Transcript Learning Outcomes - Stephen F. Austin State University

How to Develop Learning
Outcomes for Your Courses
Online Tutorial (Revised) developed by
Dr. Amanda Rudolph
Dr. Lauren Scharff
The Teaching Excellence Center
at Stephen F. Austin State University
June 2008
Learning Outcomes for the
Workshop
• You will be able to identify well-written
learning outcomes.
• You will be able to write appropriate
learning outcomes.
What are learning outcomes?
Learning outcomes are also called
instructional objectives, learning
objectives, student objectives, or goals.
A learning outcome defines what the student
will be able to do or know at the end of
the semester, unit, or lesson.
Well-written learning outcomes should be
student-centered, measurable, and clear.
Writing Student-Centered
learning outcomes
Student-centered
means that the
language of the
outcome is active and
related to the
students. The
outcome should state
what the student will
do, not the teacher.
INCORRECT
The teacher will discuss the
different theories of
personality development.
CORRECT
The student will be able to
name each theory of
personality development
and describe the key
characteristics that
distinguish each theory.
Writing Measurable learning
outcomes
Measurable means that
the outcome can be
effectively evaluated
and assessed. Vague
and general
outcomes are hard to
assess. Be specific
on what you want the
student to be able to
do.
INCORRECT
The student will
understand
symbolism.
CORRECT
The student will be able
to identify symbols in
short stories.
Writing Clear and Concise
learning outcomes
Learning outcomes
need to clear and
concise. Only
include the
information that
will be measured.
INCORRECT
The student will understand
American history and the
importance of America in
the world.
CORRECT
The student will be able to
discuss the role of
America in a global
society.
How do I decide what students
should know?
There are several approaches to determining
what your student outcomes should be.
Ideally, they should closely link with your
program / department learning outcomes.
At the very least, your course learning
outcomes should describe what you hope
your students will be able to accomplish
by the time they complete your specific
course.
One model for developing
learning outcomes
Wiggins and McTighe (2005) created a
process called Backward Design.
Basically, they said an instructor should
start by considering what the student
should know or be able to do at the
completion of a course in order to design
outcomes, assessments and instructional
activities.
Steps to create learning outcomes
(Wiggins and McTighe; 2005)
In order to create outcomes there are 4 steps.
1. Consult standards (national, state, and
program / departmental)
2. Establish Program Goals (at SFA, these are
referred to as Program Learning Outcomes).
Determine which program goals are to be
addressed in the course.
3. Determine Essential Questions for your course
and decide what broad concepts are necessary.
4. Determine knowledge and skills students will
acquire in your course (Course Learning
Outcomes).
Consult Standards
Most university programs have national
professional organizations that have standards
for their content area available. This is a good
place to begin looking for content emphasis.
In addition, certification programs (e.g. health
science, business, education) will have
standards that align with the credential testing
content.
Finally your department should have already
created curriculum standards for your program
for SACS.
All of these areas will help you determine what
your course should include and emphasize.
Establish Program Learning
Outcomes
Program learning outcomes are the overarching learning outcomes for a program.
For SACS, each program should have 5 to 8
learning outcomes. These represent what
students should be able to do when they
have completed the program.
Each course in that program should address
1 to 3 of the program learning outcomes.
Create Essential Questions
Essential Questions are those that students
should be able to answer by the end of your
course. (Imagine that you were going to give a
comprehensive essay final – what are the
essential broad concepts you would assess?)
Essential Questions:
• have value beyond the classroom.
• are core processes of the discipline.
• are big ideas encompassing the facts, skills and
activities (Wiggins and McTighe, 2005).
Essential Questions
Another way to
think about these
questions is to
decide what is
worth knowing
beyond the scope
of the class (i.e.
enduring
understanding).
Worth being familiar with
Important to
know and do
Enduring
understanding
From: The Understanding
by Design Handbook, P. 70
Examples of Essential Questions
• When error is unavoidable in measurement,
what margins of error are tolerable?
• Is the subjunctive necessary?
• To what extent is DNA destiny?
• What is the connection between a country’s form
of government and the prosperity of its citizens?
• What is the difference between a scientific fact,
a scientific theory and a strong opinion?
(Wiggins and McTighe, 2005, p. 106-108)
Determine specific knowledge and
skills (Course Learning Outcomes)
After you have created your essential questions,
you can write your outcomes. You have decided
what is most important in your course. You know
what the students should understand at the end
of the course.
