WWU's Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment to hold 3rd annual Assessment Week April 13 to 15

Western Washington University’s Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment will play host to its Third Annual Assessment Week, which provides course instructors with student assessment methodologies and strategies, Tuesday through Thursday, April 13 to 15, at the Viking Union building on WWU’s campus.

Assessment Week is divided into three presentations, each offering different assessment-learning opportunities:

• “Using Small Group Instructional Discussion” is from 1 to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13, in VU 567 and features a demonstration by members from the CIIA on methods for getting information from students about how a class is going, allowing for changes before the end-of-quarter evaluations.
• “Ways to Effectively Evaluate Student Work” is from 4 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 14, in VU 464 and features a panel discussion with distinguished teaching award winners from a variety of academic disciplines on how to effectively evaluate student work. The panel will be facilitated by Shelia Fox of Western Washington University’s Woodring College of Education, who will be joined by WWU professors Thor Hansen of the Geology department and Mary J. Metzger of the English department.
• “Effective Grading Processes” is from 1:30 to 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 15, in VU 567 and features a workshop led by Assessment Coordinator Robin Jeffers of Bellevue Community College. The workshop will explore ways to use grading to improve teaching and make grading more time efficient. Space for this event is limited and requires an RSVP to reserve, which can be done at cii@wwu.edu.

“We’ve had many requests over the years for resources related to grading student work,” said Karen Casto, director of the CIAA. “With this workshop series, we hope to provide both practical and theoretical guidance.”

For more information, contact Brown at (360) 650-7210 or justina.brown@wwu.edu.

The Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment is dedicated to the enhancement of teaching and learning on the campus of Western Washington University. The Center promotes discussion and debate about teaching and learning, provides support to faculty in instructional innovation and course development, and helps nurture a culture of educational innovation and instructional excellence across disciplines.