Measurable Student Learning Objectives

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Measurable Student Learning Objectives

• Letitia Senechal

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Our goals for this workshop

• To collegially share what weve learned over the
  past three years
• To help the college move forward in achieving
  these goals by providing a simple approach to
  SLOs
• To give you hands-on experience in the mechanics
  of writing SLOs regardless of prior experience
• To begin exploring how SLOs might function or
  materialize across different disciplines

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Measurable Student Learning Objectives

• Would you like to
• know that in the future your students have
  retained the essential learning from your course
  or services?
• be confident that students after attending your
  course, program, service, are appropriately
  prepared for future experiences in school,
  employment, and in their lives?

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Levels of Objectives at MJC

• Institutional Level
• Degree/Program/Transfer GE Level
• Course Level
• Section level
• Unit/Lesson Level

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Levels of Objectives at MJC

• Institutional Level
• Degree/Program/Transfer GE Level
• Course Level
• Section level
• Unit/Lesson Level

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What is a Measurable Student Learning Objective?

• An explicit statement that clearly identifies the
  observable, and therefore measurable, knowledge,
  skills, attitudes, and/or behaviors that
  demonstrate that learning has taken place in a
  given context.

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Your Measurable SLO for Today

• Given lecture, discussion, and printed material
  on Measurable Student Learning Objectives and
  Outcomes, you will write one or more student
  learning objective(s) at the course level that
  include the learning context, performance
  criteria, and the benchmark of satisfactory
  performance as determined collegially by those
  with expertise in the discipline.

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Identifying What Must be Learned in MJC Courses

• Using the official course outline to identify the
  learning desired for your students.

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Examine the course outline of record
Get Started
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The Outline?

• But what if I dont use the course outline?
• But what if I can never cover all the material on
  the entire outline?
• But what if I didnt play a role in the creation
  of the course outline?
• But what if the current version of the outline
  doesnt reflect the essential learning as
  currently understood in the discipline?
• But what if we as instructors in a discipline
  dont agree on the essential learning for a
  course?

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According to the C.C.C. Academic Senate the
course outline
Why focus on the course outline?

• Is a contract between student, instructor, and
  institution
• Articulates the learning desired for all sections
  of courses
• Is a tool for course planning
• Should be updated and revised regularly
• Reflects content and rigor for which instructors
  and students across ALL sections of a course are
  held accountable
• Drives course articulation between institutions

(Why recreate the wheel?)
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WASC will look at our outlines to see if

• We have collegially identified essential
  competencies
• The course outline is a reasonable predictor of
  learning outcomes in our classrooms
• Course objectives align with program objectives
  and institutional objectives
• Each instructor is upholding the contract by
  facilitating and measuring the student learning
  detailed on the outline
• We uphold our contract with the student by
  facilitating mastery of the stated learning
  goals/objectives

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A Closer Look at Our Outlines
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WASC wants to know

• Are the expected outcomes happening?

• YesCan MJC provide inarguable evidence?
• NoWhat are you doing to respond to those
  outcomes? Does MJC have evidence that the
  interventions are working?

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Looking at the Outline
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Dialogue Group Course 10-Minute Outline Review

• What do you teach from the outline?
• What do your students learn from the outline?
• How do you feel about the outline as written?

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The Conversation

• What did you learn?

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How is the outline in relation to your sections?

• Are the objectives current and applicable?
• Is all of the content covered in every section?
• Are all of the objectives essential
• Are all of the objectives generally mastered in
  each section?
• Is it possible to prove that the students have
  mastered the objectives as written in your
  sections?

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Should be tools we design to create strategic
learning environments, and compare if/how
learning occurs in a specific course.
Course Outlines
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A Learning-Centered Dialog

• SLOs ultimately ask us to come to consensus on
  the design and purpose of our courses (and
  programs) across departments, programs, so that
  we
• focus on what our students need to succeed in
  subsequent educational and professional endeavors
• ensure currency in our disciplines
• take a unified stance on essential competencies
  in our disciplines
• strategically plan and design learning
  environments, courses, sequences, degrees, and
  certificates
• openly, objectively investigate factors that
  affect learning

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Writing Measurable Student Learning Objectives
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Whats your experience?

