Partnering With Students for Insights to Institution-Wide Learning Outcomes

Abstract

At a private, liberal arts university, our goal is to foster a culture wherein assessment is an instrument to reduce disparities in student success. Empowering students to participate in planning assessment and generating findings is a suggested equity-minded practice (Montenegro & Jankowski 2020). During the Spring 2023 semester, we recruited and trained a team of four Student Partners in Assessment (SPAs). Complementing Pacific’s quantitative assessment of critical thinking, the inaugural SPA team completed a qualitative research project examining students’ perceived opportunities and challenges for developing critical thinking skills. Our team met weekly, and SPAs worked 4-8 paid hours weekly. We first taught SPAs about learning outcomes and assessment: generally, and at Pacific. They then explored possible research questions related to critical thinking. While introducing qualitative research methods, we simultaneously guided the team in choosing a research question and data collection method. The SPAs developed a survey and analyzed students’ responses. They constructed themes and recommendations emphasizing how accepting new challenges helps develop critical thinking, and how physical and mental health and a trusted learning environment set a foundation for accepting challenges. SPAs shared their findings at Pacific’s annual assessment conference and distributed a paper brochure and digital resources on campus. With current and future SPA teams, we aim to improve transparency in university-wide assessment processes and expand how students’ experiences inform assessment practices and recommendations. As we improve how we recruit and train student partners, we will continue learning how this partnership structure can serve students and varied institutional goals.