Goodwin named a Teagle Assessment Scholar

Sarah Webster Goodwin, professor of English and chair of the College's Assessment Steering Committee, has been named a Teagle Assessment Scholar, a designation that puts her and the College squarely into the national discussion about assessment.

Teagle Assessment Scholars are selected by Wabash College's Center for Inquiry for their strong interest in using evidence to improve student learning and for having the knowledge, technical skills, social prowess and political savvy necessary to use that evidence to strengthen the quality of liberal arts programs. The three-year development program aims to help new scholars develop their ability to understand and apply different processes for gathering evidence of students' learning. The scholars work collaboratively with other Teagle Scholars and with faculty, staff, students and administrators at their own institutions to identify actions that will improve student learning. The Teagle Scholars also visit other colleges to offer advice and support. 

"Sarah's leadership of the Assessment Steering Committee has been demonstrated by her great energy, enthusiasm and persistence and she fully deserves the recognition of her work that this designation represents," said Muriel Poston, acting vice president for academic affairs. "Skidmore College will benefit from her experience as we begin the assessment of the recently adopted student learning goals and, via her efforts, we look forward to working more closely with the Center for Inquiry and with other Teagle Scholars."

As one component of the program, Goodwin will collaborate with a group of faculty and staff at Skidmore to design, implement and evaluate a three-year assessment project. A team of other Teagle Assessment Scholars will offer advice and feedback and conduct a site visit as the project evolves. The project's focus will be a multifaceted assessment of the College's goal to teach students to communicate effectively. "This is a project that our Committee on Educational Policy and Planning had already hoped to undertake," Goodwin says, and the Teagle support will help move it forward.

The real value of the Teagle designation, says Goodwin, who recently attended a three-day Teagle workshop, is that it "gives us the opportunity to find out more about what other colleges are doing in meeting the challenges of research in student learning and to bring best practices back to Skidmore."