• Measurable objectives

• Focus on what the student should be able to do as
  a result of learning (not what the instructor
  teaches)
• Provide a specific context in which the learning
  takes place
• Contain the criteria that indicates whether the
  learning has or has not taken place

• (Do MJC objectives do this presently?)

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One Formula for Objectives

• Given X, the student will Y, (as
  evidenced/measured by Z.)

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Review the learning desired.
Step 1
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Choose one objective to focus on the learning
desired (Y).
Step 2
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Choose one objective to focus on the learning
desired (Y).
Step 2

Dont be afraid to ask yourself questions about
the functionality of the objective

• Can I really gather evidence that students can do
  that within the context of my class?
• Is this objective essential?
• Does this objective contain smaller, more
  measurable objectives?
• Could this objective be written more concretely
  and concisely?

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Delineate the learning context for that
objective
Step 3

• Think about what you do or provide in your
  section to facilitate learning in relation to
  that course objective/learning goal.

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What is the Learning Context? (X)

• The environment and conditions with which the
  student will demonstrate his or her learning.

• After, Given, Upon completion of, Based
  on any combination of the following examples
• Lecture
• Text
• Video
• Group Activity
• Service
• Fieldtrip
• Lab Exercise
• Assignment prompt
• Etc.

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Step 4

• Plug-in the statement of learning desired from
  the course outline, (or adapt it accordingly so
  that it is usable).

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The learning desired (Y)

• This statement should be written to communicate
  observable behaviors, skills, attitudes,
  abilities, or knowledge students will
  demonstrate. Students will be able to
• Sing on pitch
• Align graphic objects on a page
• Write a thesis statement
• Solve a quadratic equation
• Navigate a class schedule
• Apply for financial aid using the FAFSA
• Draw with 5-point perspective

Blooms Taxonomy
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Identify what criteria you use to determine that
the student is prepared to advance.
Step 5

• Given X, the student will Y, (as
  evidenced/measured by Z.)

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As evidenced by (Z) What is it that the student
must do to indicate he or she is ready to
advance?

• Sing (an entire Italian art song) on pitch (with
  not one sharp or flat intonation.)
• Left-align graphic objects to a guide placed on a
  page within a 1/36 inch margin of error
• Use a thesis as a controlling idea in a 1500-word
  essay that meets of all of the second (B) level
  criteria on the MJC English 101 Composition
  rubric
• Design an electronic presentation that is
  appropriate for the target audience using
  appropriate images, colors, tone, themes.

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Sometimes Z is implied

• Given tools, an engine with a leaking valve, and
  replacement materials, the student will repair
  the appropriate valve on the engine (so that no
  leaks are detected).

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Plug your variables into the formula.
Step 6

• Given X, the student will Y, as
  evidenced/measured by Z.

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Elements defined in the formula.

• Given (your) learning context, the student will
  be able to , as evidenced/measured by whatever
  it is you use to determine whether the student
  has learned enough to continue.

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Examples
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CMPGR 215 Business Presentation GraphicsCourse
Outline Learning Goal/Objective

• Students will be able to import data and export
  graphics to other software file formats.

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CMPGR 215Section 2218Measurable Student
Learning Objective
After demonstration, textbook practice activities
and in-class practice (X), you will (Y) import
data from one Microsoft Excel worksheet into one
table, create a bar graph, on a slide using
Microsoft Graph, and apply the Pixel slide design
to the slide.
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PSYCH 105Course Outline Objective/Learning Goal

• Students will be able to describe symptoms,
  causes, and treatment of anxiety disorders.

