Assessing Diversity
Courses
By Jack Meacham
The guiding principles for assessment
of a diversity course are, in general,
the same principles that should guide
assessment of any course. It is important
to consider before the first day of
class how one will know, at the end
of the term, whether the goals for student
learning have been met. All the efforts
of the teacher and the students in a
diversity course will count for little--even
if the students attend regularly, complete
their assignments, say that they like
the course, and receive good grades--if
the goals for student learning have
not been met. If the course goals have
not been attained, then one should want
to know why not and what might be done
better the next time. Even if the goals
have been met successfully, it will
be important in teaching the course
again to know what readings or discussion
topics or classroom activities were
most helpful towards reaching the goals,
so that these are not inadvertently
dropped in a modest revision of the
course.
Articulating
Learning Goals
Before beginning to teach a course on
diversity, one should record the goals
for student learning, expressing these
in a form so that later assessment of
student progress towards these goals
is possible. At the least, this record
will serve as a reminder to keep the
teacher on track over several weeks
of teaching, and as a point of comparison
when new goals emerge as a result of
interactions with students in the course.
Furthermore, if the goals for student
learning cannot be expressed in a measurable
form, then it is likely that they have
not yet been articulated sufficiently
clearly in the mind of the teacher to
be an adequate guide in the selection
of course texts and readings, classroom
activities, and discussion topics or
in the evaluation of students. It is
good practice to list goals for student
learning on the course syllabus that
is distributed to students. It clarifies
the expectations for student learning
in the course and serves as a reminder
for both students and the teacher to
stay focused on course-relevant topics
in their discussions throughout the
term. Goals for student learning should
be limited in scope as well as appropriate
for the students' learning, not the
teacher's. Some of the teachers of the
American Pluralism course at SUNY at
Buffalo have adopted goals for student
learning such as to understand ourselves
and others in ways other than stereotyped
groups or categories; to develop an
awareness of the causes and effects
of structured inequalities and prejudicial
exclusion; and to develop an increased
self-awareness of what it means in our
culture to be a person of the student's
own gender, race, class, ethnicity,
and religion as well as an understanding
of how these categories affect those
who are different. At the most general
level, many of these teachers believe
that the goal of a course on diversity
is for students to learn what the American
experience is like for different groups
of people and to understand that if
they were in the situations of others
they might feel similarly.
Assessing Before
the Course Ends
The usual procedure for course assessment
is for a questionnaire to be administered
to students towards the end of the term.
Typically, however, the teacher does
not receive the results until several
weeks following the last class. Waiting
until the end of the term to solicit
feedback from students can leave the
teacher uninformed about what students
are really thinking in a diversity course.
Most classes include both students who
frequently participate in class discussions
and others who sit silently or participate
only infrequently. In some courses one
can assume that the vocal students are
representative of the viewpoints of
the silent students, but this might
not be the case for many contemporary,
controversial issues that can arise
in a diversity course. Those students
who are not speaking might be in sharp
disagreement with those students who
are speaking, yet perhaps concerned
that if they speak they will be drawn
into an argument; or they might be following
the discussion closely and strongly
engaged and perhaps even deeply moved
by what is being said; or there might
be students representing both of these
positions. The issues in a diversity
course can touch students very personally,
for dimensions such as race, gender,
ethnicity, and religion are among those
at the core of the identities that traditional
college-age students are constructing.
It can be a mistake for a teacher in
a diversity course to assume that the
vocal students are representative of
the opinions and feelings of the less
vocal students. Instead, it is good
practice to assess informally how the
course is going at least once and perhaps
several times as the course is progressing,
especially for those who are teaching
a diversity course for the first or
second time, and then if necessary to
make appropriate changes in readings,
classroom activities, or course requirements
right away. A simple assessment procedure
is to bring the class to a close a few
minutes early and ask the students to
write anonymously what might be changed
to make the class better and to leave
these suggestions as they exit the classroom.
