Community College: Reform to Support Real-World Learning

To improve post-secondary educational programs, policymakers and institutional leaders need a better understanding of how educators set learning goals, measure student learning, and build capacity for educating a diverse range of adult learners. SRI has contributed to this agenda in two ways: By developing and testing new systems that help postsecondary educators measure real world learning, and by developing and testing online methods that help faculty adopt real world instructional materials and teaching practices. This work has spanned community college programs in developmental education, academic transfer, and workforce training.

Publications

Getting on the Same Page using Scenario-Based Learning: An Alignment of Education and Industry Goals for Technician Education

This report examines how community college and industry experts rated a problem-based learning curriculum. The report indicates that industry experts and instructors diverge in their expectations about how "real-world," problem-based learning curriculum needs to be.

Topics: Assessment Design + Evaluation Community College: Transitions Community College: Reform to Support Real-World Learning
Domain-specific Assessment: What Foundational Concepts and Reasoning Skills are Community College Students Learning?

The Domain-Specific Assessment project developed a set of tools and assessment items that measure students’ capacity to apply knowledge rather than simply memorize vast amounts of it. An overview of the approach to the methodology is presented in this paper.

Topics: Assessment Design + Evaluation Community College: Transitions Community College: Reform to Support Real-World Learning School Improvement: Student Success
Global Skills for College Completion: Tools and Routines

Less than 30 percent of students complete an associates degree, and 60-80 percent need developmental education. How do we change this?

Topics: Community College: Transitions Community College: Reform to Support Real-World Learning Learning Technologies
Meeting Student Challenges to Innovative Instruction with Improved Assessment Techniques

Presentation of an R&D project focused on the assessment of project-based learning involving community college instructors, and engagement in some of the reflection activities that helped instructors identify and measure the skills taught in innovative instruction.

Topics: Assessment Design + Evaluation Community College: Transitions Community College: Reform to Support Real-World Learning School Improvement: Curriculum + Instruction Teacher Quality + Learning
21st Century Skills in STEM Workforce Training Assessments

What skills do tech employers seek? A new vision for teaching STEM tech education is posited.

Topics: 21st Century Skills Assessment Design + Evaluation Community College: Transitions Community College: Reform to Support Real-World Learning Science, Technology, Engineering + Mathematics Education Technology Opportunities

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