General Education as a
Learning-Outcome-Based Program:
Course Review and Revision Workshop
Tuesday, September 21
Fitting the pieces together and making connections
First
Why is General Education
important?
Role of the Undergraduate
Major
Has primary responsibility for
developing the ideas and
methodologies to communicate
within a disciplinary community
Suggests potential career paths.
General Education v. Major
General Education
Major, minor,
electives
And the role of General
Education?
UW-L’s General (liberal)
Education prepares students to
live, work, and play as responsible
global citizens in the context of a
diverse and ever changing world.
Life after college
Job or
career
Other aspects
of life and
living
Overview of Today
Timeline
Learning outcome: what &
why
Using Learning outcomes to
review courses
Brief Timeline
FALL 2004
• Departmental Review of GE courses – due
December 1 (new date!!)
• Various ideas for a revised structure sent out
to campus for feedback (tentative)
• Workshops and Mini-conference
• GEC map outcomes as they are addressed in
current array of courses
Timeline continued
Spring 2005
GEC use feedback to develop a draft of revised
structure; disseminate and ask for feedback
Conversation among GE instructors at January
T & L conference
More workshops as needed
Departments assess one or two GE courses
GEC begin official review of courses
End of AY 2004-05
Revised General Education Program
Structure sent to Faculty Senate for
approval
Initial set of courses for revised program
reviewed and certified*
GEC receives departmental assessment
reports
GE assessment “team” reports completed
Using Learning Outcomes to Guide
Course Development, Review, and
Revision
Rationale for Outcome Based GE
program
Focuses our attention on what we
expect students to learn
Direct link to assessment
Can ensure and enhance
accountability (institution and
students)
A learning outcome based program
can help students
• better articulate the goals of the
program
• more readily reflect on their own
progress (self-assessment)
• improve student learning
What is a learning outcome?
Learning Outcomes
are clearly stated expectations for what
students should learn and be able to do by
the end of a course/program of studies.
Include an action verb and a statement of
ability
Goals v. Learning outcomes
GOAL: Student will have “knowledge of the
development and interaction of human
cultures”
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
“describe how a person’s historical and
cultural contexts influence perceptions of
themselves and others”
How does the learning outcome
help with:
Assessment
Learning activities
Rethinking our Thinking 1
A learning-outcome-based curriculum moves us
from an overt focus on courses distributed across
the academic spectrum
to
an overt focus on helping students develop specific
competencies (learning outcomes) that are
requisite for learning and living as responsible
citizens “in diverse local, national and global
societies”
Rethinking our Thinking 2
Outcome Based Programs moves us
from a GE Curriculum that
 Is “Input” based
 Focuses on the academic spectrum
Rethinking our Thinking 3
In an O-B-C



Begin with desired result
Determine acceptable evidence
Plan learning experiences and instruction
(Wiggins & McTighe, 1998)
Assessment is integral and a focus from
the beginning
Learning Outcomes
Learning Activities
Assessment of Learning
Always together - Joined at the hips
Understanding and identification of
Learning Outcomes
and Assessment of Learning
precede development of
Learning Activities
Relation Between Learning Outcomes
and Learning Activities
Learning activities
are planned after identifying the learning
outcomes
are planned after identifying what will constitute
evidence of student learning
allow students to develop and practice knowledge
and skills basic to the learning outcome
provide evidence of student learning
are inquiry-based and potentially engaging
Assessment of Learning
Evidence of understanding
Collection of evidence over time
Formal and informal
Learning activities are designed with
evidence of learning in mind
Forms of assessment are varied and many:
may be observations, dialogs, quizzes,
tests, projects, performance tasks, etc.
ASSESSMENT MEANS WE
ALSO HAVE
Evidence, Criteria &
Standards
EVIDENCE of Student Learning
What type of student work can provide
evidence?






Papers
Specific answers on quizzes and exams
Group projects
Oral presentations
An audiovisual project
ETC—depends on course and SLO being
assessed
CRITERIA
Qualities desired in student work
Professional judgment of instructor
Guide student learning efforts
Promote life-long learning
Support instructor in making
objective evaluations
Examples of Criteria
In MATH




Accuracy
Depth of understanding
Complexity
Appropriateness
In CULTURAL DIVERSITY



Range of cultures
Communication
Reflectivity and integration
STANDARDS
Describe different levels of criteria
(performance)
Describe specific indications of
criteria
Promote understanding of criteria
Support faculty in making objective
evaluations
Examples of Standards
Satisfactory
Contains few errors and those errors do not significantly
undermine the quality of the (project, paper, presentation,
problem, etc.)
Consistently views sophisticated and significant dilemmas and
issues (problems) with a broad focus and from multiple
perspectives
Unsatisfactory
One or more errors that significantly undermine the quality of the
work
Views issues and dilemmas (problems) largely in simple terms;
usually does so with limited focus and minimal perspectives
Core Outcomes
What is it that students should remember
“forever” from this course?
What is applicable across situations and/or
disciplines?
What has value beyond the classroom and
is important for developing responsible and
educated global citizens?
What provides a structure or context or
framework to connect the dots or “details”
Worth being familiar with
Important to
Know and do
Enduring
understanding
Departmental Review Process
(OF COURSES AS THEY EXIST NOW)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Have a discussion with colleagues: what
outcomes are we trying to achieve in XYZ
course?
Which ones are THE MOST IMPORTANT—the
ones we want students to remember (or use)
forever (those Core Outcomes)
What are the learning activities we NOW use to
address these outcomes
What do we do NOW for assessing whether or
not students have achieved these outcomes
Why Departmental Review Now?
Provide invaluable information to GEC
about current learning expectations


Are there clusters of outcomes being
addressed—and where
Are there outcomes not being addressed
anywhere
Inform GEC on program “needs” and
effective “revisions,” if necessary
Help with assessment plan
Course Review is NOT designed to:
Officially evaluate current courses
Identify courses that “are
problematic”
Take resources away from any
program or department
Departmental Review of Courses
(one more time)
Three (and a half) Basic Steps
Departmental discussions about learning
outcomes addressed in each course


Determination of the core (most important)
outcomes
Identify the learning activities used to achieve
these outcomes
 Identify how assess student learning of
outcome

Strategy for thinking about
outcomes?
ACHIEVING THE OUTCOMES: WHAT SHOULD
A STUDENT KNOW AND BE ABLE TO DO?
Use the context of the course content and
discipline to think about what the outcome means;
what a student should know and be able to do?
EXAMPLE from UWL 100
Students should be able to:
recognize varying perspectives and beliefs across several
topics, including the “right to an education” and “citizenship.”
articulate a basic explanation as to the purpose of “a
liberal arts education” and the value or importance of this
education to their current and future lives.
identify how their perceptions may be different from others
on the topics discussed in class
identify some of the possible factors (socio-economic
status, race or ethnicity, hometown size, gender, etc.) that
have influenced their ideas about the “right to an education”
and why and how their ideas may differ from others.
WORK TIME
and
more questions?
Thank You!
Reference
Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by
design. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision
and Curriculum Development