Not only can good suggestions emerge,
but the procedure itself reinforces
an important lesson for many diversity
courses, namely, that each person's
opinion will be listened to and respected.
Such informal yet frequent assessment
and minor course corrections can make
the difference between a disastrous
course and one that is now back on track.
Much can be learned about how a diversity
course is progressing by asking students
to keep journals in which they record
their brief reactions, examples, questions,
disagreements, or insights in response
to each assigned reading, lecture, and
class discussion. Typically such journal
entries are regarded as confidential,
and read by no one except the teacher.
Journal entries can sometimes reveal
that the class as a whole has reacted
to assigned readings or issues quite
differently than what the teacher might
otherwise assume, given what had been
said aloud during class. Often teachers
find that they are able to construct
discussion topics and questions for
future classes from some of the journal
entries. Another procedure for learning
about the progress of a diversity course
is to provide students with the opportunity
to post messages and read what their
peers have to say on an electronic-
mail discussion list (Meacham, 1994).
Creating Appropriate
Final Course Evaluations for Diversity
Classes
The process of teaching a course on
diversity should not conclude until
the course itself has been evaluated
against the goals for student learning
that were recorded prior to teaching
the course. Most standard course-evaluation
questionnaires will not be adequate
for the particular assessment needs
of diversity courses, and so teachers
must plan in advance to find or construct
questionnaires that are appropriate
given the particular goals they hold
for student learning. One easy yet very
informative assessment procedure is
to ask students to list three aspects
that they liked about the course and
three things that they disliked. Another
easy and informative question is to
ask students to list three things that
they learned in the course. If the goals
for student learning are being met,
then more than a few students should
list information and concepts that relate
to the teacher's previously-recorded
goals for the course. For example, a
student in SUNY at Buffalo's American
Pluralism course wrote at the end of
the term, "There are more ways of looking
at things than the one I came to class
with." This comment is evidence that
the student learning goal of the course,
to learn about the experiences and perspectives
of others, was met for this student.
Assessing Diversity
Learning Goals for Students
Often simple, ad hoc assessment questions
that relate directly to the teacher's
goals for the course are much more useful
than the general questions that appear
on standard course- evaluation questionnaires.
Here are some examples of questions
that could be asked at the end of the
term in order to assess whether the
teacher's goals for student learning
have been met in the course. Of course,
there are many possible goals for student
learning and so there are many possible
questions that could be constructed
for use on an assessment questionnaire.
1. This course has helped me to understand
myself and others in ways other than
stereotyped groups and categories.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
2. I now have an increased awareness
of the causes and effects of structured
inequalities and prejudicial exclusions.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
3. This course has helped me to ask
questions, analyze arguments, make connections,
and be a better thinker.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
4. This course has helped me to become
more confident in stating my views and
expressing myself orally.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
5. As a result of taking this course,
I am more likely to examine what I read
closely and assess its usefulness before
drawing conclusions.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
6. I find myself talking with other
students outside of class about the
material covered in this course.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
7. This course has inspired excitement
in new topics, and I have considered
taking additional courses related to
the topics in this course.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
8. This course has stimulated me to
read related books and articles, and
I have begun to read and listen to the
news differently.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
9. This course introduced ideas I had
not previously encountered.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
10. I have been able to see connections
between the material in this course
and real-life situations I might face
on the job, in my family, and as a citizen.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
11. I feel more confident about my
ability to work with others as a result
of this course.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
12. I am now more convinced of the
importance of the material in this course
than when I began the course.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
Assessing Classroom
Atmosphere and Process
In a course on diversity the classroom
atmosphere and the interactions of the
students with each other and with the
teacher are critical to the success
of the course. Thus it is important
in assessing the course to ask questions
regarding classroom atmosphere and process.
Did students feel they could bring up
issues in the classroom? Did students
feel there was an atmosphere of respect
and trust? Did the teacher allow students
to express their point of view? Did
the teacher respect students' opinions?