Now answer: What specific knowledge and
skills will provide evidence of mastery of the
understandings? That knowledge and those
skills are the basis of your learning outcomes.
Examples of Learning Outcomes
Students will demonstrate
knowledge of:
Students will be able to
demonstrate skills by:
The difference between the
three subatomic particles.
Preparing a solution of an acid
by dilution.
Causes of the Civil War.
Balancing an accounting
sheet.
The difference between
classical and operational
conditioning.
Correctly identifying the
species and ages of trees in
natural environment
Helpful Tips for Writing Learning
Outcomes
• Useful verbs (lead to observable
outcomes): identify, analyze, list, locate,
predict, explain, infer, divide, add, and
draw.
• Verbs to avoid (refer to more internal, not
directly measureable, processes): know,
grasp, appreciate, think, believe, value,
like, and realize (Cooper, et al. 2002)
• Identify assessments that you will use to
measure each course learning outcomes.
Assessment
Learning outcomes should guide the formation of
your assessments. The assessment should
directly relate to the outcome.
OUTCOME
Summarize the
developmental stages
proposed by Piaget
ASSESSMENT
List and
describe
Piagetian stages.
More Examples of Assessments
Student knowledge / skills:
The difference between the
three subatomic particles.
Related assessment:
List the charge of each type of
subatomic particle.
To prepare a solution of an
acid by dilution.
Demonstrate the process of
preparing a solution.
The difference between
classical and operational
conditioning.
Correctly identify examples of
each type of conditioning.
An additional note about
assessments
• The previous page showed a one-to-one
correspondence between the desired learning
outcomes (knowledge and skills) and the related
assessment.
• However, some assessments (e.g. a project or a
research paper) might allow you to assess
multiple learning outcomes.
• Or, you might assess a single learning outcome
more than once using different assessments
(e.g. a concept may be covered on more than
one exam, or both on an exam and a paper).
Example
• Backward design is one approach, and it
has the benefit of highlighting the
necessary ultimate linkage between the
program learning outcomes and a course’s
learning outcomes.
• See the following example from Nursing
that illustrates the use of essential
questions, which then lead to learning
outcomes, and then assessment.
Nursing Example
What essential questions will guide this unit and focus teaching and learning?
What is health?
What interventions are within the nurses’ scope of practice that would
benefit the client experiencing illness?
What client teaching is needed to promote health?
What learning outcomes are desired? Students will be able to:
Identify normal diagnostic lab/test results.
Compare test values that indicate a wellness/ illness state of health.
Apply knowledge of abnormal test values to write a plan of care. Evaluate
client outcomes based on plan of care.
What tasks will students perform in order to illustrate their acquisition of key
knowledge and skills for this unit?
The student will choose a plan of care based on assessment,
implementation of care, and evaluation of client needs.
Alternate Approach #1
• Some departments have not yet clarified
which courses should address each of
their program learning outcomes.
• What do you do if that is true for you?!
• For now, at least make sure that all of your
course-specific learning outcomes are
worded so they are student-centered,
measureable, meaningful, and clear.
• See an example from Psychology…
Psychology Example
Objectives as stated on syllabus prior to the workshop:
Objectives: The objectives of this course are to provide
you with a general background of psychophysical and
physiological perception research and how perception
applies to many areas outside of academia (e.g.
communications, marketing, art, heath services,
everyday happenings). Developmental perception topics
will also be incorporated throughout the semester. This
course will place an emphasis on vision, and
secondarily, on audition; however, all five senses will be
covered.
Note that these objectives start out with a teacher-centered
approach, and that they are not stated in a manner that
makes them clearly assessable with respect to student
learning.
Reworked Psychology Syllabus
Learning Outcomes. At the end of the course, students will be
able to:
1. Describe the basic neural processing of each of the five
senses, and how they are similar / different from each other.
2. Describe how conscious perceptions of color, depth,
motion, pitch, touch, taste, etc. relate to manipulations of
the environment and depend upon the neural organization
of each sense.
3. Explain why perceptions don’t always match “reality”
4. Summarize examples of the application of sensation and
perception knowledge to help individuals with sensory or
perceptual deficiencies / damage, and to guide the design
of equipment to improve safety and efficiency.
