+ LEARNING OUTCOMES & OBJECTIVES GSR 989: Philosophy & Practice of University Teaching October 28, 2013 + Objectives for today By the end of this session, you should be able to: 1. 2. 3. 4. Define learning outcomes and objectives Distinguish poorly written objectives from well-written ones Identify the different components that compose a learning objective using the SMART criteria and Bloom’s Taxonomy Practice writing learning objectives + What she said: “Learning can occur without teaching at no loss to anyone, but teaching can and does occur without learning.” (Nilson 2010) + “Begin with the end.” + Alice: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” Cat: “That depends a good deal on where you want to go.” Alice: “I don’t much care where.” Cat: “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.” —dialogue between Alice and the Cheshire Cat, from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll http://national.ballet.ca/performances/season1213/Alice_s_Adventures_in_Wonderland/ + Alice: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” Cat: “That depends a good deal on where you want to go.” Alice: “I don’t much care where.” Cat: “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.” —dialogue between Alice and the Cheshire Cat, from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll http://national.ballet.ca/performances/season1213/Alice_s_Adventures_in_Wonderland/ + Learning Outcomes: n Are broad goals, stated in general terms n Are spread over a long period of time n Are an expression of a long-term purpose n Can be supported and defined by one or more specific objectives Example: + By the end of this course, students will be able to discuss the role that learning outcomes and objectives play in effective course design and classroom instruction. + Learning Objectives are: n Observable, assessable, and measurable n Relevant and meaningful to the learners n A “promise” – students have to do their part n “Clear statements of what the learner is expected to achieve and how he or she is expected to demonstrate that achievement” (Kennedy, Hyland and Ryan 2006) (Adapted from Nilson 2010) Example: + By the end of this class, students will be able to distinguish between poorly and wellwritten objectives OR write learning objectives/outcomes for the courses they teach or intend to teach someday. + Think-pair-share: How are outcomes and objectives helpful to instructors? To students? n nAre there any negatives to using outcomes and objectives in your teaching? + Effective learning objectives are SMART nSpecific nMeasureable nAttainable nRelevant nTime-bound + Ineffective learning objectives are: n Intangible n Broad and poorly defined and not specific n Difficult to assess n Do not clearly define what “competence” or “mastery” of the material looks like n Lengthy, jargony, “padded” + Good or bad learning objective? By the end of the course, students will have increased their organization, writing, and presentation skills. The student will be exposed to the various computer software packages available and relevant to the operation of small businesses. Adapted from (Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation) and (Schindelka 2012) + The anatomy of an objective A = audience B = behavior C = criteria + PART ONE: “A” for AUDIENCE n Who? Who n Make is this outcome aimed at? your objectives student-centred n TSWBAT = the student will be able to n TLSBAT = the learner should be able to + Teacher-centred vs. Student-centred Objectives Teacher-Centred Student-Centred n Frequently about “spoonfeeding” information to students n Not about “giving-in” or “catering” to students n Content-driven n Outcomes-based n Passive learning strategies n Active learning strategies n Assessment often involves determining if students know facts, but not application of those facts n Students must take greater responsibility for their learning + Why Student-Centred? n Active learning better for “increasing conceptual understanding, developing higher level thinking skills …” (Burrows 2003) n Increased interest in subject (Burrows 2003) n Student-directed-learning (SDL) leads to students taking greater responsibility for learning (Katz 1996) + AUDIENCE: What’s wrong with this objective? To introduce students to the ways professional historians think and work, including the ways in which historical questions are posed and historical evidence is analyzed and interpreted. (From the Center for Teaching and Learning) + PART TWO: “B” for BEHAVIOR nWhat do you expect them to be able to do as a result of the learning? nUse action verbs to describe an overt, observable behavior. + BEHAVIOR: What is wrong with this objective? Students will have an appreciation of the Canadian criminal justice system. + PART THREE: “C” for Criteria n States the standard for mastery (time, accuracy, proportion, quality, etc) n What constitutes a minimum acceptable performance? How will the student be assessed? n Example: n … without error n … 9 of 10 times n … within 60 seconds + CRITERIA: How can we improve this objective? Given two hula hoops, the student will be able to successfully demonstrate using them. + IDENTIFY THE PARTS : A + B + C By the end of the course, students will be able to effectively communicate the results of their research findings and analyses to fellow classmates in an oral presentation. (from the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation) + 10 Minute Break! + Bloom’s Taxonomy Three hierarchies of learning: 1. Cognitive n Thinking 2. skills Affective n Beliefs and attitudes Learning outcomes can address “SKA”: n Skills (psychomotor) n Knowledge 3. Psychomotor n Physical skills (cognitive) n Attitudes (affective) + Bloom’s Taxonomy: COGNITIVE domain Evaluation Synthesis Analysis Application Comprehension Knowledge + Bloom’s Taxonomy (revised): COGNITIVE domain Creating Evaluating Analyzing Applying Understanding Remembering When we are creating outcomes and objectives, we want to make +sure that we are teaching higher-level, as well as the lower level thinking orders. + “Writing Learning Objectives Using Bloom's Taxonomy” http://youtu.be/-l8e7Iic8Os Your turn: + Given a lecture on objectives and an item, the students will be able to draft a learning objective of their own that reflects all three ABC’s of objectives (audience + behavior + criteria) & is situated in Bloom’s cognitive domain. + Muddiest point + References n Burrows, Patricia A. (2003) A Student-Centered Approach to Teaching General Biology That Really Works: Lord's Constructivist Model Put to a Test. The American Biology Teacher. 65(7) 491-502. n Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Minnesota. “Converting Teacher-Centered Course Outcomes to LearnerCentered Course Outcomes.” http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/ teachlearn/tutorials/syllabus/course/outcomes/convert/ index.html n Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation, University of Toronto. “Developing Learning Outcomes: A Guide for Faculty.” http://www.teaching.utoronto.ca/topics/coursedesign/ learning-outcomes.htm + n Katz, Marlene (1996) Teaching Organic Chemistry via Student-Directed Learning. Journal of Chemical Education. n Kennedy, Declan, Aine Hyland and Norma Ryan. 2006. “Writing and Using Learning Outcomes: a Practical Guide.” Published in Implementing Bologna in your institution. http://www.procesbolonski.uw.edu.pl/dane/learningoutcomes.pdf n The Learning Management Corporation. “Developing Outcomes and Objectives.” http:///pubdownloads/ developing_clear_learning_outcomes_awww.thelearningma nager.comnd_objectives.pdf n Nilson, Linda B. 2010. Teaching at its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors. 3rd ed. Jossey-Bass. n Schindelka, Barb. 2012. “Writing Effective Learning Objectives: The Good, the Bad, and the Downright Ugly”. From the 2012 Course Design Institute, Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness, University of Saskatchewan.
