fill out this application form click here and email it to powell_kay@sccollege.edu or call 714-628-4832 for more information, including stipends. It is highly recommended that, where possible, more than one person from a department attend together.
Past Participating Departments and Sample Reports:
