Since the start of Spring 2013 semester I have been working with the Learning Edge Academic Program (LEAP) in collaboration with Talia Carroll, a PhD student in Higher Education, who has previously served as LEAP’s Mentor Coordinator. During this time I am serving as the Assessment and Program Evaluation intern. Our collaboration is a very casual one which has encouraged me to further develop self-management skills. I have also needed to find a new balance with a supervisor which I have not had before; where they are basically a peer and treat me as such, but also show the appropriate amount of respect and dedication to the project (CSA Learning Outcomes 4 and 3). So far this has been an area of growth for me, as it has challenged me to adapt to a new management style. I am excited to grow in this way because I know that throughout my career I will most likely not only encounter supervisors with different styles, but will also supervise many different types of people.
The fact that I would be able to work directly with assessment of a program is one of the reasons I was so interested in this internship opportunity. Throughout the first semester in the CSA program, the second year cohort advised us multiple times that we should get experience with assessment, and this opportunity allows me to do that (CSA Learning Outcome 6). One of the things we are assessing in LEAP is its effectiveness, does it have an impact on the educational and achievement outcomes of first time, first year students? (CSA Learning Outcome 2). I am also able to learn about, and collaborate with a functional area which I have not yet worked in and therefore learn more about the foundations of student affairs (CSA Learning Outcome 1). So far what I have learned about my experience with assessment is that I still have a lot to learn, which may be challenging since I experienced a great deal of difficulty in understanding the computer program SPSS for analyzing quantitative data. In this situation Talia has many friends and colleagues who are willing to assist us with SPSS or transcription, so I know that it has not, and will not be, as much of a challenge as it could have been for us.
Over the course of my internship so far we have explored various ways to assess LEAP, and what we have come up with is a mixed methods approach. Initially we were going to explore the program from an entirely quantitative perspective which meant controlling for many factors. This offered me an opportunity to look at the different influences which LEAP can have on various demographic groups of students (CSA Learning Outcome 5). As we explored an opportunity to apply for a grant, we also saw how enhancing the existing qualitative assessment of the program would be greatly beneficial (CSA Learning Outcome 6). This was challenging for me because I had already written sections of the grant proposal, when we were able to collaborate with Dr. Barbara Hong, a professor at Penn State Altoona about applying for the grant. While that meeting was extremely helpful it was also discouraging because we knew we had so many improvements to make on our project. It was necessary for us to reevaluate and reprioritize. We discussed it at length and decided to use our assessment this summer as a test trial to use as support for further exploration, for which we, or Talia, may consider applying for the grant again. The main goal of our project is to justify and improve the LEAP program through formal assessment. This involves managing various components of an IRB, analysis, and our grant proposal (CSA Learning Outcome 3). While this has been difficult, especially with the learning curve I am experiencing, I appreciate being submerged in the whole experience of this. I know that in a real career situation, I would be balancing these things with my other duties as well.
The fact that I would be able to work directly with assessment of a program is one of the reasons I was so interested in this internship opportunity. Throughout the first semester in the CSA program, the second year cohort advised us multiple times that we should get experience with assessment, and this opportunity allows me to do that (CSA Learning Outcome 6). One of the things we are assessing in LEAP is its effectiveness, does it have an impact on the educational and achievement outcomes of first time, first year students? (CSA Learning Outcome 2). I am also able to learn about, and collaborate with a functional area which I have not yet worked in and therefore learn more about the foundations of student affairs (CSA Learning Outcome 1). So far what I have learned about my experience with assessment is that I still have a lot to learn, which may be challenging since I experienced a great deal of difficulty in understanding the computer program SPSS for analyzing quantitative data. In this situation Talia has many friends and colleagues who are willing to assist us with SPSS or transcription, so I know that it has not, and will not be, as much of a challenge as it could have been for us.
Over the course of my internship so far we have explored various ways to assess LEAP, and what we have come up with is a mixed methods approach. Initially we were going to explore the program from an entirely quantitative perspective which meant controlling for many factors. This offered me an opportunity to look at the different influences which LEAP can have on various demographic groups of students (CSA Learning Outcome 5). As we explored an opportunity to apply for a grant, we also saw how enhancing the existing qualitative assessment of the program would be greatly beneficial (CSA Learning Outcome 6). This was challenging for me because I had already written sections of the grant proposal, when we were able to collaborate with Dr. Barbara Hong, a professor at Penn State Altoona about applying for the grant. While that meeting was extremely helpful it was also discouraging because we knew we had so many improvements to make on our project. It was necessary for us to reevaluate and reprioritize. We discussed it at length and decided to use our assessment this summer as a test trial to use as support for further exploration, for which we, or Talia, may consider applying for the grant again. The main goal of our project is to justify and improve the LEAP program through formal assessment. This involves managing various components of an IRB, analysis, and our grant proposal (CSA Learning Outcome 3). While this has been difficult, especially with the learning curve I am experiencing, I appreciate being submerged in the whole experience of this. I know that in a real career situation, I would be balancing these things with my other duties as well.