Talking Stick - September/October 2017 - 38

o create this new double-loop
assessment model, I built upon
Trudy W. Banta and Charles
Blaich's "closing the assessment
loop" concept and enriched it with
the double-loop concept that Chris
Argyris relates to organizational
learning. By adopting this double-loop
assessment model, assessment staff
can devise plans that are more than a
chronological list of surveys and focus
groups. In this model, assessment
plans become a constant cycle of less
intrusive quantitative data collection
and more widespread qualitative data
collection at the lowest levels of the
organization. In this revised model,
a department of residence life begins
with its mission, vision, and goals as
the context for an assessment framework. Staff then generate outcomes,
which could be interpreted as "What
should students gain by living in the
residence halls?"
Once those outcomes are established, staff develop strategies to
achieve them. Strategies can include
programs conducted by the resident assistants, individual meetings
between residents and resident assistants, bulletin boards, educational
conduct meetings, and other options. As they carry out those strategies, staff collect data. Someone in
the organization - usually the person
responsible for departmental assessment - analyzes the data and interprets the results, which culminates in
a report.
In many institutions, this is where
assessment ends, resulting, unfortunately, only in a report that sits on
a shelf or on a computer hard drive.
Stopping the assessment process here
does not take full advantage of all the
benefits that assessment can offer.
One way to leverage assessment
results is to create an assessment
cycle that closes the "assessment
loop," according to Banta and Blaich.
Doing so means compiling the results
and providing them to the people and
programs that can benefit from the in-

TALKING STICK

BYByADOPTING
adopting this
THIS
DOUBLEdouble-loop
LOOP
ASSESSMENT
assessment
MODEL,
model,
ASSESSMENT
assessment
STAFF CAN DEVISE
staff can devise
PLANS THAT ARE
plans that are
MORE THAN A
more than a
CHRONOLOGICAL
chronological
list
LIST
OF SURVEYS
of surveys
AND
FOCUS and
focus groups.
GROUPS.
formation regarding what worked and
what did not work, as well as relevant
information to improve execution of
the strategy. This concept elevates the
assessment process from one that is
linear (execute strategies, collect data,
analyze data, and interpret results)
to one that is circular and focused
on continuous improvement. This
approach requires that staff at even
the lowest levels of the organization
be full participants in data collection,
whether qualitative or quantitative.
According to Argyris, the loop
Banta and Blaich created addresses
"single-loop learning." Creating this
loop is important because it is a way
for the organization to learn from
previous experience and apply that
learning to future actions. The process of closing the loop leans toward
efficiency, meaning the organization
can detect and correct mistakes more
quickly. Argyris explains singleloop learning using the analogy of a
thermostat. The thermostat receives
information (learns) about the current temperature, compares it to
the desired temperature, and then
turns the heat either on or off to get
closer to the desired temperature.

The thermostat never questions the
desired temperature, but rather works
to reach the desired temperature most
efficiently.
Argyris cautions that single-loop
learning has its limitations; for
example, an organization can become highly efficient at activities not
checked against desired outcomes. In
other words, engaging only in singleloop learning will not allow an organization to engage in innovative and
creative endeavors. Banta and Blaich
describe the pitfalls of single-loop
learning, saying that the "need for
'just one more' survey, focus group,
or portfolio review may be wise, but
it can also be a way of postponing
action and preserving the status quo."
However, another option is available.
Double-loop learning occurs when
the basic foundations of an organization's goals, outcomes, and strategies are questioned. Continuing the
example of the home thermostat, in
double-loop learning not only would
the thermostat efficiently compare
current temperature to the desired
temperature and then make adjustments, it would also continue to check
the assumption of the stated desired
temperature.
In residence life, double-loop
learning requires an analysis of
whether the outcomes are still
relevant or if new trends emerged
from the data that would require the
addition, revision, or elimination of
an outcome. The single-loop portion of the model collects data nearly
continuously through a variety of
activities such as student identification card swipes, programming
forms, one-on-one meetings with
residents, and more. However, at
least once a year, the collected data
and the stated outcomes should be
compared. This process is analogous
to the set point of the thermostat. If
process outcomes are altered through
this comparison, then the department would re-examine whether the
strategies were still appropriate by

Talking Stick - September/October 2017

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