Overview
The overall goal of SEISMIC Phase Two is to promote greater adoption of equity-oriented assessment practices in large introductory STEM courses across a range of institutions and departments. To achieve this goal, we will support project teams in piloting revised assessments in STEM courses across the collaboration and evaluating their efficacy. There are four types of project teams: Implementation, Community, Support, and Research. To join a project team, please use the sign up button.
Implementation Teams
In the classroom
Participants implement alternative assessment/grading methods directly in classes.
Current Teams
- Growth-Oriented Testing
- STEM Proficiency-based Assessment Resource Collaboration (SPARC)
- Mastery Grading in Math
- Two Stage Exams – not currently active
Community Teams
In the classroom
Participants support one another in exploring various alternative assessment/grading methods.
Current Teams
- Chemistry
- Labs
- Biology and Anatomy & Physiology – not currently active
- Physics – not currently active
Support Teams
Outside of the classroom
Participants increase institutional and SEISMIC capacity for alternative assessment reform.
Current Teams
- Alternative Assessments, Campus Engagement, and Incentives
- Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTL)
Research Teams
Outside of the classroom
Participants examine the impacts and constraints of alternative assessment/grading methods through research.
Current Teams
- Research, Alignment, and Data (RAD)
- Research on Educational Success Through Academic Retake Trajectories (the RESTART Collaborative)
Info on Active Project Teams
Implementation Teams
| Team | Vision (to be edited) |
|---|---|
| Growth-Oriented Testing |
We envision a new paradigm of student-centered assessment in introductory STEM courses that supports:
The mission of this team is to implement and assess Growth-Oriented Testing in introductory STEM courses. To grow a community of transformation that will change the assessment of student knowledge in introductory STEM courses. |
| SPARC: STEM Proficiency-based Assessment and Resources Collaboration | We envision a multi-institutional STEM teaching community that collaboratively designs clear learning objectives, meaningful standards, and aligned assessments to support transparent, equitable, and learning-centered education. As part of the SEISMIC 2.0 Collaboration, SPARC leverages the diversity of its member institutions, disciplines, courses, and student populations to better understand how standards-based and proficiency-based assessment practices can be adapted, implemented, and evaluated across a wide range of educational contexts. |
| Mastery Grading in Math | Learn from each other regarding learning objectives used, assessment questions used, general approaches to mastery grading in classes, and convincing others in departments to implement mastery grading. The team will meet 6-8 times per year to workshop specific content areas in the context of mastery grading. |
| Two Stage Exams – not currently active | Looking to implement two stage exams in various contexts and collect both grade data and student perceptions data. |
Community Teams
| Team | Vision / Goals |
|---|---|
| Chemistry | Establish a community of practice to advance alternative approaches to grading and assessment in chemistry education. Members will engage with research literature, learn from experts, and implement alternative assessment strategies in their own teaching contexts. Through regular sharing of successes and challenges, the group will build collective expertise and support continuous improvement. Additionally, the group will explore the state of chemistry grading practices and assessments among SEISMIC institutions, aided by an AI tool developed by the University of Maryland, which will enable comparison of practices across instructors, course types, and institutions. |
| Labs | Empowering educators and students through innovative, evidence-based alternative grading practices in STEM laboratories. |
| Biology and Anatomy & Physiology (A&P) – not currently active | Individuals will be testing out different alternative assessments this fall as case studies, then will report back to the team to share insights. Subgroups may form to support specific implementation, and the team overall is looking to share learning objectives for exams. |
| Physics – not currently active |
Team was proposed but did not meet at the Kick Off Meeting, so there are no initial ideas to share. Individuals may sign up for this team if interested in the topic.
|
Support Teams
| Team | Vision / Goals |
|---|---|
| Alternative Assessments, Campus Engagement, and Incentives |
Three focus areas
|
| CTL: Centers for Teaching and Learning | A collaborative space for amplifying CTL expertise. One possible product – the creation of a central resource document for alternative assessment implementation. |
Research Teams
| Team | Vision / Goals |
|---|---|
| RAD: Research, Alignment, and Data | Many ideas on research across SEISMIC, including summarizing alternative assessment practices by discipline, examining learning objectives for intro chemistry, and studying the impact on students from alternative assessments. |
| RESTART Collaborative: Research on Educational Success Through Academic Retake Trajectories | Examining students who repeat intro courses (including examining their strategies, perspectives on assessments, etc.). |
Expectations for Teams
Expectations for ALL teams
- Work toward SEISMIC Phase Two’s overall goal: To promote greater adoption of equity-oriented assessment practices in large introductory STEM courses across a range of institutions and departments
- Maintain documentation on team participants, activities, and outcomes
- Attend and present work at 2028 SEISMIC conference
- Be inclusive and follow SEISMIC’s community guidelines
- Make progress!
Additional Expectations for IMPLEMENTATION and COMMUNITY teams
- Follow the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle to structure work (Langley et al., 2009)
- Provide info on current and changed assessment schemes for participating instructors’ classes to SEISMIC Central
We also hope several teams will
- Seek additional funding
- Attend and present on work at national conferences
- Prepare open-access, peer-reviewed publications to show that the assessment practices we recommend at the end of this project are well-tested in varied contexts, logistically feasible for large classes, and can appropriately demonstrate learning for introductory STEM students
- Share code for developing data reports showing course-level outcomes
SEISMIC Resources Available to Teams
Financial Resources
Up to two co-leads per team will receive $2,000 per year for leading their team. In addition, teams may submit funding proposals to SEISMIC to support team activities, including project retreats, conference presentations, publication fees, and more. Click on the button below to learn more about funding available to teams and to apply.
Non-Financial Resources
Teams receive access to networking opportunities, project management support, and grant-writing support just by being part of SEISMIC. Please reach out to nitaked@umich.edu to inquire about other forms of support.
References
Langley, G. J., Moen, R. D., Nolan, K. M., Nolan, T. W., Norman, C. L., & Provost, L. P. (2009). The improvement guide: A practical approach to enhancing organizational performance (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.