1. Creating a Culture of
Evidence
How do we know?
What we should do!
EDHE 606
The Learning Centered Community College
Morgan State University

2. The Learning College...
 Creates substantive change in individual learners
 Engages learners as full partners in the learning
process
 Creates and offers as many options for learning as
possible
 Assists learners to form and participate in
collaborative learning activities
 Defines the roles of learning facilitators by the needs
of the learners
 Succeeds only when improved and expanded
learning can be documented for its learners.
From: O’Banion, T. (1997) A learning college for the 21st century. ACE/Oryx Press:Phoenix, AZ.

3. The Learning College
succeeds only when improved
and expanded learning can be
documented for its learners
 What does this learner know?
 What can this learner do?

4. Two Key Questions
 How does this decision, action, solution,
improve student learning?
 How do we know this decision, action,
solution, improves student learning?

5. Thinking
 What is your institution’s vision?
 Are you achieving your vision?
 How do you know? What is your
culture of evidence?

6. Building a Culture of Evidence:
The Complexities
 Requires resources to do well
 Long and tedious process
 Must be:
– Deliberate
– Organized
– Focused
 Learning Outcomes Assessment
– Faculty driven
 Institutional Buy-in and Support
– Faculty
– Administration
– Trustees

7. Asking “Why do it?”
 Mandated
 Provides credibility
– Internal
– External
 Makes us look good
 Makes us feel good
 Forces us to change
 Continuous quality improvement
 Improved and expanded student learning

8. The Dilemma:
Institutional Change and
Transformation
 Thinking differently about how to collect
the data
 Behaving differently by using the data to
make positive changes
 Changing deliberately
 Orchestrating the change by using a
planned strategy:
– John Kotter: Leading Change
– Eight strategies

9. The Culture of
Evidence

10. The Learning College
 Creates powerful learning environments in
which students are engaged as active
partners and have responsibility for their
own learning.
– Creates new architectures to support learning
(learning communities, redefining faculty load,
articulating credit and non-credit experiences)
– Forms cross-constituent teams in which roles
and boundaries are blurred in order to promote
student success and determine new directions
in learning.

11. The Learning College
 Creates powerful learning environments in
which students are engaged as active
partners and have responsibility for their
own learning.
– Offers anyway, anywhere, anytime learning options that
fit the learning styles/ needs of all learners
– Reinforces, recognizes and rewards successful learning
– Provides extensive staff development focused on
learning so that all are viewed as learners
– Encourages student involvement in planning and
governance
– Produces evidence of student learning

12. The Learning College
 Believes all students can learn
– Provides support for all learners
 Student support services
 Technical support services
– Collects and synthesizes outcomes data on
participation rates, pass rates, retention rates,
GPAs, graduation rates and transfer rates,
success in next course,to name a few
– Produces zero variance in academic
performance among racial groups with
high achievement for all

13. The Learning College
 Produces continuous reflection on
learning and learning outcomes
– Vision and mission statements
– The language of learning
– Institutional effectiveness system
– Exploring new architectures
– Annual operating plan that encompasses
all activities with measurable objectives
at all levels
– Budget resource allocation and budget
process that are reflective of intended
measurable outcomes at all levels

14. The Learning College
 Produces continuous reflection on learning
and learning outcomes
– Outcomes-based curriculum across the
institution
 Student evaluation of courses
 Outcomes assessment at course level
 Outcomes assessment at program level
 Transcripted skills

15. The Learning College
 Involves everyone in the institution in
learning and leadership in learning
– Appointment, hiring evaluation, projection for
everyone to reflect evidence of a commitment
to learning
– Orientation of new faculty, administrators,
board members, staff members in terms of
their roles in learning
– Technology training available for everyone
– Participation of faculty, administrators, staff
and students in shared governance

16. The Learning College
 Involves everyone in the institution in
learning and leadership in learning
– All areas of the college receive same
opportunities and acknowledgement for
contributions to learning
– The institution produces a body of evidence
supporting learning outcomes in the non-
cognitive/affective domain
– The institution provides on-going opportunities
for development and leadership surrounding
learning lead by a diverse body of
stakeholders.

17. Final Thoughts
 Ifyou don’t know where you are
going, how will you know when you
get there?
– Vision and planning
 What if we are not as good as we
think we are?
– Learning Outcomes Assessment cycle
 What if we make mistakes?
– Risk-free philosophy