Outcomes or Objectives: What

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Outcomes or Objectives Whats the Diff?

• Ginni May Facilitator, Sacramento City College
• Marie Boyd Chaffey College
• Aimee Myers Sierra College
• Michelle Pilati Rio Hondo College

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Overview

• Whats the big deal?
• Says who?
• Title 5
• ASCCC
• ACCJC
• How are/should objectives and outcomes be
  related?
• Positions, considerations, and models
• Where should SLOs live?

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You say tomAtoes And I say tOmatoes

• Outcomes or Objectives?
• Is there a difference?
• Does it matter?
• Can we call the whole thing off?
• Lets review what we know and what we dont know

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Title 5 55002 (a)(3) and (b)(3)

• Both degree applicable and non-degree applicable
  courses require course outlines of record (CORs).
• CORs must include
• Unit value
• Expected number of contact hours as a whole
• Pre-req, co-reqs, advisories
• Catalog description
• OBJECTIVES
• Content
• Should include examples of reading, writing and
  other outside-of-class assignments
• Instructional methodology
• Methods of evaluation

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So, what IS an objective?

• ASCCCs Course Outline of Record A Curriculum
  Reference Guide

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Objectives

• Stated in terms of what students will be able to
  do.
• Clearly connect to achievement of the course
  goals.
• Concise but complete ten objectives might be too
  many one is not enough.

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Objectives

• Use verbs showing active learning.
• Theory, principles, and concepts must be
  adequately covered.
• Skills and applications are used to reinforce and
  develop concepts.
• Each objective should be broad in scope, not too
  detailed, narrow, or specific.

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So why are we even talking about outcomes?
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ACCJC STANDARDS

• 21 references to learning outcomes in the new
  Standards.
• Among them STANDARD I.B.2
• The institution defines and assesses student
  learning outcomes for all instructional programs
  and student and learning support services.
• ACCJC does not tell us how to define.

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ACCJC STANDARDS

• STANDARD I.B.5
• The institution assesses accomplishment of its
  mission through program review and evaluation of
  goals and objectives, student learning outcomes,
  and student achievement. Quantitative and
  qualitative data are disaggregated for analysis
  by program type and mode of delivery.
• Again, ACCJC does not tell us how to assess. It
  does tell us, however, we must disaggregate and
  analyze.

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Title 5 vs ACCJC Standards

• Title 5 states that OBJECTIVES must be a
  component of the COR 55002(a)(3).
• ACCJC requires OUTCOMES II.A.3 officially
  approved and current course outlines that include
  student learning outcomes. In every class section
  students receive a course syllabus that includes
  learning outcomes from the institutions
  officially approved course.
• We also must do things with those outcomesGood
  things. ?

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Title 5 vs ACCJC Standards

• Neither dictates the relationship between the
  two.
• So, what is the relationship?

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ASCCC Positions Publishing SLOs

• Spring 2009 (09.10)
• Whereas, Curriculum and student success are areas
  where ASCCC has professional responsibility
• Whereas, Approximately 50 of the CCCs that
  responded to surveys about placing SLOs in the
  COR reported their decision not to include SLOs
  on the COR, while other colleges either did not
  respond or have not decided and

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ASCCC Positions Publishing SLOs

• Whereas, Housing SLOs in some other public domain
  entity can still allow students, community
  members, and accrediting agencies to review and
  track progress of SLOs at community colleges
• Resolved, That ASCCC encourage local senates to
  publish SLOs in any appropriate public domain
  entity such as the COR, database, webpage, etc.

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Local Considerations

• Relationship between Standing Committees that
  handle curriculum and outcomes (SLOs)
• Relationship between SLOs and the Course Outline
  of Record
• Processes - Cycles on Campus
• Curriculum Review
• SLO Assessment
• Program Review

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Chaffey College Model

• Objectives are the nuts and bolts of a subject.
• Outcomes are what we expect students to be able
  to do with the nuts and bolts in terms of
  Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs).
• While objectives are what students will learn,
• outcomes demonstrate the specific observable
  
• and measurable product of that learning the
  
• higher order application of knowledge and
  skills.

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Chaffey College Model

• Course SLOs have always been separated from
  course objectives.
• Course SLOs are crafted differently than course
  objectives which rely on Blooms Taxonomy.
• Course SLOs are limited to 3-5 statements
  objectives can be up to 20 items

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Chaffey College Model

• Course SLOs are housed on an addendum and do not
  appear on the word report of the COR in
  Curricunet.
• Course SLOs are scaffolded, aligning with program
  SLOs and the institutions Core Competencies.
• Folding SLOs into the curriculum process in this
  limited way guarantees sustained, substantive
  and collegial dialog about student outcomes
  required in Standard I.B.1.

