American’s Next Top MXC

By Michael Callon
The Foundation for Critical
Thinking (FCT) held its
annual conference from
July 19-24 in Berkeley,
California. Similar to the
“Model”?
questions, point of view,
etc.) fundamental role in
thinking so they may assess
the quality of critical
thought using the standards
dents can be given a hand-
out that will ask them to
use the standards included
in the model to judge the
soundness and viability of
COMMITTEE MEMBERS MALCOLM X COLLEGE
Assessment Committee
Chair - Claire Stuart-Quintanilla, Chair, Social
Science
Co-Chair - Jane Reynolds, Director,
Respiratory Care
CONTRIBUTORS
V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 2 F A L L 2 0 0 8
Archivist - Lois Collins, Biology
Interim President Brooks -
Treasurer - Hope Essien, Chair, Mathematics

Recorder - Stephanie Owen, Library

annual Higher Learning
Commission conference,
the Berkeley event was pri-
marily comprised of con-
current sessions, many of
which dealt with fostering
and assessing critical think-
ing in the classroom. Some
sessions were interdiscipli-
nary while others were dis-
cipline-specific. Addition-
ally, during the weekend
prior to the main confer-
ence, first-time attendees
were invited to attend a
preconference designed to
familiarize newcomers
with the FCT’s in-house
critical thinking model.
The model is comprised of
three multifaceted yet inter- I am currently working to
related components: ele-
ments of thought, stan-
Administration Corner
Department Assessment Plans
(e.g. accuracy, clarity, etc.) their question. The stan- Claire Stuart-Quintanilla -
and then foster sound, ethi- dards could also be used to
****
Department Assessment By Claire Stuart-Quintanilla
cal thought and action by structure a guide for peer or
Edna Boone, Physics, Chemistry Plan
In preparation for the HLC tee’s work in the 2008-
statement if they don’t al-
Akiza Boddie-Willis, College Advisor
promoting desirable intel- self-critique of an essay. In site visit in November 2009 academic year will
ready have one. Each mis-
lectual traits (e.g. intellec- fact, there are any number Adam Callery, Chair, Business
Stephanie Owen - 2007, department chairs be working with the de-
sion statement should be
tual perseverance, intellec- of ways to apply the model, Michael Callon, Co-Chair, CFA Assessment Day and program directors partment and program rep-
based on the college’s gen-
tual humility, etc.). Fur- another reason why it’s an Jose Diaz, Manager, Adult Education wrote assessment plans to resentatives on revising
eral education philosophy
thermore, this model envi- appealing one. Helen Doss, Chair, CFA submit to the visiting team. and implementing theirstatement and mission state-
Jane Reynolds -
sions critical thinking as a Boniface Ekpenyong, Chair, Physics, Chemistry Student Learning Project They spent the summer of assessment plans. These
ment. In order to assess stu-
“self-corrective” process;
I find this model interesting Luc Elie, Chair, Department of Career & 2007 meeting weekly to assessment outcomes will
dent learning, instructors
that is, using the standards
because it is both nuanced Health Sciences
draft those plans. be included in the reports
must have expected out-
to assess our critical think- Byron Javier, Assistant Dean, Research and Michael Callon - MXC files semi-annually
comes of that learning to
and sensitive to the impor- Planning America’s Next Top
ing affords us the opportu-
tance of fostering self- Now, the departments and with the HLC Academy measure. To this end, each
Ahmed Khan, Nephrology/Renal Technology “Model”? — Critical
nity to improve that ability. Thinking Conference programs must implement for the Assessment of Stu-
department and program will
assessing critical thinkers Ali Khan, Nephrology/Renal Technology
Of all the information I them, and the Assessment dent Learning. develop department- or pro-
who are interested in the
came across at the confer- Marietta McDuffy, Director, Surgical
Technology ++ Committee will oversee gram-level SLOs and will
quality and depth of their
ence, the idea that critical Stephanie Owen - this process. However, Revising and implement- standardize course-level
Nelita Mateo, Surgical Technology
thoughts. It is one thing to
thinking is self-corrective Book Review:
Joshua Oladipo, Physics The Miniature Guide to Criti- many of the plans must be ing department and pro- SLOs across all sections of
resonated with me the engage in critical thinking cal Thinking: Concepts and revised before they can be grams plans involves many courses. (Mission statements
Kelly O’Malley, Vice-President, Academic
most. and another to do so in a Affairs Tools by Richard Paul and implemented. In addition to separate processes. Before and SLOs should be com-
way that fosters improving Lisa Owens, CFA
Linda Elder the Student Learning Pro- we begin the assessment, pleted by January 2009.)
ject, another large part of each department or pro-
how well we are able to Carmen Penedo-Hovanec, Nursing
find ways to implement the the Assessment Commit- gram will write a mission (continues on page 2)
model in the composition think critically, and isn’t Athena Porter, Psychology

