SIO Workshop: Course Design 1 - Learning outcomes

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Center for Teaching Development

Course Design 1:

Learning Outcomes

Course Design 1:

Learning Outcomes

Unless otherwise noted, content is

licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-

Non Commercial 3.0 License.

Peter Newbury, Ph.D.

Center for Teaching Development,

University of California, San Diego

[email protected]

@polarisdotca #ctducsd

ctd.ucsd.edu

Scripps Institute of Oceanography November 7, 2014

Scholarly approach to teaching:

Learning Outcomes 3

Carl Wieman

Science Education Initiative

cwsei.ubc.ca

What should

students

learn? learning

outcomes assessment that

supports learning

(Nov 21)

alternatives

to lecture

(Nov 14)

What should

students

learn?

What are

students

learning?

What instructional

approaches

help students

learn?

(Image: NASA) Learning Outcomes 4

Introductory “Astro 101”

Traditional Course Syllabus Course with Learning

Outcomes

Learning Outcomes 5

This course covers Chapters

1. Mercury

2. Venus

…

8. Neptune

9. other objects

10. Formation of the

Solar System

deduce from patterns in the

properties of the planets,

moons, asteroids and other

bodies that the Solar System

had single formation event.

provide notable examples of

how comets influenced

history, art and science

Learning outcomes

Learning Outcomes 6

completes the sentence, “By this end of this

lesson/unit/course, you will be able to…”

begins with an action verb (“deduce”) (more below)

tells the students what they must do to demonstrate

they “understand” the concept

What is the Value of Course-Specific

Learning Outcomes?

Learning Outcomes 7

Simon & Taylor [1] asked students to complete this

sentence:

For me, the use of learning goals in this course is…

They received 597 responses from students in computer

science and microbiology. Responses were put into

categories that emerged from the responses.

Learning Outcomes 8

Simon & Taylor (2009)

Learning outcomes are valuable…

Learning Outcomes 9

to students

o reveal what the instructor is looking for (no guessing what “understand” means, what the instructor is “looking for”)

o give big picture of the next part of the course

o allows student to check that s/he has mastered the concept (especially when studying later)

to the instructor

o crystallizes what the instructor cares about

o helps the instructor choose questions for peer instruction (“clickers”) in class, write the final exam

choose questions for peer instruction

Learning Outcomes 10 ClassAction http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/

write the final exam

Learning Outcomes 11

(10 marks) List 3 patterns of the Solar System as a

whole. Then, outline in some detail the current model for

the formation of the Solar System. In particular, make sure

you explain how the observed patterns and regularities are

related to this theory of formation.

Yes!

A course should have

Course-level LOs Topic-level LOs


several LOs giving big

picture, attitudes,

behaviors

(likely) can’t be assessed

with a single exam

question

supported by many

topic-level LOs

many LOs defining what

it means to “understand”

at this level (freshman,…)

can be (should be)

repeatedly assessed on

homework, exams

support one or more

course-level LOs

Topic-level

LO

Topic-level

LO

Topic-

level LO

Course-level LO #4


Course-level LO #2

Course-level LO #3 Course-level

learning outcome (LO) #1

Topic-level

LO Topic-level

LO

Topic-level

LO

Topic-level

LO

Topic-level

LO

Topic-level

LO

Topic-level

LO Topic-level

LO

Topic-

level LO

Topic-

level LO

Topic-

level LO

Topic-

level LO

Topic-

level LO Topic-

level LO

Topic-

level LO

Topic-level

LO Topic-level

learning outcome

Writing topic-level LOs


Writing learning outcomes is hard because you have to

recognize

declare

(admit)

what you want your students to be capable of doing.

A good place to start is picking the verb describing

the action the students will perform to demonstrate their

mastery of the concept.

Bloom’s Taxonomy [2,3]


transform or combine ideas to create something new think critically about and defend a position

break down concepts into parts

apply comprehension to unfamiliar situations demonstrate understanding of ideas and concepts

remember and recall factual information

6 Create

5 Evaluate

4 Analyze

3 Apply

2 Understand

1 Remember

Bloom’s Taxonomy [2,3]


higher order thinking

lower order thinking

6 Create

5 Evaluate

4 Analyze

3 Apply

2 Understand

1 Remember

Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs


develop, create, propose, formulate, design, invent

judge, appraise, recommend, justify, defend, criticize, evaluate

compare, contrast, categorize, distinguish, identify, infer

apply, demonstrate, use, compute, solve, predict, construct, modify

describe, explain, summarize, interpret, illustrate

define, list, state, label, name, describe

6 Create

5 Evaluate

4 Analyze

3 Apply

2 Understand

1 Remember

Driver’s Ed 101: How to Drive in CA


Task: Write a learning outcome

that your group’s question assesses.

