The National Project was designed to assess and showcase 15 outstanding college programs across the nation that have incorporated computer word-processing in freshman composition courses. Although a number of studies have generated considerable excitement for computers as teaching aids, many composition teachers are still uncertain about how to use computers in the classroom. Based on research and student testing at these 15 sites, the project gathered data on student learning and instructional methodologies. It also published a monograph on computers and college writing, drawing upon experiences from the participating colleges. The Seminars gather faculty and students to examine ways of teaching and learning at Harvard.
Topics range from one-minute papers to the benefits of group study.
Realizing the need to persuade faculty of the value of this reform program, researchers in the Teaching Center undertook a carefully controlled assessment of the results of the new program in comparison with the more traditional one, looking at a wide range of outcomes and using many forms of assessment. A comparative assessment of Miami's disciplinary, distribution-based liberal arts program and the interdisciplinary approach of Miami's Western College yielded a detailed picture of students and the learning process, as well as further evidence of the complexity of assessment. The Development of College-Wide Measures of Progress Toward Goals of General Education Devising assessment instruments for general education skills requires an especially close understanding and agreement among faculty on what constitutes evidence of those skills. As Fredonia faculty worked on the elaboration of their own measures of a liberal arts education, they found themselves using their liberal arts training to become experts in assessment. Nationally normed examinations provide an unsatisfactory assessment of student learning in the major since they cannot be responsive to an institution's particular circumstances and conceptualizations of the curriculum.