6th Year Assessment

 

6th Year Assessment

Eastern Connecticut State University

Department Evaluation Committee—Professional Assessment

Faculty Member   David L. Stoloff     Rank Full Professor

Department    Education Department    Date  November 1, 2011

Pursuant to Article 4.12 of the CSU-AAUP Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the purpose of Professional Assessment is to measure the faculty member’s (1) teaching effectiveness and/or primary professional function, (2) service to the Department and the University, and (3) scholarship and professional activity, in order to further the faculty member’s professional growth.

The Department Evaluation Committee (DEC) may seek and use student opinion surveys and peer assessments, as provided by CBA  Article 4.11.7 and by Senate Bill 03/04-1, Section IV, Matters Concerning Professional Assessment.

In order to assess the member’s performance, the DEC provides narrative comments in each of the three areas of assessment. An additional page may be attached if more space is needed.

Teaching effectiveness and/or primary professional function

From Fall 2005 to present, I have taught 71 sections of 20 courses.  Appendix I lists these EDU, ENG, LAP, and FYR courses.  Among these courses, I developed five new courses (EDU 357, EDU 457, two courses for the Liberal Arts Program colloquium series, and a Liberal Arts capstone colloquium).    

I used a variety of assessment tools to study teaching effectiveness.  The accompanying paper materials include course information survey analyses, blue survey forms with some written comments from EDU 570 (Fall 2008); a student in this course commented that “the creation of the portfolio was a very satisfying project.”   In EDU 110 (Fall 2009), another student commented that “I enjoyed this class, it was beneficial for my future as a teacher.  I love the cluster!”   I have also encouraged students to participate in a threaded discussion – course evaluation; this discussion for Fall 2009’s EDU 553 appears in the paper materials, with this comment for a participant that “although I struggled at times to meet the deadlines of the course, I felt that you were incredibly understanding about it and worked with me the entire way through.”  I also used a pre-survey, post-survey design with items developed from the standards in our department’s conceptual framework, the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers, the Academic Affairs Committee online evaluation questions, and the CSU Course Evaluation Form questions; the analyses of Summer 2010 EDU 553 and EDU 550 are included.  In the past semesters, we have begun to make use of the course evaluation reporting available through the e-web system.  I have attached analyses from Fall 2010 EDU 110 and Spring 2011 EDU 357.  Some participants in the latter course suggested that an online version of the course should be offered; EDU 357 was offered online in Summer 2011.

In reflecting on the students’ responses to my instructional planning, I have learned that perhaps 2 hours and 45 minute sessions at 4 pm may not be the most effective time to meet with a class of undergraduates.  I have also learned to integrate more activities to engage learning.  This semester in EDU 357 we are making use of skype to connect with audio and video with an educator in Kenya and an English language learning class in Monterrey, Mexico.  We are also using the students’ prepared electronic portfolios to share perceptions of these countries with educators and students in these nations.  We are hoping to incorporate online discussions with undergraduates in other countries to share our perspectives on the roles of learning and teaching in international understanding. 

From Fall 2005 to the end of summer 2008, I served as Education Department Chair, assigned for 75% of my time during the fall and spring semesters with these duties.   In Fall 2008 to present, I was also assigned for 25% time to serve as the director of Eastern’s Center for Educational Excellence.  In Fall 2011, I additionally began to serve as University Senate President, a 25% time assignment.  Appendix I lists these administrative assignments. 

I have included a copy of the 2009-2010 annual report of the Center for Educational Excellence to provide a sense of the accomplishments of our center.

Service to the department and university

Following my 12 years of service as education department chair, I continued to serve on the Committee for Diversity and Excellence in Education, the departmental budget committee, and as faculty liaison to the Advising Center.

I have also served in the university senate since Fall 1999, as the Education Department’s senator, a senator-at-large, and as senate secretary, vice-president, and currently as university senate president.  Since Fall 2005, I have also served as a member of the University Curriculum Committee, Liberal Arts Program Committee, First Year Program Committee, Strategic Plan Implementation Steering Committee, and the ad hoc online course committee.  I also serve as a member of the Foundation for Campus Ministries Advisory Board and the Women’s Center Advisory Board.  

As director of the Center for Educational Excellence, I serve as the liberal arts assessment and implementation coordinator, the lead faculty member for the electronic portfolio initiative, and as a member of the Project Campus and Title III steering groups. 
 

Scholarship and professional activity in order to further the faculty member’s professional growth

Throughout these past 6 years, I have served as project director for several CSU Assessment Grant projects which focused on the uses of electronic portfolios for the assessment of student engagement and learning at Eastern.  I have also coordinated the Summer Institute for Future Teachers in July and the Future Teachers Conference in May each year. 

