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Developing Measureable Learning Outcomes Articulating learning outcomes are an important part of developing a good syllabus. Well articulated learning outcomes help to eliminate any fuzziness and provide a way to evaluate whether your students have learned what you wanted your students to learn. Developing a Common Language: The terms Goals, Objectives, Competencies, Learning Outcomes and Proficiencies are sometimes used interchangeably but are actually each a bit different: Goals are what you hope to achieve, but can also include aims outside of the classroom. You may have a goal to provide students with an understanding of the interaction of energy and matter, but you could also have a goal to complete a research project or publish a paper. Outcomes are the end result rather than the process (how will your students be different because of their learning experience?). At the end of the semester, you may have an outcome that your students “classify ionic, molecular, and metallic substances according to their properties.” Objectives are the means to the end result. For example, if you wish your students to explain scientific concepts in their own writing, then an objective might be to have them keep a journal reflecting on their experiences or to write an essay. Competencies (or proficiencies) are used to describe skills rather than knowledge or values. Performance indicators are quantitative measures of overall performance. If a learning outcome is for students to write with clarity and coherence, then a performance indicator might be the percentage of students who earn a passing grade on a test or rubric. Benchmarks and Standards are the targets we use to gauge our success, such as students at our peer institutions. Bloom’s Taxonomy Bloom’s Taxonomy is the best framework for developing course outcomes. It contains three domains of learning: cognitive (intellectual capability), affective (feelings, emotions and behavior) and psychomotor (manual and physical skills). Within the cognitive domain, there are six progressive levels of knowledge and skills: Knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Using action words allows you to describe the behaviors, activities, or products that will be used to determine that understanding or learning has occurred. As you write, ask yourself, “What will students be able to do or produce as a result of learning that occurs?” Ideally, each course should include learning outcomes from more than one domain (cognitive, psychomotor, and affective). The Learning Outcomes should be the same for all sections of a course. However, each instructor may include on their course syllabi additional outcomes and/or course expectations. Outcomes should focus on big‐picture, overarching concepts, skills, or attitudes. They should ask students to apply what they have learned, and be written in language that students (and the community) can understand. Remembering: can the student recall or remember the information? define, duplicate, list, memorize, recall, repeat, reproduce state classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, Understanding: can the student locate, recognize, report, select, translate, explain ideas or concepts? paraphrase Applying: can the student use the information in a new way? choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write. Analyzing: can the student appraise, compare, contrast, criticize, distinguish between the different differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, parts? examine, experiment, question, test. Evaluating: can the student justify a stand or decision? appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, evaluate Creating: can the student create assemble, construct, create, design, develop, new product or point of view? formulate, write. Avoid using terms such as “students will learn” or “students will understand” because these cannot be measured or assessed. Faculty may not even agree on what constitutes an understanding of a subject so that makes it very difficult to come up with an appropriate assessment of that outcome. For example, if the outcome was “students will demonstrate information literacy skills” it can be better stated as “students will locate information and evaluate it critically for its validity.” Then the outcome can be assessed. If the outcome was “recognize a need for lifelong learning and plan for personal and professional growth” then it could be re‐written as “describe and adopt a plan for ongoing professional development and lifelong learning” and then it could be assessed. Adapted from Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide and Bloom’s Taxonomy Why do we need learning outcomes? It builds evidence for accountability, accreditation and improvement. – Shows evidence of how well our students learn. – Uses evidence for continuous improvement. Benefits: Allows dialogues among faculty about what, why and how we teach. Sets common expectations for student learning Allows for the construction of a coherent program Allows for continuous learning and improvement as faculty Provides clear evidence of program quality and teaching. Syllabi typically fall into one of three frameworks: A content‐focused syllabus focuses primarily on what content the instructor will cover in the course. It highlights topics, assignments, and readings. A competency‐focused syllabus focuses on what competencies students should demonstrate in the course. These competencies are usually converted to a grade. An outcomes‐focused syllabus focuses on what the students should be able to do upon completion of the course. It explains the themes, concepts, and issues students need to understand, and what skills they will have upon completion. One of the biggest changes to occur in contemporary teaching is a shift in planning. Previously, teachers planned their activities, and then thought about what the goals of the course would be. We now know that