2010 ASCCC Curriculum InstituteSanta Clara Marriott • July 8-10, 2010

OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES:SLOs IN CORs?

Kevin Bontenbal, Cuesta CollegeLesley Kawaguchi, Santa Monica College

Virginia May, Sacramento City College

After attending this session, participants should be able to:◦ Distinguish between “objectives” and

“outcomes” as they appear in the Course Outline of Record (COR).

◦ Explain and employ various contemporary models of curriculum development.

◦ Develop curriculum at their campuses that is both theoretically sound and attentive to local population needs.

Describes small, discreet skills Requires basic thinking skills Does not necessarily result in a

product

Knowledge Skills Abilities Attitudes

that a student can demonstrate by the end of a course, program, certificate or degree

Requires HIGHER LEVEL thinking skills Synthesizes many discreet skills Requires students to APPLY what

they’ve learned Results in a product Product must be observed, evaluated,

or assessed by faculty

Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC)◦ See ASCCC paper, Working with the 2002

Accreditation Standards: The Faculty Role (2005), p. 12

◦ See Glossary Accrediting Commission for Community

and Junior Colleges◦ See March 2009 ACCJC Newsletter at

http://www.accjc.org/pdf/March%202009%20newsletter.pdf

Objectives: Develop a main

idea Maintain a

clear command of tone

Show control of standard English grammar

SLO Write essays,

including research-based writing, demonstrating academic rhetorical strategies and documentation.

Biology: Apply concepts of chemistry to physiological systems

Speech: Deliverwell-researched speeches to inform and persuade

Dental Hygiene: Demonstrate technique of soft-tissue curettage on clinic patients

Answer the following questions. Push A if you think the statement is an

SLO. Push B if you think it’s an objective.

(History course) Identify key dates in American History to 1865.

A. SLO B. Objective

History Course: Students can demonstrate factual and chronologically accurate knowledge of key events, issues, trends, and people of the relevant time period and geographic region.

A. SLO B. Objective

(Engineering course) Functioning as a member of a team, the student will design and present a concrete structure which complies with engineering standards.

A. SLO B. Objective

(Epidemiology course) Define and assess an epidemic for a given population and recommend factors influencing the use of health services.

A. SLO B. Objective

(Sociology course) Demonstrate an understanding that individuals (and their families) must be regarded uniquely as individuals with many contributing variables such as multicultural issues.

A. SLO B. Objective

(Math course) Given data, students will analyze information and create a graph that is correctly titled and labeled, appropriately designed, and accurately emphasizes the most important data content.

A. SLO B. Objective

The college’s mission is peripheral to program or departmental missions in matters of curriculum development.

A. True B. False

The course outline of record MUST contain a reference to critical thinking.

A. True B. False

Title 5 states that Student Learning Outcomes need to be part of the Course Outline of Record.

True False

Topic:  Curriculum Whereas, Curriculum and student success are areas where the

Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has professional responsibility;

Whereas, Approximately 50% of California’s community colleges that responded to surveys about placing Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) on the Course Outline of Record (COR) reported their decision not to include SLOs on the COR, while other colleges either did not respond or have not decided; and

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 the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges encourage local senates to publish Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) in any appropriate public domain entity such as the course outline of record, database, webpage, etc.

Title 5 mandates that Student Learning Outcomes must be on an individual instructor’s syllabus.

True False

Must SLOs appear in the faculty members’ course syllabi?

Yes. The answer to this question appears at the beginning of this article, in the quotation from Standard II.A.6. The Commission acknowledges that the use of the words “learning objectives” in this standard appears to be vestigial language from the 1994 Standards. The Commission changed the words “learning objectives” to “student learning outcomes” in January, 2010.

There is a standard definition of “critical thinking” in both the Ed. Code and Title 5 that can be applied to all courses and programs.

A. True B. False

Formative and summative assessments are mutually exclusive.

A. True B. False

What do we value in a course of study?

How do we demonstrate this?

When do we apply these values to learning in the classroom?

How do we evaluate student assignments?◦ Formative assessment:

Student self-assessmentFeedback (a la Classroom Assessment Techniques)

◦ Summative assessment:Unit tests

Essays and papersMidtermsFinal exams Capstone projects

Bloom (1956)

Wiggins and McTighe (1996)

Fink (2003)

“Critical thinking skills are those diverse cognitive processes and associated attitudes critical to intelligent action in diverse situations and fields that can be improved by instruction or conscious effort.”

Nancy Glock, 1987

Please fill out the evaluations. The presentations will be posted on the ASCCC website under the Curriculum Institute within 2 weeks.