P41 - I Really Should Change My Mind About These Vegetables: A Signature Assignment with Social Responsibility in Mind

Abstract

Objective: Describe an exercise in an undergraduate nutrition class that meets Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) social responsibility objectives and is assessed using a rubric adapted from the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) VALUES rubrics. Target Audience: The audience is educators interested in embedded assignments and AACU VALUES rubrics for assessing written student work. Theory, Prior Research, Rationale: Even as Every Student Succeeds Act [ESSA] 2015 addressed standardized testing as an accountability measure, it sparked interest in authentic or direct evaluation of student performance in higher education. Through signature assignments universities, engage faculty in assessment design and generate common data across diverse courses and multiple disciplines. Description of Course and Curriculum: Principles of Nutrition is a large enrollment undergraduate course that meets THECB social responsibility objectives including intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities. During summer 2017, faculty attended a LEAP Texas Signature Assignment Institute and worked across disciplines to create student learning experiences that demonstrated knowledge acquisition and real-world application. The goal was to produce assignments that tested proficiency without relying on standardized testing. The resulting nutrition signature assignment, I Really Should Change My Mind About These Vegetables, was launched in Fall 2017. Evaluation: Prior to writing a 500-word Change My Mind About These Vegetables reasoned statement, students engaged in Least Likely Vegetable discussions that demonstrated growth in food knowledge and self-reflection concerning the personal and social value of vegetables in the diet. Subsequently a university social responsibility rubric was used to score statements where student described the influence that sharing vegetable likes and dislikes had on personal rules and biases. Using a standard rubric allowed for both assessment at the class level and aggregation of multi-class performance data at the university level. Conclusions and Implications: Signature assignments enhance teaching and learning and contribute to university analytic studies on student success in achieving identified learning outcomes. Funding: None.