tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619889292433553224.post7371161076221044430..comments2022-11-09T06:50:20.843-08:00Comments on Clint Gardner: Alternative assessmentClint Gardnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13534333959460032669noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619889292433553224.post-72579181279435522532008-09-11T04:59:29.000-07:002008-09-11T04:59:29.000-07:00Hey, Clint. I have a very broad view of assessment...Hey, Clint. I have a very broad view of assessment, one that looks at assessment as a rhetorical act. What I mean is different kinds of assessment will be persuasive for different kinds of audiences. And audiences do have their particular binkies! Some folks will only be convinced by numbers, some folks think numbers obfuscate, and some folks think it's all phenomenological anyway so why bother? Just don't invite all each of those groups to the same party (or maybe you should if you want a lively party).<br><br>In my view, this all means that you have to build in the justification for your assessment approach to go along with whatever results you find. Maybe even more important, the activity needs to start with the justification or reason for doing the assessment in the first place. I've seen too often people who have lots of data they think might say something about their writing centers or student writing, but they're not sure what. Instead, it would have been more powerful had they started with certain questions and then figured out what kinds of data to collect to answer those questions in a meaningful way.<br><br>I look forward to your workshop!Neal Lernernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619889292433553224.post-45677817058565442062008-09-11T06:41:54.000-07:002008-09-11T06:41:54.000-07:00My workshop? It is our workshop, buddy! Seriousl...My workshop? It is our workshop, buddy! <br><br>Seriously, though, thanks for your response. Sometimes I feel that my English Major tendencies don't often fit in an Accounting Major world. <br><br>I like where you are going with the notion of framing important questions. I know I've learned quite a lot from doing exit and follow-up interviews with previous tutors. It has also helped to explain why the Student Writing Center is important for the people who are employed by it.Clint Gardnerhttp://bessie.englab.slcc.edu/~gardneclnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619889292433553224.post-70189598549171196892009-07-23T09:31:05.000-07:002009-07-23T09:31:05.000-07:00Hi Clint--first of all, we just met at the WPA con...Hi Clint--first of all, we just met at the WPA conference (hello again). I am working on a project on the history of student learning outcomes and how writing centers have responded to institutional demands to measure SLOs. (At this point, I am reading and reading, trying to figure out how outcomes came to be basically before I move onto the next stage, which is to look at how writing centers have responded to the outcomes call.) At last fall's IWCA conference, I helped organize a panel titled something like "Resisting SLOs in the Community College Writing Center," (which was a theoretically informed narrative from four community college WCs from the Southern California WC Directors Group) and I can't believe I missed your panel on alternative assessment models! I would love to see any materials you prepared for your presentation/ workshop. I have a ton more questions and comments, but I'll hold off for now, especially in case you are away from your blog this summer and/ or are on vacation and understandably don't wish to be bothered! Thanks, JuliaJulia Bleakneynoreply@blogger.com