Overview
The overall goal of SEISMIC Phase Two is to promote greater adoption of equity-oriented assessment practices in large introductory STEM courses across a range of institutions and departments. To achieve this goal, we will support project teams in piloting revised assessments in STEM courses across the collaboration and evaluating their efficacy.
Project Teams
Our current list of project teams are in the tables below. More information about each team will be added this summer. To join a project team, please use the sign up button.
Project Teams Focused on Assessment Reform
| Team | Vision (to be edited) |
|---|---|
| SPARC: STEM Proficiency-based Assessment and Resources Collaboration | We envision a multi-institutional STEM teaching community that collaboratively designs clear learning objectives, meaningful standards, and aligned assessments to support transparent, equitable, and learning-centered education. As part of the SEISMIC 2.0 Collaboration, SPARC leverages the diversity of its member institutions, disciplines, courses, and student populations to better understand how standards-based and proficiency-based assessment practices can be adapted, implemented, and evaluated across a wide range of educational contexts. |
| Mastery Grading in Math | Interested in sharing resources, including syllabi, homework questions, and learning outcomes. |
| Growth-Oriented Testing | First steps are to develop learning objectives and use Marzano-level verbs (Marzano taxonomy: retrieval, comprehension, analysis, and knowledge utilization). Reference |
| Two Stage Exams | Looking to implement two stage exams in various contexts and collect both grade data and student perceptions data. |
| Chemistry | Interested in using an AI tool out of University of Maryland to assess the current landscape of chemistry assessments. From there, decide what assessment revisions to make. Interested in exam retakes, two stage exams, specifications grading, and trying alternatives in lab courses. |
| Biology and Anatomy & Physiology (A&P) | Individuals will be testing out different alternative assessments this fall as case studies, then will report back to the team to share insights. Subgroups may form to support specific implementation, and the team overall is looking to share learning objectives for exams. |
| Physics |
Team was proposed but did not meet at the Kick Off Meeting, so there are no initial ideas to share. Individuals may sign up for this team if interested in the topic.
|
| Labs |
Team was proposed but did not meet at the Kick Off Meeting, so there are no initial ideas to share. Individuals may sign up for this team if interested in the topic. |
Project Teams Focused on Bigger Picture
| Team | Initial Ideas (to be revised) |
|---|---|
| RAD: Research, Alignment, and Data | Many ideas on research across SEISMIC, including summarizing alternative assessment practices by discipline, examining learning objectives for intro chemistry, and studying the impact on students from alternative assessments. |
| Research: Repeating Courses | Examining students who repeat intro courses (including examining their strategies, perspectives on assessments, etc.). |
| Structure, Policy, and Incentives | Interested in how institutions can support the reform work undertaken by instructors, including through Canvas improvements, collaboration with teaching and learning centers and institutional researchers, incentivizing research on SEISMIC projects, and incorporating assessment practices in teaching reviews. |
| CTL: Centers for Teaching and Learning | A collaborative space for amplifying CTL expertise. One possible product – the creation of a central resource document for alternative assessment implementation. |
Reference
[1] Langley, G. J., Moen, R. D., Nolan, K. M., Nolan, T. W., Norman, C. L., & Provost, L. P. (2009). The Improvement Guide: A Practical Approach to Enhancing Organizational Performance (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.