courses I teach. One idea I this one of the common

Assessment Day
Kathy Rayford, Director, Physician
dards, and intellectual Assistant Program By Stephanie Owen
traits. In a nutshell, the have is to use it in English learning goals we set, re- David St. John, Mathematics
FCT suggests that teachers 102 as the basis for evalu- gardless of discipline, for Henry Velarde, Business
and students need to be ating the effectiveness of a our students? Assessment Day was held the main purpose was to men Penedo-Hovanec from
Sheila Wicks, Biology
aware of the elements’ (e.g. research question. Stu- October 21, 2008. The goal emphasize the importance Nursing.
Alta Williams, Dean of Career Programs was to increase student, of assessment in everyday
and Health Science
faculty, and staff awareness life. Some of you may have no-
BOOK REVIEW Michael White, Director, Radiography Stay informed of assessment in the learn- ticed red and black cats cut
By Stephanie Owen ing process, update the The subcommittee for the from construction paper. The
Dennis Whiteside, Coordinator, PCI
mxcassessment.blogspot.com
The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking: Concepts and Tools, By Richard Paul and Linda Elder. MXC community about the inaugural event was made cat image represents CATS,
Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2006, 23 pp. $4.00 Lisa Willis, Interim Dean of
Instructions Assessment Committee up of Assessment Commit- an acronym for Classroom
activities and promote the tee faculty members: Dr. Assessment Techniques,
Critical thinking is “that mode of thinking – about any subject, content, or problem – in which
the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the struc- • HLC Academy Members Higher Learning Commis- Lois Collins from Biology, which are techniques used to
tures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them.” The goal is to im- sion (HLC) Academy’s Ali Khan from Renal/ gauge the level of learning in
++ HLC Academy Team Leader
prove the analysis and evaluation of thinking through tools and concepts outlined in this slim Student Learning Project. Nephrology, Marietta the classroom.
volume, which is designed for instructors and students interested in improving their learning The SLP focuses on assess- McDuffy from Surgical
Editors: Akiza Boddie-Willis, Stephanie
and understanding on any subject. Some key chapters include: “Three levels of thought,” Owen, & Claire Stuart-Quintanilla ing critical thinking at the Tech, Stephanie Owen (continues on page 2)
“Three kinds of questions,” and “What critical thinkers routinely do.”
classroom level. However, from the Library, and Car-
 Department and Assessment Plan (cont.)
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 FALL 2008 PAGE 3

PAGE 2

Schedule of Events

Administration Corner
Many departments and
programs have already
begun this process. To
◊
statement
Course or department/
program level should
the data will be analyzed
(ex: through departmen-
tal discussions)
Executive Board Meetings
11.20.08 - Room 3603 3-5
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
assist departments and identify SLOs to be ◊ Timeline for imple-
12.04.08 - Room 3603 3-5 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
programs in revising assessed menting the plan
Welcome back students and faculty to their plans, the Assess- ◊ Statement of how each Assessment Committee Meetings 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
another fantastic academic year! The 11.13.08 - Room 3603 3-5
Assessment

