The Assessment, Evaluation, and Research competency area focuses on the ability to design, conduct, critique, and use various AER methodologies and the results obtained from them, to utilize AER processes and their results to inform practice, and to shape the political and ethical climate surrounding AER processes and uses in higher education. 

I believe my coursework has prepared me well for Foundational competency in this area. In my undergraduate Sociology major and again in my Higher Education graduate program, I have been required to take Statistics and Research Methods classes in order to understand research design and how to analyze statistical data. The concepts of statistical significance and sample size are important to understanding the nature of any research I am reviewing or in which I am participating. Additionally, it is important to be able to design a data collection method that will elicit the kinds of responses from participants that are necessary to answer the research question(s) at hand. The course I took last year, Evaluation and Outcomes Assessment, helped me to understand the differences among assessment, evaluation, and research. While these types of analysis are all interrelated, these terms— and the activities to which they refer— are not interchangeable. My knowledge of AER methodologies, statistics, and research design will help me to interpret and articulate the results of any assessment I may be asked to review or in which I am asked to participate.

In my Evaluation and Outcomes Assessment class, I learned what a learning outcome is, how to write them, and how to compare them with an institution’s or division’s goals and values. Learning outcomes are important to student educators because they help us to measure how our students are impacted by the programs and services we provide. Comparing our expected learning outcomes with the outcomes we measure in our students allow us to adjust our programs and services to better meet students’ intellectual and developmental needs.

Although intellectually I meet most of the Foundational skills in the AER competency area, I have not yet encountered an opportunity to engage in an actual assessment or evaluation. In order to continue to grow in this area, I need practical experience executing assessment. Participating in the assessment process as part of a department engaging in self-assessment would give me the hands-on experience with an assessment cycle necessary to move toward Intermediate mastery in this area. With lived experience under my belt, I could then contribute to assessment design, results interpretation to stakeholders, and maintaining a culture of evidence within the department— all Intermediate-level skills. I hope to join a department close to a new assessment cycle so that I can gain this experience sooner rather than later.

Although intellectually I meet most of the Foundational skills in the AER competency area, I have not yet encountered an opportunity to engage in an actual assessment or evaluation. In order to continue to grow in this area, I need real-life experience with assessment. Participating in a real assessment process as part of a department engaging in self-assessment would give me the hands-on experience with an assessment cycle necessary to move toward Intermediate mastery in this area. With lived experience under my belt, I could then contribute to assessment design, results interpretation to stakeholders, and maintaining a culture of evidence within the department: all Intermediate-level skills. I hope to join a department close to a new assessment cycle so that I can gain this experience sooner rather than later.