Dillard University

Center for Teaching, Learning, and Academic Technology

Assessing Student Learning Outcomes: Educational Programs, Support Programs, General Education, and QEP

Session on SLO’s and Assessment

Articulate the genesis of development of a culture of assessment

Identifies the components of institutional effectiveness emanating from a system of data sharing and program improvement

Distinguish the purpose and verbage of a program, course, and student learning outcome

Why Do Assessments?

As teaching professionals we care about quality teaching & learning. Thus , assessments are what we faculty members do to demonstrate to ourselves that we actually do what we say we do. It is our source of feedback.

As an added dimension to grades, assessments deconstruct the curriculum (or the assignment, course, or class) into component parts and makes those parts visible.

National Context

Spellings Commission on the Future of Higher Education

LEAP: Liberal Education and America’s Promise: Changing the Conversation about Student Success and Institutional Accountability

AAC&U’s – Essential Learning Outcomes

Why Do Assessments?

Assessments satisfy the demand for accountability by external agencies. That is why the institution must collect evidence of assessment activities.

Virtually every discipline & regional accrediting agency AND most professional organizations are calling upon higher education to access student learning.

The Academy controls assessment by doing it well, or legislative bodies will step in and do it (or clients).

What is LEAP? (Liberal Education and America’s Promise)

 

    A ten-year campus action and advocacy initiative to champion the value of a liberal education. The initiative focuses campus practice on fostering essential learning outcomes for all students, whatever their chosen field of study.

LEAP shines a spotlight on how campuses are employing high impact practices and enacting principles of excellence that ensures success for all students.  

   w w w. a a c u. o r gAssociation of American  Colleges and Universities

The Salary Premium for Essential Learning Outcomes

WritingInductive and Deductive ReasoningJudgment and Decision MakingProblem SolvingSocial/Interpersonal skillsMathematicsOriginality

Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce

Employers Endorse Key  Elements Of Liberal Education 

% saying colleges should put  more emphasis on each learning outcome 

Concepts and new developments in science & technology

Teamwork skills and the ability to collaborate with others in diverse group settings

The ability to apply knowledge and skills to real-world settings through internships or other hands-on experiences

The ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing

Critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills

Global issues and developments and their implications for the future 

Source: How Should Colleges Prepare Students To Succeed in Today’s Global Economy? (AAC&U and Peter D. Hart Research, 2007) 

Effective Educational Practices 

First-Year Seminars and Experiences 

Common Intellectual Experiences

Learning Communities

Writing-Intensive Courses

Collaborative Assignments and Projects Undergraduate Research

Diversity Course/Global Learning

Service Learning, Community-Based   Learning

Internships

Capstone Courses and Projects  

Implications

Regional accreditation bodies increasing attention and expectations related to assessments (e.g. SACS –QEP)

State Education Agencies are increasingly asking for evidence of use of assessments to inform curriculum development

AASCU and NASULGC – Voluntary System of Accountability

Additional local/state initiatives tied to assessment

Defining Learning Outcomes

A learning outcome is the specification of what a student should learn as the result of a period of specified and supported study.

Learning outcomes are concerned with the achievements of the learner rather than the intentions of the teacher (expressed in the aims of a module or course). They can take many forms and can be broad or narrow in nature (Adam, 2004).

Defining Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes and ‘aims and objectives’ are often used synonymously, although they are not the same. Adam (2004) notes that ‘Aims are concerned with teaching and the teacher’s intentions whilst learning outcomes are concerned with learning’ and Moon (2002)

However, learning outcomes and objectives are more difficult to distinguish as objectives can be written in terms that are very similar to that used in learning outcomes.

Objectives are written that identified what students should be able to do; this was well before they were known as learning outcomes.

University of Exeter (2004) defines:

Learning Outcome: An expression of what a student will demonstrate on the successful completion of a module. Learning outcomes:

are related to the level of the learning;indicate the intended gain in knowledge

and skills that a typical student will achieve;

should be capable of being assessed.

