Transcript Development of Student Learning Outcomes for GE: Lessons from a Collaborative Approach

Development of Student Learning Outcomes
for GE: lessons from a collaborative approach
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Campus profile:
• Enrollment of 21,500
• 1,100 full and part-time faculty (591 T/TT)
• ≈55% transfers
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
GE Governance:
• GE committee (senate sub-committee) is
responsible for:
– Review of new GE course proposals
– Implementing and ensuring compliance with GE
policy (syllabi review)
– Recommending changes in GE policy
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
CSU Fresno GE Pattern
Lower Division
Area A
Communication/
Critical thinking
A1-Oral Communication
Area B
Natural Sciences
B1-Physical Science
Upper Division
A2-Written Communication
A3-Critical Thinking
B2-Life Science
IB - Integrative
Sciences
B4-Quantitative Reasoning
Area C
Arts and
Humanities
C1-Arts
Area D
Social Sciences
D1-American History
C2-Humanities
C1 or C2
D2 –American Government
D3-Social Science
Area E
Lifelong Learning
E-Lifelong Learning
Units
39 units
IC - Integrative
Arts and
Humanities
ID Integrative
Social Sciences
MI Multicultural /
International
12 units
51 total
units
CSU Fresno GE pattern:
• Iterative writing across the curriculum
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
History of GE Outcomes at Fresno State:
• A set of learning outcomes was passed in 2003
– Written by one faculty member
– 97 outcomes over 16 areas (1-10/area)
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Some were not measureable:
“Students deal with human social, political, and
economic institutions and behavior and their
historical background”
Or
“Students will be prepared to function in an
international, multicultural society”
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Some were really course intentions:
“Students will prepare at least six written
presentations which receive oral or written
critiques by the instructor.”
or
“Students will study the influence of major
social, cultural, economic and political forces
on societal behavior and institutions”
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
AAC&U, General Education and Assessment: Engaging Critical Questions,
Fostering Critical Learning, Miami Fl Mar 1-3, 2007
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Premise:
• “In order to have a meaningful assessment of
the GE program we need to start with a set of
Student Learning Outcomes for each area that
faculty truly embrace, implement and assess.”
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Fall 2007 workshops
• Faculty were invited to workshops to write outcomes
by area (16 total).
• Workshops led by individual GE Committee members
– Major obstacles:
• Lack of knowledge of the GE program
• Lack of knowledge of the requirements of EO 595
• Even committee members didn’t always have a
firm grasp on material
• Without a starting point, they lacked focus
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Fall 2007 workshops
• Faculty were invited to workshops to write outcomes
by area (16 total).
• Workshops led by individual GE Committee members
– Major obstacles:
• Lack of knowledge of the GE program
• Lack of knowledge of the requirements of EO 595
• Even committee members didn’t always have a
firm grasp on material
• Without a starting point, they lacked focus
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Spring 2008
• Brought A1, A2 & A3 to meet with GE
committee to work on outcomes
– Worked for some areas (A2), while not others (A3)
– Generally not enough time in a 2 hr meeting to
have meaningful discussion
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
EO 1033 June 18, 2008
(requires outcomes based on
LEAP framework)
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
LEAP Framework:
• Knowledge of human cultures and the physical
and natural world
• Intellectual and practical skills
• Personal and social responsibility
• Integrative learning
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Fall 2008 – Formation of GE Student
Learning Outcomes Taskforce
• Office of the Provost committed 9 WTU release
time for 3 faculty (20% time / member)
• Recommendations were sought from Deans and
GEC Chair interviewed candidates
– Chair of GEC (College of Agricultural Sciences)
– One Faculty from History (College of Social Sciences)
– One Faculty from Linguistics (College of Arts and
Humanities)
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Spring 2009 – Task Force Charged with:
• Work with faculty to
develop learning
outcomes for each
area that fit within
Leap Framework
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Spring 2009 – Task Force Charged With:
• Suggest a plan for assessing these outcomes
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
The Process:
• Task force members wrote a first draft of
outcomes which reflected EO 1033 and
campus program description
• Generally limited to 3 outcomes per area
• Drafted the first area together, subsequent
areas separately
• 2 hr meetings weekly
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Workshops:
• 2 hour workshops in each major area (A, B, C, D, E & MI)
• Invited:
– All faculty who had taught in the area (past 2 yrs)
– All department chairs with courses in the area
• Draft of outcomes went out with invitation along with
EO1033, program description and LEAP framework
• Invitation stressed importance of SLOs derived from the
faculty as well as eventuality of assesment
• Comments via email were welcomed
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Workshops:
• At least two taskforce members and usually
Dean of Undergraduate Studies attended each
workshop
• Edits and suggestions were projected on
screen
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Revisions:
• Outcomes from workshop were distributed to
same list of GE faculty with a three week
comment period
• Comments were reviewed and incorporated
• Final draft was distributed to all faculty with
another two week comment period
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Approval Process:
• General Education Committee approved final
draft in May 2009.
• Executive Committee reviewed in fall 2009
with a few minor edits
• Academic Senate reviewed on March 8 and 22
with approved with one edit
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
What Contributed to Our Success :
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Administration placed resources behind the effort
EO 1033
A leadership team with knowledge of assessment
Providing faculty with a draft as a starting point
Transparency and openness to all input
Stressing need for this to come from the faculty
who are experts in the area
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Assessment Plan:
• Centralized vs localized (dept level) models
• Discussed with Institutional Research &
campus learning and assessment team
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Departments Will Provide:
• The assignment (s) or piece(s) of student work to
be assessed
• The rubric or assessment method to be used to
measure the outcome
• The metric used to asses if a student has met the
outcome
• A schedule for assessing each outcome (minimum
of one learning outcome per year per course)
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Reporting:
• Departments will provide a summary of
assessment results as well as changes made as
a result of assessment data in annual reports
• IRAP will compile and analyze data for GEC
• GEC will asses program based on aggregate
data
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010
Future of GEC
• Move away from indirect compliance
measures like syllabi review
• Move toward examining assessment data
• Evidence of how courses will meet outcomes
and assessment plans will be required for new
course approval
A Lawson General Education in California Conference, CSU Fullerton May 4, 2010