Assessment Immersion Track: Assessment in Practice
December 4-7, 2008
Nashville, Tennessee

Invitation to Apply

ACRL’s Institute for Information Literacy (IIL) is pleased to announce a new addition to its popular Immersion program!  The Assessment Immersion Track: Assessment in Practice is intended for librarians active in teaching and learning and those with leadership roles for information literacy program development who want to improve their knowledge and practice of both classroom and program assessment. 

Applications for the program are now being accepted; the deadline to apply is June 2, 2008.

CURRICULUM
This program will approach assessment from a learning-centered perspective, building upon the philosophy of “assessment-as-learning,” as developed at Alverno College .  Formative assessment will be emphasized to explore its role in instructional and curricular design, in librarian/faculty skill development, and in development of Information Literacy programs.  Summative assessment tools will be explored along with strategies for determining their appropriate application. 

Participants will work individually and cooperatively to extend their conceptual understanding of assessment and to expand their toolkit of practical assessment methods. Participants in this program will emerge with a broader understanding of assessment and how to use assessment as an important tool to guide evidence-based classroom, curriculum and program development.  During the program, participants will develop a plan for their assessment activities which will form the basis for future engagement with these issues both individually and as a leader of IL initiatives at their institutions.
 
The success of this program depends on developing an engaged, supportive learning community. The faculty and participants will co-create this environment, thus, self-motivated, experienced librarians are encouraged to apply.  The program will last for 3.5 days and offer a mixture of structured content sessions and unstructured segments in which participants deepen their experiences with the program content in relation both to assessing classroom learning (with particular attention to the specific challenges of library instruction contexts) and to assessing IL programmatic efforts. 

While this program’s content will build upon the Assessment curriculum presented in the Teacher and Program tracks of the Immersion Program, previous participation in Immersion is not required.  Participation is limited to 45 to ensure an environment that fosters group interaction and active participation.  The program is intended for individuals who have at least five years instruction experience in an academic library; preference will be given to individuals with five years experience.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
The Assessment Immersion Track is based on two crucial assumptions: (1) that assessment requires us to clearly articulate our goals, whether those are expressed in terms of the learning that we want students to achieve or the impacts/outcomes that our programs will accomplish, and (2) assessment is a developmental process critical to fostering instructional and program development as much as, or more than, instructional or program evaluation.  After the program, participants will be able to:

• Define assessment in terms of student learning in order to understand its relationship to good teaching, library viability, and change
• Formulate a learning-centered philosophy of assessment in order to inform development of information literacy program elements
• Explore and utilize multiple modes of assessment in order to build a culture of evidence upon which to base programmatic development and change
• Critically examine a variety of assessment techniques and methodologies in order to evaluate them for application in your institutional setting
• Examine the leadership role of the library in a collaborative IL assessment effort in order to build support and trust among the stakeholder groups at your institution

LOCATION AND DATES
The program will be offered December 4 - 7, 2008, at the Scarritt Bennett Center in Nashville, Tennessee.   The Scarritt Bennett Center is located in the heart of Nashville within walking distance to Music Row, Vanderbilt University, area shops and restaurants.

COSTS
ACRL Members: $1,350
Non-ACRL Members: $1,450

Registration fees include:

• tuition and extensive notebook of program materials and resources
• access to Moodle course
• private electronic discussion list of all participants and faculty
• all meals during the program
• twice-daily refreshment breaks

ACCOMMODATIONS
Participants will be housed in sleeping rooms on the Scarritt Bennett Center campus.  Most rooms have twin beds; a limited number of double rooms are available.  A bath is shared between two guest rooms.  Rooms include a TV and Internet access and will cost approximately $65-70 dollars per night.

APPLICATION
The deadline to apply to the Assessment Immersion track has passed.

NOTIFICATION
Notifications of acceptance will be issued by late July 2008.

Questions should be directed to:
Margot Sutton Conahan
ACRL
50 E. Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611
mconahan@ala.org 
312-280-2522