These questions might appear on an assessment
questionnaire in a format such as the
following:
13. In this course there have been
opportunities for students to bring
up or discuss issues related to the
course.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
14. In this course the teacher allowed
students to express their point of view
and respected their opinion.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
15. The format for this course has
been primarily lecture.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
16. The format for this course has
been primarily discussion, with students
learning from each other and constructing
our own understanding of the issues.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
17. In this course classroom discussions
were managed so that they were a useful
part of my learning experience.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
18. The instructor in this course asked
questions that challenged me to think.
A. strongly agree; B. agree; C. neutral;
D. disagree; E. strongly disagree
Typically teachers receive summary
data from questions such as these only
after the conclusion of the course.
However, a better diagnostic procedure
for teachers who are new to teaching
about diversity is to make assessment
of the course a project for the class
itself. The course goals can be shared
with the students, who can then decide
how to assess the course and what questions
to ask. After some data have been gathered
and summarized, the students can discuss
the extent to which various goals were
met and why, what readings or class
activities were critical towards meeting
those goals, and how the course might
be improved for the next group of students.
There is much that teachers can learn
from listening to students' views and
reflections on how the course progressed
and what was learned and their suggestions
on how the course can be strengthened.
Traditional Assessment
Questions
Next, here are a few examples of traditional
assessment questions regarding materials
and assignments and how much has been
learned,. These questions are provided
here to illustrate the contrast with
the earlier questions that are derived
directly from the goals for student
learning or that inquire about classroom
atmosphere and interactions among the
students and with the teacher. Of course,
a few questions from each of these three
categories can be mixed together in
constructing a brief assessment questionnaire
of half a dozen to a dozen items.
19. The workload for this course is:
A. one of the lightest; B. lighter than
average; C. about average; D. heavier
than average; E. one of the heaviest
20. The pace in this course is:
A. too slow and sometimes boring; B.
slower than average; C. about average;
D. faster than average; E. too fast
for me to keep up
21. The texts and readings used in
this course are:
A. among the very best; B. better than
average; C. about average; D. worse
than average; E. among the worst
22. Overall, how much do you feel you
have learned in this course?
A. an exceptional amount; B. more than
usual; C. about as much as usual; D.
less than usual; E. almost nothing
23. The instructor is punctual in meeting
class and office hour responsibilities.
A. almost always; B. more than half
the time; C. about half the time; D.
less than half the time; E. almost never
24. The difficulty level of the course
activities and materials is:
A. extremely easy; B. easier than average;
C. about average; D. more difficult
than average; E. extremely difficult
25. What is your overall rating of
the instructor's teaching effectiveness
compared with other college instructors
you have had?
A. one of the most effective; B. more
effective than average; C. about average;
D. less effective than average; E. one
of the least effective
26. What is your overall rating of
this course?
A. one of the best; B. better than average;
C. about average; D. worse than average;
E. one of the worst
Although the literature about assessing
diversity courses is just emerging,
many practices used by student-centered
assessment can easily be adapted. Two
fine resources with excellent advice
about assessment procedures as well
as many examples of assessment questions
are the recent books by Angelo and Cross
(1993) and by Musil (1992). The important
thing to remember, however, is that
every teacher has resources for gathering
immediate feedback about what students
are learning in diversity courses. That
information is essential for improving
what is offered to students and for
increasing our confidence that the learning
goals we have articulated are being
met by the course. The more we practitioners
invent and share teacher- and student-friendly
methods of gathering information about
student learning, the more they can
know about how to prepare students to
be active, engaged participants in shaping
the multicultural worlds they will and
already do inhabit.
References:
Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993).
Classroom assessment techniques:
A handbook for college teachers
(2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Meacham, J. A. (1994). Discussions
by e-mail: Experiences from a large
class on multiculturalism. Liberal
Education, 80(4), 36-39.
Musil, C. M. (Ed.) (1992). Students
at the center: Feminist assessment.
Washington, D. C.: Association of American
Colleges.
Jack Meacham
Department of Psychology
323 Park Hall
SUNY at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY 14260-4110
meacham@acsu.buffalo.edu
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