The Assessment of Doctoral Learning

by Maki, Peggy; Borkowski, Nancy A.; Denecke, Daniel D.

• ISBN13: 9781579221799
• ISBN10: 1579221793
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-10-30
• Publisher: Stylus Pub Llc

Summary

Following the growing commitment to assessment at the undergraduate level, doctoral programs are now grappling with what accountability means for them. This book provides a foundation for faculty and academic leaders of doctoral programs to promote inquiry into the educational practices that define their programs and contribute to graduate students' learning. It presents an array of examples of new program- and student-level assessment practices. The ideas and practices described here expand program review to include evidence of student learning--that is, students' demonstration of their knowledge, abilities, habits of mind, ways of knowing, ways of problem solving, and dispositions--through direct and indirect assessment methods that verify or challenge the efficacy of educational practices. The book encourages faculty and academic leaders to reconsider the process and to formulate new questions about the efficacy of educational practices and traditions, such as the dissertation, that have historically led to the conferring of the doctorate. It will prompt constructive discussion of desired student learning outcomes, and of the kinds of assessment methods that provide evidence of what and how students learn within the context of educational practices. Stressing the importance of listening and responding to graduate students as they progress through their studies or reflect on the relevance of their studies after graduation, the book also suggests new strategies to orient and support doctoral students in their educational journeys.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	ix
FOREWORD	xi
Daniel D. Denecke
INTRODUCTION	1	(10)
Peggy L. Maki
PART ONE: EMERGING CRITERIA AND NEW MODELS FOR ASSESSING DOCTORAL PROGRAMS
1 CHANGING OUR THINKING ABOUT ASSESSMENT AT THE DOCTORAL LEVEL	11	(42)
Nancy A. Borkowski
2 THE CHALLENGES OF DOCTORAL PROGRAM ASSESSMENT	53	(30)
Lessons from the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate
Chris M. Golde, Laura Jones, Andrea Conklin Bueschel, and George E. Walker
3 USING AN ALIGNMENT MODEL AS A FRAMEWORK IN THE ASSESSMENT OF DOCTORAL PROGRAMS	83	(26)
Donald H. Wulff and Maresi Nerad
4 PATHS AND PERCEPTIONS	109	(36)
Assessing Doctoral Education Using Career Path Analysis
Rebecca Aanerud, Lori Homer, Maresi Nerad, and Joseph Cerny
PART TWO: EMERGING CRITERIA AND NEW MODELS FOR ASSESSING STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
5 USING THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS TO IMPROVE DOCTORAL PROGRAMS	145	(18)
Kelly Funk and Karen L. Klomparens
6 MAKING THE IMPLICIT EXPLICIT	163	(34)
Faculty's Performance Expectations for the Dissertation
Barbara E. Lovitts
Case Study for Making the Implicit Explicit Research Project Conducted at the University of Colorado at Boulder: An Administrator's Experiences and Perspectives	188	(1)
Candice L. Miller
7 DOCTORAL STUDENTS' PERSPECTIVES ON THE DISSERTATION	197	(18)
Jeannie Brown Leonard
8 PORTFOLIOS IN DOCTORAL EDUCATION	215	(24)
Thomas Cyr and Rodney Muth
9 RECASTING DOCTORAL EDUCATION IN AN OUTCOMES-BASED FRAMEWORK	239	(34)
Mary Huba, John Schuh, and Mack Shelley
ABOUT THE AUTHORS	273	(8)
INDEX	281