Taxonomic Measures

Student learning outcomes are properly defined in terms of the knowledge, skills, and abilities that a student has attained at the end (or as a result) of his or her engagement in a particular set of higher education experiences.

(Chea, 2003)

and…

Not all of the outcomes of college are confined to learning.

Additional behavioral outcomes or experiences that may result from attending an institution or program include employment and increased career mobility, enhanced incomes and lifestyles, the opportunity to enroll for additional education, or simply a more fulfilled and reflective life.

Making the Distinction

Outcomes: Anticipated or achieved results of programes or the accomplishment of institutional objectives, as demonstrated by a wide range of indicators (such as student knowledge, cognitive skills, and attitudes).

Outcomes are direct results of the instructional programs, planned in terms of student/learner growth in all areas. An outcome must be distinguished from an objective, which is a sought-after result. Generally, each outcome statement should describe one effect of the instructional program.

Student Learning Outcomes: Statements of what a learner is expected to know, understand, and/or be able to demonstrate after completion of a process of learning as well as the specific intellectual and practical skills gained and demonstrated by the successful completion of a unit, course, or program.

Learning outcomes, together with assessment criteria, specify the minimum requirements for the award of credit, while grading is based on attainment above or below the minimum requirements for the award of credit.

Learning outcomes are distinct from the aims of learning in that they are concerned with the achievements of the learner rather than with the overall intentions of the teacher. (Vlãsceanu et al., 2004, pp. 41–42)

Institutional Mission (Graduates)

Program Outcomes

Course Outcomes

Student success – Student Learning Outcomes

SUMMARY OF DEFINITIONS AND DISTINCTIONS

Program Learning Outcomes describe the essential knowledge, skills and attitudes required by

graduates of the program Course Learning Outcomes

reflect what the faculty and the community collectively identify as the essential knowledge, skills and attitudes required by practitioners in the subject area

Instructional Objectives describe in detail the behaviors that students will be able to

perform at the conclusion of a unit of instruction such as a class, and the conditions and criteria which determine the acceptable level of performance.

Why are Student Learning Outcomes Important?

They help students appreciate your organizational skills

They guide development of the course syllabus

They guide discussions about content and coverage

The guide the development of evaluation methods (tests and assignments)

Definition of a Rubric

“As applied to student work, a rubric reveals…the scoring ‘rules’ . It explains to students that criteria against which their work will be judged. More importantly…It makes public, key criteria that students can be used in developing, revising, and judging their own work.”

Huba, M.E. & Freed, J.E. (2000) Learner –Centered Assessment on College Campuses: Shifting the Focus from Teaching to Learning: Boston: Allyn and bacon, p. 155.

Why are Student Learning Outcomes Important?

They allow you to undertake broader assessments

They result in convergence of content assignments, and grading

Course Level Assessments

Direct Measures Homework Assignments Examinations and

Quizzes Standardized Tests Projects Case Study Analysis Rubric scores for Writing,

oral presentations, and performances

Artistic Performances and products

Grades that are based on explicit criteria related to clear learning goals

Indirect Measures Course Evaluation Test Blueprint (outlines of

the course concepts and skills covered on tests)

Number of student hours spent on activities related to the course

Course Level Assessments

Direct Measures Published tests

(Standardized test) Locally Developed test Course embedded Portfolios Videotape and

audiotape evaluation Pre/Post Tests Thesis evaluation

Indirect Measures Curriculum and

syllabus analysis (input assessment)

External reviewers (peer review)

Surveys Reflective essay Interview

The Salary Premium for Essential Learning Outcomes

From a federal database analyzing qualifications for 1,000 different jobs, there is consistent evidence that the highest salaries apply to positions that call for intensive set of liberal education capabilities, including (in random order):

Thank you for your presence

ReflectionsImplications for further research and

professional development