| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.19 |
| Liaison | Ian Johnson |
| Submission Date | July 14, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Colorado College
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 4.00 |
Ian
Johnson Sustainability Director Office of Sustainability |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Does the institution conduct an assessment of the sustainability literacy of its students (i.e. an assessment focused on student knowledge of sustainability topics and challenges)?:
Yes
Which of the following best describes the literacy assessment? The assessment is administered to::
A subset of students or a sample that may not be representative of the predominant student body
Which of the following best describes the structure of the assessment? The assessment is administered as a::
Standalone evaluation without a follow-up assessment of the same cohort or representative samples
A copy of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment(s):
A sample of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment or the website URL where the assessment tool may be found:
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A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:
The Lectical Ecological Stewardship Assessment (LESA) is being developed in a partnership between Colorado College (Professor Howard Drossman) and Lectica, Inc. (Dr. Theo Dawson and Shanti Gaia). Three beta test versions have been developed for elementary school students, high school students, and adults (including college students). Each version includes three open-ended dilemmas (forest use, swamps, and climate change) followed by five open-ended response prompts that are coded and analyzed with a new developmental scoring scheme (Lectical Assessment scale). The assessment is being tested for three different age groups, as described below.
A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :
The college-level test has been piloted on 31 students and three graduates over three years (2014-2016). The assessments have been administered in four different college classes:
As an extra credit assignment for 10 students in Sustainable Development (LESA 1; 2014).
As a required assignment for 5 students in Environmental Education (LESA 1; 2014)
As a required assignment for 9 students and 3 Fellows enrolled in the Teaching and Research in Environmental Education Semester (LESA 2; 2015)
As a required assignment for 7 students enrolled in the Teaching and Research in Environmental Education Semester (LESA 2; 2016)
A 5th grade version of LESA has been tested since 2014:
64 5th grade students form Columbine Elementary School (v1.0; AY 2014-15) (spring)
74 5th grade students form Columbine Elementary School (v 2.0; AY 2015-16) (fall & spring)
74 5th grade students form Columbine Elementary School (v 2.0; AY 2016-17) (fall & spring)
A high school version of LESA has been tested since 2015:
80 high school students form Tesla EOS (v 2.0; AY 2015-16) (fall)
80 high school students form Tesla EOS (v 2.0; AY 2015-16) (fall)
A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s), including a description of any measurable changes over time:
The two versions of the College level test have been coded by a senior thesis student to look for how differences in questions changed the nature of affective responses. We are currently developing a lexical dictionary so that we can assign developmental scores to all performances. A complete scoring system will likely not be finished for 2-4 years depending n funding for the project, but ongoing research is in progress to refine the questions, code responses to developmental level, and gain enough responses to provide a developmental score.
We have presented preliminary work on the 5th grade assessment in a conference proceedings, which will soon be published in the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice:
Drossman, H., Gaia, S., Dawson, T., Development of an Integral-Motivated Lectical® Ecological Stewardship Assessment, Integral Theory Conference, Sonoma State University, CA, 2015.
Optional Fields
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Howard Drossman's research focuses on developing sustainability literacy assessments which assess not only knowledge about sustainability concepts, but also a sense of environmental ethic. However, the assessment is extensive and expensive to administer and score. Therefore, it has been used in a limited capacity, e.g. for select classes and thesis projects.
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.