Lindenwood's Three-Year Roadmap for General Education Assessment
(2022-2025)

Lindenwood University's Three-Year Roadmap for General Education Assessment outlines a new vision, strategy, and tactics for general education assessment.

• View Roadmap
• View 2019-2022 Roadmap (ARCHIVED)

General Education Learning Outcomes

Lindenwood's General Education Program is designed to support students' development toward Graduate Attributes.

Lindenwood adopted the Graduate Attributes in fall of 2021 and is currently transitioning from the previous Institutional Learning Outcomes. Our goal is to implement the graduate attributes in Spring 2023. Each graduate attribute includes outcomes and an aligned rubric:

Adaptable Problem Solvers
Lindenwood University students will:

• Show preparation to address and solve the issues of today and tomorrow
• Adapt to a changing world through creative and innovative thinking

Lifelong Learners
Lindenwood University students will:

• Self-reflect and engage in activities for self-improvement
• Independently seek professional opportunities for career advancement

Effective Communicators
Lindenwood University students will:

• Engage in meaningful discourse in order to persuade audiences
• Foster understanding and respect
• Communicate fluently in multiple media

Analytical Thinkers
Lindenwood University students will:

• Use data and evidence to form judgments about complex situations

Responsible Citizens
Lindenwood University students will:

• Take responsibility for their actions
• Understand their roles in the community
• Engage in their communities by working collaboratively in order to promote the welfare of other

Ethical Decision Makers
Lindenwood University students will:

• Consider the well-being of others, relevant precedents, and their moral convictions when making decisions about the ethical questions of our changing world

Global Advocates
Lindenwood University students will:

• Seek to understand the perspectives of diverse populations
• Consider the global impact of their decisions
• Appreciate diverse perspectives
• Demonstrate compassion and understanding of individual and cultural differences​​ ​

The Board of Trustees approved the Proposal to Adopt Lindenwood Graduate Attributes in May 2021.

Communities of Practice Model of Assessment

Lindenwood University uses a Communities of Practice model of assessment for its general education program. To read more about this approach, please visit our blog post: "Harnessing Passion to Improve Learning: Building Communities of Practice to Assessment General Education" by Robyne Elder and Bethany Alden-Rivers.

FAQs for Faculty and Staff

What is a “Communities of Practice” approach to assessment?

A community of practice is a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do, and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. This definition reflects the fundamental social nature of human learning (Source: wegner-trayner.com).

Starting in fall 2019, a Community of Practice for Written Communication formed to assess ILO 3.1, and in spring 2020, a separate Community of Practice for Spoken Communication convened to assess ILO 3.2. This work has continued with Communities of Practice for Diverse Perspectives in Fall 2020, Responsible Citizen in Spring 2021, Critical Thinking in Fall 2021, and Adaptive Thinking in 2022.

Each Community of Practice uses a validated rubric to score a stratified sample of student learning artifacts (assessments), which are extracted from Canvas (LMS). Each assessment is scored by at least two different members of the Community of Practice, and the data from this process are considered for learning improvement opportunities.

How does the shift to a Communities of Practice model affect the former General Education assessment process in Canvas?

Since Fall 2020, faculty were no longer required to score key assessments in Canvas. However, because the Communities of Practices will be using these assessments for their scoring, faculty will still need to include the key assessment in the course. As we transition to graduate attributes, we ask faculty to use a similar process and have a signature assignment aligned to the appropriate rubric to assess the graduate attribute that aligns to their course.

How will the Community of Practice know which assessment to use for their scoring?

Each general education course has continued to align with two ILOs, however as we transition to graduate attributes, each course will align to one graduate attribute. This work is being done through the Graduate Attribute Alignment and Assessment Committee.

If you have a question about the graduate attribute for your course, please contact the Graduate Attribute Alignment and Assessment Committee.

Moving forward, we will construct a curriculum map showing where graduate attributes are assessed across the general education curriculum which will be accessible for all faculty and staff starting in Spring 2023.

The Year of Effective Communication:

Fall 2022: ILO 3.1 Written Communication
Spring 2023: Graduate Attribute - Effective Communicator

If you are interested in joining either of these Communities of Practice, please email assessment@lindenwood.edu.

Contact

Please email Dr. Robyne Elder, Head of Academic Effectiveness, at relder@lindenwood.edu or write to assessment@lindenwood.edu for support.