In Fall 2007, I participated in a Fulbright Exchange Program with Dr. Anchalee Wongla of Chiang Mai Rajabhat University.  Eastern hosted Dr. Anchalee’s  visit for 6 weeks in early Fall 2007.  I travelled to Chiang Mai, Thailand from December 2, 2007 – January 13, 2008.  A report on my education in Thailand may be found at http://sites.google.com/site/stoloffd2/ ; a paper version appears in the appendices.   

Since Fall 2005, I have presented 20 papers at 7 national conferences, at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Comparative and International Education, EDUCAUSE, and the Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning.  I have also presented 14 papers at 12 regional conferences, including the annual conferences of the Computer Educators Computer Association, and the CSU Assessment, Faculty Research, and Academic Computing Conferences.   I also presented at Eastern on my online learning and teaching. 

Since Fall 2005, I have reviewed 20 reviews of texts and media in CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries.  I serve on the Editorial Boards of the International Journal on E-Learning and the Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia and have reviewed over 20 papers during the last 6 years.  I also serve as the Media Editor for the Connecticut AAUP Vanguard newsletter. 

Much of my publication energies have been channeled to the development of my own electronic portfolio, which may be seen at https://stolofd.wordpress.com/, and the development of instructional materials for the Eastern’s ePortfolio initiative.  I have had several false starts in the development of textbook on ePortfolio development. 

My professional growth has also been enriched through my participation as a member of the board of directors of the Connecticut Educators Computer Association and the UCONN chapter of Phi Delta Kappa.  My community participation as a member of Windham High School’s Governance Council, as a member of the Windham Region United Way, and as president of the board of director of Temple Bnai Israel has also enriched my professional development.

Conclusion

I have recently completed a report for Currents in Teaching and Learning, entitled “ePortfolios: Sisyphus in Academia”, that is under consideration for publication.  In this report, which appears in the paper documents, I discuss the challenges of studying and implementing practices that shift with changes in technology and educational trends.  In the past 6 year, I have in some ways changed professional emphases towards teaching more liberal arts courses, serving more in campus-wide settings, and developing more connections across the state and internationally.  I look forward to what the next 6 years bring. 

Appendix I:  Teaching and administrative assignments, Fall 2005 – Fall 2011

Courses	Semester, Sessions  (F=Fall, W=Wintersession, SP=Spring, SU=Summer)
EDU 101 – Teaching in the 21st Century	SP2006, SP2007 – at Hartford Public High School in the Teacher Cadet Program, SU2007-SU2011 – Summer Institute for Future Teachers
EDU 110 – Contemporary Issues in the Education of Children, a Tier I Social Sciences Liberal Arts course	F2009, F2010
EDU 301 – Field Experience	SP2008
EDU 357 – International and Cross-Cultural Education, a Tier II Cultural Perspectives Liberal Arts course	F2010,  SP2011, F2011, SP2011, SU2011
EDU 457 – International and Cross-Cultural Educational Experience (in Jamaica), a Tier II Cultural Perspectives Liberal Arts course	SP2011
EDU 490 – Internship	Fall 2008 – teaching assistant, LAP 130
EDU 553 – Computers in the Classroom and the Curriculum	F2005, SU2006, F2006, SU2007, F2007, SU2008, F2008, SU2009, F2009, SU2010, SU 2011
EDU 555 – Education and Society	SU2006, SU2007, SU2008, SU2009, SU2010
EDU 557 – International and Cross-Cultural Education	SU2011
EDU 570 – Capstone Seminar	F2008
EDU 577 – Educational Computing:  Theory and Practice	W2006, S2006, W2007, S2007, SU2008, W2009, SU2009, W2010, W2011, SU2011
EDU 580 – Productivity Tools in the Curriculum	SU2006, SU2007, SU2008
EDU 670 Workshop	SU2008
EDU 696  – Research and Readings:  Guided Independent Study	SU2006, SU2007, F2007, W2008, SP 2008, SU2008, F2008, F2009, F2010, SP2011, F2011
ENG 235 – Literature of the Bible	F2007 (0.75 FLCs), Fall 2008 (3 FLCs)
FYR 174 – Resource, Research and Response	F2009, F2010
LAP 130 – Comparative Religions	SP2008, SP2009, SP2010, SP2011
LAP 130 – Online Learning and Teaching:  Next Wave	SP2008
LAP 130 – Leading Edge Educational Technology	F2008, SP2009, SP2010, SP2011
LAP 430 – Liberal Arts Capstone Colloquium	SU2011
Administrative Assignments
EDUC 850 – Department Chairperson	F2005 – SU2008
EDUC 905 – President, University Senate	F2011
EDUC 917 – Director of Center for Educational Excellence	F2008 – F2011
EDU 950 – Special Assignment – Strategic Plan: ePortfolio Initiative	Fall 2009