Writing Learning Outcomes for Effective Assessment

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Writing Learning Outcomes for Effective Assessment

• Assessment Day
• Mississippi University for Women
• August 8, 2008
• By
• Nancy Simpson, Texas AM

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Why Assessment?

• Think-pair-share
• List three good reasons for doing assessment.
• Compare your list with one other person.
• Be prepared to share your best reason.

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Program Development Cycle
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Learning Outcomes

• Learning outcomes are statements that answer
  these questions, relative to a particular point
  in time
• What will students know?
• What will students be able to do with what they
  know?
• What knowledge, attitudes, skills, competencies,
  abilities, etc. will they have acquires?

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Writing Learning outcomes

• Write two learning outcomes for the program with
  which you are associated.
• (We will come back to these later in the morning.)

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Value of learning outcomes

• For faculty
• Guide design of assignments, courses, curricula
• Guide design of exams and other assessments
• Provide focus
• Provide connection to broader curriculum
• Help with alignment of courses

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Value of learning outcomes

• For students
• See value of course/program to personal goals
• Guide and promote self-assessment
• Keep focus on learning (as opposed to checking
  off courses on a degree plan)
• Guide selection (or development) of study
  strategies

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Writing learning outcomes

• Use action verbs
• Describe observable or identifiable behavior that
  the student will perform
• Possibilities are (almost) endless
• Recite Recall State Define Describe
• Explain Analyze Solve Decide Justify
• Interpret Evaluate Communicate Design

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Useful Tools for Writing Learning Outcomes

• Teaching Goals Inventory
• Angelo, T and K. Patricia Cross (1993), Classroom
  Assessment Techniques. San Francisco Jossey Bass
• http//centeach.uiowa.edu/tools.shtml
• (revised) Blooms Taxonomy
• Anderson, L. W. and David R. Krathwohl, D. R., et
  al (2000) A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and
  Assessing A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of
  Educational Objectives. Allyn Bacon
  http//eprentice.sdsu.edu/J03OJ/miles/Bloomtaxonom
  y(revised)1.htm

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Verbs from revised taxonomy

• Remembering
• Define, describe, list, reproduce, enumerate
• Understanding
• Classify, explain, discuss, give example,
  summarize
• Applying
• Determine, develop, compute, chart, utilize
• Analyzing
• Diagram, compare and contrast, distinguish,
  outline
• Evaluating
• Compare, critique, justify, conclude
• Creating
• Adapt, combine, design, generate

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What about words like understand and
appreciate?

• Ask yourself What would a student have to do or
  say to convince me that he/she understands a
  complex concept?
• Identify what tasks you are able to do because
  you understand a particular concept.
• Identify actions you are likely to take because
  you appreciate music, art, history, etc.

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Your Turn

• Look at the learning outcomes you wrote earlier.
• Evaluate your learning outcomes
• Do they include action verbs?
• Do they describe observable behaviors that
  students would be expected to perform?
• Will they be a useful guide in designing an
  assignment, a course, or a program?
• Make any revisions you think are needed.
• Be prepared to share one learning outcome.

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Questions?

• What questions do you have about writing learning
  outcomes?
• Discuss your questions with 2 or 3 other people.
  Be prepared to ask lingering questions.

Think-pair-share
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Creating a set of program learning outcomes

Institutional Learning outcomes
Alumni input
Program Learning Outcomes
Other?
Faculty input
Professional Accrediting Organization
Employer input
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Approaches to Developing Program Learning
Outcomes

• Top-down approach
• Start with phrases related to expectations from
  institution, accrediting body, etc.
• Construct meaningful program learning outcomes
  that depict your expectations related to these
  ideas

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Approaches to Developing Program Learning
Outcomes

• Bottom-up Approach
• Start with course learning outcomes
• Group related course learning outcomes together
• For each group of course learning outcomes,
  construct one or more program learning outcomes
  that depict your expectations related to this
  group of course learning outcomes

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Criteria for Evaluating Program Learning Outcomes

• Describe outcomes (what student will be able to
  do) rather than inputs (experiences students will
  have)
• Allow faculty to see where/how their courses
  contribute
• Point to student learning artifacts in which
  outcome might be seen
• Encompass university-level outcomes (if they
  exist)
• Are distinctive to the discipline

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Exercise

• In groups of four, evaluate the given set of
  program learning outcomes.
• Note the outcomes that you think are acceptable
  and those that are not.
• Be prepared to explain the reasons for your
  judgments.

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Back to the basic question

• What will the graduate know and be able to do
  when they walk across the stage?
• AND
• How will you know?

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Program AssessmentLarger Context

• Assess to determine how program learning outcomes
  may be improved
• Assess to determine achievement of program
  learning outcomes
• Assess to determine where and how interventions
  to improve program learning outcomes might be
  accomplished

• Former student and employer surveys
• Graduate follow-up studies
• Job placement statistics
• Enrollment and retention statistics
• Senior courses
• First-year, sophomore, junior course
• Co-curricular activities

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Thoughts about workload

• Faculty members already do a great deal of
  grading in the courses they teach.
• Connections between grades on projects, papers,
  exams are not easily connected to program and/or
  course learning outcomes
• Program learning outcomes will describe actions
  that are cognitively challenging and complex

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Course-level evidence for program assessment

• Select a limited number of courses in which data
  on performance of students with respect to your
  program learning outcomes will be evaluated.
• Work with the assignments in these courses so
  that they can do double duty
• Basis for assigning grade for course
• Direct evidence of learning with regard to 1 or
  more program learning outcomes
• Develop rubrics to grade these assignments.

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Program Development Cycle
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• Nancy Simpson, Ph.D.
• Clinical Professor
• Director, Undergraduate Special Programs
• Mays Business School
• Texas AM University
• n-simpson_at_tamu.edu
• 979.845.4140