College has made tremendous pro- ment Committee is cre- department/program is Once the assessment is Committee

gress in so many areas, e.g. enroll- ating a template. This going to carry out the carried out, departments Special Dates & Conferences 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
New AC AC-Executive Board College wide
ment increases, resource develop- will standardize the for- assessment of SLOs. will submit their final 11.17.08 - Newsletter Newsletter out meeting
ment, and staff achievement. One of
the most important areas of focus and mat of the assessment ◊ Statement of resources scores to the Assessment
11.26.08 - Post tests due to Dean
success has been in assessment. I plans and help those needed to complete Committee for archiv- Javier 23 24 25 26 27 Thanksgiving 28 29
Post-test
want to thank the leadership provided who have never written assessment plan ing. Departments and results due to
by the Assessment Committee in Dean Javier

general and the Chairperson in par- a plan before to do so. (software, training) programs will have to
30 1 2 3 4 5 6
ticular. We are now a few weeks The template for assess- ◊ The process of scoring report on any plans for 4.17.09-4.21.09 - HLC Annual Con- AC-Executive Board

away from our one year anniversary ment plans will include: the assessment should improvement in light of ference, Chicago, IL
of receiving the maximum 10 year re- 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 End of Fall
accreditation from the Higher Learn- ◊ Department or pro- be clearly delineated the assessment results. For more information on the confer- Semester

ing Commission for the second
straight time. The Committee and
Chairperson have worked hard these
past few months to actualize assess-
ment as a part of our culture. We
believe so strongly in assessment, and
its benefits to our students and the
faculty, that we have incorporated it
into our mission statement. That is
precisely why this academic year is
so important. We must make the
College family and our community
aware of what assessment is and what
we are doing to make assessment a
part of our culture. I commend the
committee for its first Assessment
Day. The activities of this event will
contribute to making everyone aware
of assessment and its role at Malcolm
X College to enhance the teaching
and learning process and to improve
student success in completing course,
program, and degree require-
ments. Assessment is faculty driven
and fueled by the college commu-
nity. Thank you faculty for your
leadership!
- Interim President Brooks
gram mission state- ◊ The instrument to be The Assessment Com- ence and on HLC:
ments and SLOs, used for scoring mittee is hoping to begin 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
http://www.ncahlc.org/
which should have a should be included, the first round of depart-
connection to MXC’s such as a rubric or ment assessments in
general education out- other scoring sheet spring and fall 2009.
comes and mission ◊ Statement about how
Assessment Day (cont.) Student Learning Project
Others may have noticed Thank you to everyone
By Jane Reynolds
large posters festooned Some instructors took who participated in As-
across the campus an- their classes to view the sessment Day. Thank Student Learning Project a.k.a. I can’t believe I graded all those pretests and there is still a
nouncing the various performances. you to all the students
post test to go . . . Where was our critical thinking?
activities and times for who joined in “moment
“Assessment Day” per- Other instructors partici- of assessment” activities Well, we made it through the first part of our Student Learning Project, (SLP) examining
formances. pated by contributing to and played a part in
how our students perform critical thinking at the classroom level. The double-graded stu-
the “moment of assess- making the day a suc- dent results have been given to our Institutional Researcher, and Dr. Javier is crunching the
Students from instructor ment” by carrying out a cess. data. Our sample size is about 40% of the student population in the credit programs. This
Linnea Forsberg’s and CAT at 10:00 a.m., 2:30
is a very substantial representation of our credit population and should provide us with some
Regina Walton’s theater p.m. and 6:30 p.m. We encourage everyone interesting information. We will administer the post test just after midterm, and once again
classes wrote and per- to be on the lookout next two instructors will score each test. Dean Javier will conduct a statistical evaluation of the
formed skits throughout Many instructors con- semester for another As- change in the students’ performance in six critical thinking categories. Results will be re-
the day on assessment ducted journaling activi- sessment Day. The com- ported to the Assessment Committee and to each department after the new year. We will
related topics. Perform- ties while others spent mittee hopes to get even evaluate and debate what this data actually means, and each department will use their results
ances occurred in vari- five to ten minutes dis- more commitment, and to drive curriculum changes to improve student learning in the Fall 2009 semester. We will
ous locations such as the cussing the importance engagement amongst reassess critical thinking to see if our changes truly improved student learning, but this time
student union, near Out- of classroom assessment students, faculty and with a standardized test. The Assessment Committee would like to thank all our colleagues
Take on the first floor, and encouraging stu- staff! for their support and fertile input in this project.
and the east atrium of dents to assess their own
the third floor. learning.