(refer to the Bloom’s Taxonomy handout

from the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative)

1. Writing LOs – The Wrong Way


Astro 101 Learning Outcomes

1. understand how Saturn’s rings formed

Assess your LOs:

“Understand”? That could be a sentence…or a thesis

how does a student demonstrate to you s/he

“understands” at this level?

how does a student check that s/he has mastered the

Saturn part of the course?

1b. Writing LOs – More Effective Way


Astro 101 Learning Outcomes

1. give a detailed description of the size and structure of

Saturn’s rings

2. trace the gravitational feedback cycle that keeps

Saturn’s rings so thin

Assess your LOs:

Is this really what I want them to know?

Are they capable of that?

Do I have a question I can use to assess this LO?

2. “Back-engineer” LOs from exams


Use last year’s (or several years’) final exam. For each good

question, ask yourself

What is this question assessing? What is the learning

outcome I want students to demonstrate to properly

answer this question?

Is that the outcome I want, or is it too low (or high)?

When you have a list of LOs,

Does it cover everything I want for this course?

Have I over- or under-represented any concepts?

3. Draft LOs from course outline


Work your way through the list of topics. For each topic,

decide

What do I want students to be able to do, to

demonstrate they “get” this topic?

Don’t worry about drafting too many low-level LOs.

When you revise, you’ll start grouping them into

higher-level LOs.

Share your LOs with your students


(good) Publish your LOs as part of your syllabus.

(better) Publish them in your syllabus AND include relevant learning goals in your lecture slides at the beginning of each topic, even each class.

Be wary of reading them aloud: your students may not yet have the knowledge (or jargon) to appreciate the LOs. The LOs will be there when they study.

Don’t worry about “spoon-feeding” the students: LO’s help your students do what you feel demonstrates understanding

Scholarly approach to teaching:


Carl Wieman

Science Education Initiative

cwsei.ubc.ca

What should

students

learn? learning

outcomes assessment that

supports learning

(Nov 21)

alternatives

to lecture

(Nov 14)

What should

students

learn?

What are

students

learning?

What instructional

approaches

help students

learn?

References


1. Simon, B., & Taylor, J. (2009). What is the Value of Course-Specific Learning Goals? Journal of

College Science Teaching, 39, 2, 52-57. PDF available at

www.cwsei.ubc.ca/SEI_research/files/LifeSci/Simon_Taylor_ValueOfCourseSpecificLG.pdf

2. Bloom B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. New York:

David McKay Co Inc.

Adapted from Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A Taxonomy for Learning. Teaching,

and assessing: A revision of bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives.

Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/RevisedBlooms1.html

3. Excerpt from Wieman, C. (2007). Slides from the Wieman Learning Goals Workshop.

www.cwsei.ubc.ca/resources/learn_goals.htm

4. California DMV Sample Class C Written Test 5

www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/interactive/tdrive/clc6written.htm

http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/RevisedBlooms1.html

http://www.cwsei.ubc.ca/resources/learn_goals.htm

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/interactive/tdrive/clc6written.htm

6 Create: transform and combine ideas to create something new

develop, create, propose, formulate, design, invent

5 Evaluate: think critically about and defend a position

judge, appraise, recommend, justify, defend, criticize, evaluate

4 Analyze:: break down concepts into parts

compare, contrast, categorize, distinguish, identify, infer

3 Apply: apply comprehension to unfamiliar situations

apply, demonstrate, use, compute, solve, predict, construct, modify

2 Understand: demonstrate understanding of ideas, concepts

describe, explain, summarize, interpret, illustrate

1 Remember: remember and recall factual knowledge

define, list, state, label, name, describe

Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain

(Levels of Learning)

Learning Outcomes Center for Teaching Development

Adapted from Carl Wieman (2007) www.cwsei.ubc.ca/resources/learn_goals.htm

SIO Workshop: Course Design 1 - Learning outcomes

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