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• Core Competencies
• 1. Communication
• 2. Critical Thinking and Information
  Competency
• 3. Community/Global Awareness and
  Responsibility
• 5. Personal, Academic, and Career
  Development
• Program SLOs
• 1. Demonstrate familiarity with major
  concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical
  findings, and historical trends.
• 2. Understand and apply basic research
  methods including research design, data analysis
  and interpretation.
• 3. Show insight into ones own and others
  behavior and mental processes and apply effective
  strategies for self-
• management and self-improvement.
• 4. Recognize, understand and respect the
  complexity of socio-cultural and international
  diversity.
• 5. Respect and use critical and creative
  thinking, skeptical inquiry and the scientific
  approach.
• COURSE SLOs
• Upon successful completion students will be able
  to identify the major theoretical perspectives in
  Psychology.
• Upon successful completion students will be able
  to identify the major theoretical perspectives in
  Psychology.

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Chaffey College Model Objectives

• Course Objectives for PSYCH 1 (aligned with C-ID
  PST 100 Introduction to Psychology)
• A. Gain mastery of major concepts, theoretical
  perspectives, research methods, core empirical
  findings and historic trends in psychology.
• B. Contrast and compare scientific and
  non-scientific views on the nature and origins of
  behavior.
• C. Contrast and compare major theoretical
  perspectives of psychology (e.g., behavioral,
  biological, cognitive, evolutionary, humanistic,
  psychodynamic and socio-cultural).
• D. Gain mastery of the following nine general
  domains (1) biological basis of behavior and
  mental processes, (2) sensation and perception,
  (3) learning and memory, (4) cognition,
  consciousness, (5) individual differences,
  psychometrics, personality, (6) social processes
  (including those related to socio-cultural and
  international dimensions), (7) developmental
  changes in behavior and mental processes that
  occur during a lifespan, (8) psychological
  disorders, and (9) emotion and motivation.
• E. Describe various activities of psychologists
  (both experimental and clinical).
• F. Describe and demonstrate an understanding of
  applied areas of psychology (e.g., clinical,
  counseling, forensic, community, organizational,
  school, health)
• G. Think scientifically about behavior including
  ones own behavior and draw a distinction between
  scientific and non-scientific methods of
  understanding and analysis.
• H. Think scientifically about behavior including
  ones own behavior.
• I. Recognize and understand the impact of
  diversity on psychological research, theory and
  application, including (but not limited to) age,
  race, ethnicity, culture, gender, socio-economic
  status, disability and sexual orientation.
• J. Understand and analyze the ethics involved
  within the field of psychology (both experimental
  clinical).
• K. Apply course material to everyday life
  experience.
• L. Characterize psychology as a discipline and a
  science.
• M. Understand and analyze the causes, functions
  and mechanisms of behavior in animals and humans.
  
• N. Critically think about concepts and issues
  within the field of psychology.

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Chaffey College Model PSYCH 1 SLOs

• Upon the successful completion of PSYCH 1 (grade
  C or higher), students will
• identify the major theoretical perspectives in
  psychology.
• differentiate between major research methods in
  psychology.
• identify and explain the major parts and
  functions of the brain and central nervous
  system.

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Sacramento City College Model

• Los Rios Community College District has their own
  curriculum management system call SOCRATES.
• It houses all Course and Program Outlines of
  Record (CORs and PORs).
• Each COR and POR template has a section labeled
  Learning Outcomes and Objectives.

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Sacramento City College Model

• Learning Outcomes and Objectives
• Upon completion of this course, the student will
  be able to
• compose effective college-level essays using a
  variety of rhetorical strategies and applying
  appropriate citations and formatting standards.
• research, evaluate, and synthesize sources to
  support a thesis.
• critically analyze, compare, and evaluate various
  complex works.
• apply the conventions of standard written
  English, employing a variety of sentence
  structures and college-level diction.

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Sierra College Model

• Objectives are small steps that lead toward a
  goal, for instance the discrete course content
  that faculty cover within a discipline.
• Objectives are usually more numerous and create a
  framework for the overarching student learning
  outcomes which address synthesizing, evaluating
  and analyzing many of the objectives.

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Sierra College Model

• Student learning outcomes (SLOs) are the specific
  observable or measurable results that are
  expected subsequent to a learning experience.
• http//www.sierracollege.edu/slo/_resources/img/do
  cs/Assessment-Guidebook-10-5-14.pdf

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So, where should SLOs live?
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• Page 2 How do course SLOs relate to learning
  objectives?
• Most of the confusion about the difference
  between SLOs and learning objectives lies in the
  term objectives. Generally, objectives specify
  discrete steps taken within an educational
  program to achieve an outcome. They are the
  means, not the ends. So the course objectives
  specified by the California public college
  systems Academic Senate, for example, are
  defined as follows Objectives are the key
  elements which must be taught each time the
  course is taught.1 Course SLOs are the intended
  learning outcomes objectives are the things that
  must be taught/covered in order to achieve those
  learning outcomes. Sometimes, these things are
  very close often, they are quite distinct.
• 1. The Course Outline of Record A Curriculum
  Reference Guide, adopted Spring 2008 by the
  Academic Senate for California
• Community Colleges.

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What Happens When Course Objectives are
Considered the Same as Course SLOs?