A Comparison of Experimental Designs for Assessment and Research in Higher Education

Jack T. Tessier, Nana-Yaw Andoh, Kristin DeForest, Matthew W. Juba, Akira Odani, John J. Padovani, Elizabeth F. Sova, Lisa M. Tessier

Abstract


Assessment continues to rise in importance along with the scholarship of teaching and learning. Educators must, therefore, choose among a range of experimental designs to make these quantitative measurements of student learning. We compared three different study designs for a an assessment of embedding sustainability across the campus: comparing results to a pre-determined goal, pre-semester vs. post-semester without control group, and pre-semester vs. post-semester with control group. Patterns in student success varied among the study designs, with pre-post with control being the most reliable results, but comparing student knowledge and appreciation of sustainability to the pre-set goals was also valuable. We recommend that educators employ both the pre-post with control along with comparing learning to a goal whenever possible when conducting assessment or education research.


Keywords


education research, research design, scholarship of teaching and learning, sustainability, undergraduate education

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References


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