Learning Outcomes and Assessment

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Learning Outcomes and Assessment

• Deborah Morris and Lynne Crosby
• Directors of Program Development
• Revised Fall 2004

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Workshop Objectives

• To help participants clarify critical teaching
  goals for a particular class
• To provide an introduction to classroom
  assessment, and examples of different approaches
  to classroom assessment
• To give participants experience developing a
  classroom assessment project
• To give us all an excuse to talk more about
  teaching and learning!

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Think for a minute

• What do your students typically have difficulty
  with in your class?
• What aspect of your students learning or
  thinking would you like to know more about?

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Has this happened to you

• You give an exam or quiz and almost every student
  misses a question you thought was easy?
• Your students turn in papers or projects and
  almost every one has some common problem?

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Assessment addresses questions such as

• Are my students learning what I think I am
  teaching?
• Who is learning and who is not learning?
• What am I doing that is useful for these
  students?
• What am I doing that is not useful for these
  students?

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Learning Outcomes

• Statements that describe what students are
  expected to know and able to do as a result of
  participation in the teaching and learning
  process

• Two parts
• Action verb - e.g. list apply solve
• Content reference subject matter, topic, or
  concept to be addressed

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Learning Outcomes

• Statements that describe what students are
  expected to know and able to do as a result of
  participation in the teaching and learning process

Educational objective (end result)
Learning outcome (to be achieved in your class)
Performance criteria (how you know the learning
outcome has been achieved?)
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Learning Outcomes
Educational objective
Learning outcome
Performance criteria
Ethical awareness
The student will understand the nature of ethics
in their discipline
The student will be able to describe a
professional code of ethics The student will be
able to analyze the ethical dimensions of a
problem
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Learning Outcomes exercise

• Choose a learning outcome that your team will
  focus on
• Individually brainstorm performance criteria on
  post-its
• Go to your board and work together to group your
  post-its into related groupings
• Try creating one performance criterion for each
  grouping write these above the groupings

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Learning Outcomes exercise

• Choose one learning outcome to work on
• Students will demonstrate effective communication
  skills
• Students will be able to use information
  resources
• Students will be able to think critically
• Students will understand the role of their field
  in a global economy

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Importance of well-defined outcomes

• Common language
• Clear expectations
• Guides instruction and implementation of various
  teaching strategies
• Enables students to self-assess
• Promotes valid assessment
• Thanks to Gloria Rogers, Rose-Hulman Technical
  Institute, for this activity

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Assessment Strategies

• Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)
• Examine existing data
• Modify existing grading methods to provide better
  feedback

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Assessment Strategies

• 1. Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)
• Short, non-graded activities
• Often require students to reflect in writing on
  their thinking and learning
• Provide feedback to both you and students on
  their learning
• Can be general or linked to specific course
  activities (good for self-paced or online courses)

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Class Feedback

• Please do not put your name on this paper. This
  is feedback for me, not a quiz!
• 1. The key idea we covered in this class was. . .
• 2. One new idea I gained from this class was. . .
• 3. One important question I have that relates to
  class today is . . .

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Post-Paper Reflections

• After completing each paper in the course, have
  students respond to the following questions in a
  few sentences
• Paper 1 I'm most satisfied with . . .
• I'm least satisfied with . . . I'm having
  problems with . . .
• Paper 2 Why did you choose this particular
  organization for your paper? What would you do
  differently if you had more time?
• Paper 3 What in your writing process has changed
  since the beginning of the course?

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First Class

• Please do not put your name on this paper. I
  am interested in your reactions to the first
  class. This information will help me understand
  your learning needs better.
• One thing about this first class that surprised
  me was
• One thing about this first class that confused me
  was
• One thing about this first class that helped me
  was
• One thing that makes me anxious or nervous is

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Class Activities Feedback

• In the last week, we have done several things
  to learn about cells and cell division. How
  useful was each activities to you in learning
  about this topic? (4extremely useful, 1not
  useful)

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Choose some CATs to try!

• Use the CAT Worksheets to create CATs you can use
  this term

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Assessment Strategies

• 2. Examine existing data
• Results on exam items
• Scores or ratings on assignments, papers, or
  projects
• Observations of student performance during
  activities

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Assessment Strategies

• 3. Modify existing grading methods to provide
  better feedback
• Open-ended exam questions, or explain your
  answer with multiple-choice questions
• Performance-based activities can be
  scored/graded using a checklist or rubric
• Portfolios

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Scoring Rubric
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Planning and Implementation

• Choose assessment methods that
• Are easy to use and summarize
• Are directly related to targeted learning
  outcomes
• Fit with, incorporate, or enrich existing
  instructional strategies
• Provide rich, useful information about student
  learning

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Classroom Assessment Cycle
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Elements of a Classroom Assessment Project Plan

• Goal problem to be solved, improvement to be
  achieved may be qualitative
• Learning outcomes to be addressed
• Instructional methods to be used
• Assessment methods to be used
• Resources needed, if any

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Group Discussion Examples in Section 6 of your
binder

• Group 1 Biology
• Group 2 Sociology
• Group 3 Management
• Group 4 English Composition
• Group 5 DC/AC Electricity
• Group 6 Culinary Arts
• Group 7 Philosophy

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Summary of Steps

• Planning
• Select course
• Review goals and desired learning outcomes
• Review trends, problems, previous data from
  course or section
• Select desired learning outcome(s) to assess
• Select appropriate, relevant CATs and/or other
  assessment tools/strategies to administer
• Develop timeline

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Summary of Steps

• Implementation
• Introduce your students to Classroom Assessment
• Administer CATs/other assessment tools
• Collect feedback from students
• Share with students the initial results of CATS

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Summary of Steps

• Analysis/Reflection
• Analyze the results of CATS, and other assessment
  tools implemented
• Work with colleagues to interpret results
• Consider how you will use the results to improve
  your teaching and your students learning

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Summary of Steps

• Documentation
• Write up your plan and the process
• Describe the intended and actual implementation
• Describe the results and how you plan to use the
  results
• Cycle begins again
• start planning your next classroom assessment
  project

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Work together!

• Use the Classroom Assessment Project Planning
  sheet and CAT Toolkit to start a plan for a course

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What can I accomplish with Classroom Assessment?

• Celebrate success
• Identify challenges and barriers to student
  learning
• Help determine if new or existing instructional
  strategies are effective
• Engage students in teaching and learning process
• Help students become more aware of their thinking
  and learning and its value

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Looking Ahead

• Phase II Workshops Gathering and Making Sense
  of Assessment Data
• Discipline Teams
• Campus Teams
• Faculty Fellows
• Assessment Council

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Another CAT One-Minute Paper

• Please write brief responses to the following
• What was the most useful idea you gained from
  todays workshop?
• What questions or concerns do you still have?
  What additional resources or information would
  help you be successful?

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Contact Information

• Deborah Morris
• damorris_at_fccj.edu 633-5909 MCCS 374
• Lynne Crosby
• lcrosby_at_fccj.edu 632-5066 MCCS 446
• Assessment Webpage
• http//www1.fccj.edu/program_development/
  assessment/index.html

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Herding CATs