5. Apply course-related material to personal perceptual
experiences
Alternate Approach #2
• Often instructors have legitimate, long-term
goals for their students that go beyond the end
of the course, or are not directly assessable (e.g.
“to create life-long learners”, “to share an
appreciation for the arts and encourage
involvement in the arts”).
• Such goals might be placed in a section of your
syllabus titled “Course Purpose” or “Course
Philosophy”.
• Thus it is clear that students won’t be directly
assessed on such items, but that they are
important to the instructor and might influence
the approaches used in the course.
• See the example from Astronomy…
Astronomy Example
Objectives and Purpose as stated on syllabus prior to the workshop:
Purpose: This is a survey course that will stress the historical and descriptive aspects of
our knowledge of astronomy. The major aim will be to give each student an
appreciation and understanding of the scope and content of our universe. The
methods of science will be strongly emphasized.
Learning Objectives: The overall objectives of this course are that the learner will:
 Gain an understanding of the nature of science and astronomy
 Gain an appreciation for the size, scale, and structure of the cosmos
 See that the universe is comprehensible through the scientific principles that can be
understood by everyone
 Gain an increased interest in studying current events in astronomy as a life-long
learning activity
 Be able to describe the characteristics of objects within the solar system including the
sun, planets, moons, asteroids, and comets.
 Demonstrate a basic familiarity with stellar life cycles, galaxies, and extragalactic
objects.
Reworked Astronomy
Purpose: This is a survey course that will stress the historical and descriptive
aspects of our knowledge of astronomy. The major aim will be to give each
student an appreciation and understanding of the size, scale, and structure
of the cosmos, to gain an understanding of the nature of science and
astronomy, to see that the universe is comprehensible through the scientific
principles that can be understood by everyone, and to gain an increased
interest in studying current events in astronomy as a life-long learning
activity. The methods of science will be strongly emphasized.
Learning Objectives: The overall objectives of this course are that the learner
will:
 Recognize that the universe can be described by a few natural laws.
 Be able to describe the characteristics of objects within the solar system
including the sun, planets, moons, asteroids, and comets.
 Demonstrate a basic familiarity with stellar life cycles, galaxies, and
extragalactic objects.
Your Assignment
Work through the following steps to your learning outcomes
and only then begin your course design and syllabus.
(This is the foundation of “Backward Design”.)
I.
II.
III.
IV.
List program learning outcomes to be implemented in
your course
List your essential questions (in some cases may be
skipped)
List the specific knowledge and skills required to support
understanding of your core concepts (your learning
objectives – what should be listed on your syllabus).
Determine the type(s) of assessments you will use.
(What is the best way for your students to demonstrate
mastery of your learning objectives?) These means of
assessments should also be stated on your syllabus.
Feeling lost or overwhelmed?
Learning Objectives Workshops
• The SFA Teaching Excellence Center will offer a
workshop on Developing Learning Objectives
during the summer of 2008 and throughout the
2008-2009 academic year.
• At this workshop you can get additional
information about learning objectives, work on
your learning objectives, and get immediate
feedback on those objectives.
• Go to the TEC web site for the workshop schedule
(http://www2.sfasu.edu/teachingexcellence/Servic
es/TEC_workshops.htm)
SFASU Resource Faculty
Members
• The following individuals have some
experience writing assessable learning
outcomes or with the SACS process, and
have agreed to serve as resources to other
SFA instructors who are working on their
learning outcomes
–
–
–
–
Amanda Rudolph (Sec. Ed.)
Mark Seaman (Sec. Ed.)
Larry King (Comm)
John Moore (Chem)
-- Norm Markworth (Ast)
-- Carol Athey (Nursing)
-- Jill Carrington (Art)
References
Cooper J.M, Goldman, S., Lubar, D.,
Pellegrino, J.W., & Shostak, R. (2002).
Classroom teaching skills. Houghton
Mifflin.
Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005).
Understanding by design. 2nd ed.
Alexandria, VA: Association of Supervision
and Curriculum Development.
Direct and Indirect Measures
FYI: For SACS, each program learning outcome
should have at least 2 measures of assessment,
one of which should be a direct measure.
DIRECT
Projects
Tests
Observations
INDIRECT
Surveys / Evaluations
Job statistics*
Graduation statistics*
*more likely to be program rather than course outcomes