Putting students at the center: A critical-interpretive approach to assessment in the introductory communication course

ABSTRACT

Dominant approaches to assessment have often limited students’ ability to share their perspectives on course experiences. Further, assessment approaches are often disconnected from pedagogical practice and reinforce the status quo. In this article, we outline our critical-interpretive approach to a four-year cycle of assessments examining instructor feedback in an introductory communication course. After each assessment, we adapted how we trained instructors to provide feedback. Ultimately, we utilized our assessment findings to reimagine curricula in ways that incorporate an equity-minded, iterative, and dialogic approach to provide feedback to students.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Dr. Lindsey Anderson, Dr. Raphael Mazzone, Dr. Victoria Ledford, Dr. Jeannette Iannacone, Dr. Alyson Farzad-Phillips, and Dr. Matthew Salzano for their contributions to the projects we have overviewed in this article. This work would not have been possible without them.