Praise for Using Quality Benchmarks for Assessing and Developing Undergraduate Programs "This welcome volume provides discipline-friendly, carefully crafted frameworks for focusing faculty and staff on the dimensions that matter to student learning and institutional effectiveness." —George D. Kuh, Chancellor's Professor and director, Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research "A welcome contrast to narrow, mechanical views of assessment, this volume provides a comprehensive model for academic program improvement. Readers will find a powerful framework, flexible tools, and a human touch that brings the whole process to life." —Pat Hutchings, former vice president, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching "Comprehensive in its scope, detailed in its research and analysis, practical in its examples and recommendations, this book provides a refreshingly developmental approach to program assessment and improvement." —Timothy Riordan, associate provost, Alverno College

“Assessment on college campuses has a sordid history, and it is fairly simple to find someone with a traumatic tale to tell. It is wise to respect that that reputation is deserved.” “How do you modify the inner workings and culture of a massive institution with minimal resources and even less authority (other than GE course approvals), and thousands and thousands of talented people busy doing other things?”“The road to departmental assessment can seem both dramatic and apocalyptic, especially if one’s departmental ‘centre cannot hold,’ and purpose falls apart. The Department of English and Linguistics is presently on this journey, slouching towards its own revelations of mission and fulfillment of purpose.” “I have become more optimistic about the potential value of the process, even if some of my initial skepticism remains. This skepticism, however, has been valuable, forcing me to think in more concrete ways about what I do in the classroom.”As these excerpts show, this is no conventional book about assessment. It presents the unvarnished first-person accounts of fourteen faculty and administrators about how they grappled, and engaged, with assessment and how – despite misgivings and an often-contentious process – they were able to gain the collaboration of their peers as the benefits for student learning became evident.This is a book for skeptical faculty, for those who have been tasked to spearhead their institution’s call to create a culture of assessment; and, on campuses where assessment has been widely accepted and implemented, for those who now need to ensure this commitment will endure.For all these audiences, this book offers valuable advice, strategies, models and ideas.

The Oxford Handbook of Undergraduate Psychology Education is dedicated to providing comprehensive coverage of teaching, pedagogy, and professional issues in psychology. The Handbook is designed to help psychology educators at each stage of their careers, from teaching their first courses and developing their careers to serving as department or program administrators. The goal of the Handbook is to provide teachers, educators, researchers, scholars, and administrators in psychology with current, practical advice on course creation, best practices in psychology pedagogy, course content recommendations, teaching methods and classroom management strategies, advice on student advising, and administrative and professional issues, such as managing one's career, chairing the department, organizing the curriculum, and conducting assessment, among other topics. The primary audience for this Handbook is college and university-level psychology teachers (at both two and four-year institutions) at the assistant, associate, and full professor levels, as well as department chairs and other psychology program administrators, who want to improve teaching and learning within their departments. Faculty members in other social science disciplines (e.g., sociology, education, political science) will find material in the Handbook to be applicable or adaptable to their own programs and courses.

Empirical Research in Teaching and Learning: Contributions from Social Psychology draws upon the latest empirical research and empirically-based theories from social psychology to inform the scholarship of teaching and learning. Provides an accessible theoretical grounding in social psychological principles and addresses specific empirical evidence drawn from teaching and learning contexts Features concrete strategies for use in the classroom setting Includes contributions from experts in both social psychology and the scholarship of teaching and learning

Good scientific research depends on critical thinking at least as much as factual knowledge; psychology is no exception to this rule. And yet, despite the importance of critical thinking, psychology students are rarely taught how to think critically about the theories, methods, and concepts they must use. This book shows students and researchers how to think critically about key topics such as experimental research, statistical inference, case studies, logical fallacies, and ethical judgments. Using updated research findings and new insights, this volume provides a comprehensive overview of what critical thinking is and how to teach it in psychology. Written by leading experts in critical thinking in psychology, each chapter contains useful pedagogical features, such as critical-thinking questions, brief summaries, and definitions of key terms. It also supplies descriptions of each chapter author's critical-thinking experience, which evidences how critical thinking has made a difference to facilitating career development.

The concepts of psychological literacy and the psychologically literate citizen promise to invigorate a new global approach to psychology education. They pose a basic question: What attributes and capabilities should undergraduate psychology majors acquire? Many psychological organizations have defined psychological literacy by guidelines and lists of student learning outcomes, but although psychology educators across the globe have been working towards helping students to acquire these attributes over the past 50 years, educators have only recently explicitly delineated attributes and learning outcomes, and sought to develop appropriate learning, teaching, and assessment strategies, including whole program approaches. The contributors to this volume argue that psychological literacy is the most important outcome of an undergraduate psychology education and that psychologically literate citizens use their knowledge of psychology to problem-solve in ethical and socially responsible ways that directly benefit their communities. In this book, a rich variety of international perspectives contribute to the development of the two key concepts of psychological literacy and the psychologically literate citizen. Authors provide practical guidance for classroom psychology educators, as well as curriculum developers and reviewers. Ultimately, they make the case for a paradigm shift in psychology education.

Efficiency, focus, and accountability have become the defining standards for contemporary higher educational leaders. Situating strategic planning and budgeting within the organization and administration of higher education institutions, Organization and Administration in Higher Education provides effective and proven strategies for today’s change-oriented leaders. Bringing together distinguished administrators from two-year, four-year, public, and private colleges and universities, this volume provide both practical and effective guidance on the intricacies of the institutional structure, its functional activities, and contingency planning. Coverage includes: Key leadership positions and expectations Faculty and student governance Accreditation and assessment Budget processes Curriculum alignment Philanthropic efforts Human resource development Legal considerations Strategic planning Crisis management Effective planning and administration can elevate an institution in critical ways, by enhancing recruitment and retention, strengthening student life, increasing outside support and private giving, and advancing a reputation for excellence. This practical and authoritative guide orients future and current administrators to the major areas of an academic institution and will assist higher education administrators in leading their institutions to excellence.