effective planning starts with the course outcome. That is what the students should be able to do outside the classroom with the information that they have learned. Once the outcome has been determined, the teacher then selects appropriate activities. Look at the learning outcomes or course objectives outlined in the curriculum. If the syllabus is written in a traditional, content‐focused format, the course objectives will outline what the teacher was planning to teach, not what is most important for students to be able to do at the end of the course. See if you can rewrite the course objectives as three or four learning outcomes for the students. This will make it clear to students what they will accomplish in the course and will help you keep student learning central to your teaching. Outcomes are a roadmap for educational success. Look at the content mapped out in the rest of the syllabus, using your new student outcome statements as a filter. Do all the readings, activities, and homework assignments support the student learning outcomes? If topics and readings no longer help the students attain the desired outcomes, get rid of them. When thinking about planning for outcomes, you need to consider: • • • • The current demands of industry and any certification standards How you can link your course goals with the larger program goals How you can plan your course based on the intended outcomes How you can create lessons that will lead the students toward the desired outcome Good planning includes connections among courses, but what's more important is what happens in your course. Curriculum design begins outside the classroom with one important question: "What do my students need to be able to DO 'out there' that we are responsible for in this classroom?" If I am creating a course in information technology, I begin by envisioning what my students will DO differently in the community, the workplace, or the family as a result of this course. It is only after I am able to articulate this in a few clear and agreed‐upon outcome statements that I can decide what content is necessary and how competence will be assessed. Learning outcomes have three distinguishing characteristics: 1. The specified action by the learners must be observable. 2. The specified action by the learners must be measurable. 3. The specified action must be done by the learners (Student focused) Whenever possible, they should also build toward and measure higher‐ thinking skills such as synthesis, analysis, and evaluation. Can it be assessed? The ultimate test when writing a learning outcome is whether or not the action taken by the participants can be assessed. If not, the outcome probably does meet all three of the characteristics. 1. who is to perform; 2. what action they are to take; 3. some result that must come from their action. How do you fix an unclear outcome? Unclear: Participants will understand the nine reasons for conducting a needs assessment. Unclear: Participants will develop an appreciation of cultural diversity in the workplace. If you ask a simple question ("Can it be measured?"), you see readily that these learning outcomes have shortcomings. They are not measurable. The same outcomes can be modified by changing the action verbs. Clearer: Participants will list nine reasons for conducting a needs assessment. Clearer: Participants will summarize in writing their feelings about cultural diversity in the workplace. What is the importance of action verbs? Since the learner's performance should be observable and measurable, the verb chosen for each outcome statement should be an action verb which results in overt behavior that can be observed and measured. Sample action verbs are: compile, create, plan, revise, analyze, design, select, utilize, apply, demonstrate, prepare, use, compute, discuss, explain, predict, assess, compare, rate, critique Certain verbs are unclear and subject to different interpretations in terms of what action they are specifying. Such verbs call for covert behavior which cannot be observed or measured. Sample verbs to avoid: know, become aware of, appreciate, learn, understand, become familiar with Have an action word that describes what the student will DO differently as a result of your course • • • Describe meaningful learning Be measured/verified; i.e. you can measure students' ability to achieve them Represent high levels of thinking, rather than trivial tasks Another example to try: Unclear: Students will demonstrate information literacy skills Clearer: Students will be able to use the college’s online services to retrieve information Best: Students will locate information and evaluate it critically for its appropriateness and validity NEXT STEPS: How to Assess Learning Assessment generally comes in two forms: traditional paper‐pencil assessment (multiple choice, true/false, short essay, etc.), which can be useful for assessing WHAT students know; and performance tasks, which enable us to assess WHAT STUDENTS CAN DO with what they know. For these, instructors gather data as students complete tasks. Aligning your course with the department or program It is important to align your course outcomes with those of your department or degree program. If you are teaching a class in genetic fingerprinting, for example, you may need to teach students about the molecular structure of DNA, or they may have already learned about that in an earlier class. Once we are able to establish learning outcomes for each course, the next step will be to assess student learning. Where do students develop the desired outcomes? In one course, over several or throughout their program? (Curriculum Mapping will show this). How do students demonstrate their learning – in exams, a capstone project, a paper? This will also help us to see how well our programs are achieving their mission and stated outcomes. Because individual grading doesn’t show us patterns of strengths and weaknesses in student learning across the program/Institute.