In general, “Assessment” is the means by which we measure not only the achievement of student learning outcomes, but ideally, the impact of those outcomes on our students as it applies to success in their personal, professional, and civic lives as life-long learners. In parallel, “Indicators” are similar, if not synonymous, for measuring the effectiveness of sustainability-based systems thinking as they apply to people, businesses, and community. This section of the Curriculum, Research and Pedagogy webpage is for sharing models that bring these together. In other words, what are the “Assessment Models” being used and/or experimented with on our campus that assess student learning outcomes as they relate to all contexts of sustainability-based courses, curriculum, independent study, service learning, research experience, internships, etc., in traditional, as well as non-traditional delivery systems (i.e., web-based/online and other distance delivery systems).
As well, this section is devoted to staying abreast of state-of-the-art sustainability-based assessment indicators and systems currently in use in higher education. For initial grounding in such and awareness of the nationwide conversations on this topic, please have a look at the AASHE Blog/Discussion site for Education-Research, especially the Curriculum site.