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PSYCH 105 Section 2882Measurable Student
Learning Objective
Given text, lecture, a guest speaker with a
disorder, and video material on anxiety disorders
(X), students will (Y) write from first person
perspective about the experience of having a
disorder by including all of the following (Z)

• First person assessments of 5 symptoms
• First person descriptions of the genetic
  contributions
• Explanation of the cause of the anxiety disorder
  using a theoretical perspective such as
  behavioral, humanistic, psychoanalytic or
  cognitive psychology
• Explanation of the treatment using this same
  perspective

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MJC Outreach Measurable Student Learning
Objective

• After a tour of the MJC East Campus (X),
  prospective MJC students will (Y) independently
  navigate the campus to access services and
  enrollment-related offices in order to
  successfully apply for admission, receive
  counseling services, and register for classes as
  evidenced by (Z) timely registration in courses
  appropriate to the award code they selected on
  their applications.

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Counseling Services Measurable Student Learning
Objective

• After a meeting with an academic counselor, the
  student will enroll in courses appropriate for
  his or her educational goals as evidenced by a
  follow-up visit where courses are shown as in
  progress in Datatel. (Y,Z)

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Activity
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Your turn!

• Pick an objective/learning goal from the course
  outline.
• What is the desired learning being stated in that
  objective?
• Given
• describe the resources, methodologies, pedagogy,
  that your students have to help them learn or
  become informed
• Students will
• What will the students do to demonstrate
  learning?
• What do you have to see/hear/touch/taste/smell to
  see that the student is ready to advance beyond
  this objective?
• As evidenced by
• What is the absolute least that you have to
  see/taste/touch/smell/hear to be convinced that
  the student has learned or is ready to advance to
  the next concept?

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Given (X) What do you provide in your section
to help the students master the learning desired?
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the student will (Y)What is the learning
desired?
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as evidenced byWhat has to happen so that you
know the student is prepared to advance to the
next activity, skill, course, etc?
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Now, put this all together and you have a
measurable student learning objective!Congratula
tions!Please share your objective with a
partner.
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What if my criteria are many?

• Use thesis as controlling idea
• There are numerous elements that must be present
  to indicate that the student has done this
  successfully. Those elements should be detailed
  on a rubric. Inclusion of all of those elements
  to a satisfactory degree would indicate the
  student is ready to advance.
• Paint with perspective
• Various elements must work simultaneously for a
  student to master perspective. What are they? How
  do we describe them to our students? Clean,
  straight lines intersecting? Angles?

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Some things to remember
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Learning versusGrades
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Why grades dont explicitly measure learning

• Do grades show that specific, tacit concepts have
  been mastered?
• Does a grade explicitly prove that the desired
  learning has taken place?
• Are grades objective?
• Are grades consistent in relation to the learning
  desired?

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Grades often result from numerous mental
measurements

• As instructors, we make numerous decisions about
  a students work before assigning a grade.
• Student learning objectives merely prompt us to
  detail and make public the parameters for those
  decisions.

What are our calculations before we get the total?
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Rememberour objectives are for our students

• Is there anything in your objective a student
  might not understand?
• Is there any abstract reference that could be
  made more concrete?
• Is there any large concept that could be broken
  down into smaller sub-objectives that are more
  easily measurable? (Remember, baby-steps)

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Its not about degrees of learning

• Dont just think about this with the grading
  lens, e.g. this is an A paper.Think about
  why this is an A paper.
• Try to state out loud what an A, B, C, D, F paper
  contains to determine tacit concepts that must be
  mastered
• Look at individual concepts
• Did they get one concept, or not
• Yes/No
• Can they advance, or not
• Black/white
• We dont need to know
• How well
• How much
• Between excellent, good, and satisfactory
• We are not interested in grades, were interested
  in if they have learned what is essential to
  continue

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Wrap Up
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Continued focus on student learning

• Using the templates provided, and discussion with
  colleagues, continue to modify course outlines,
  produce objectives, measure outcomes, improve
  learning to improve learning throughout your
  career!

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Leave your favorite Student Learning Objective
with us!

• Turn in your SLO with or without your name on it
  so we can

• Evaluate the outcome of our measurable student
  learning objective.
• Use your measurable student learning objectives
  as examples, remember, this is anonymous if you
  like.
• Compile them for reference for those who were not
  lucky enough to be here today!

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Thank You!

• senechall_at_mjc.edu
• X 6469
• merchantl_at_mjc.edu
• X 6119

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Measurable Student Learning Objectives

• Letitia Senechal