Teaching Commons
BBL: STUDENT
LEARNING OUTCOMES
September 17 2012
Celia Popovic, Director Teaching Commons
1
2
Learning Outcomes for this BBL
By the end of this session participants will be able to:
• Describe the constituent parts of learning outcomes
• Explain why a course director might choose to use them
• Write effective learning outcomes designed to influence
student learning
• Link outcomes at course, unit and program level
3
Advantages
• Makes learning explicit
• Helps students identify whether the course is right for
them
• Helps employers or other education providers
understand what a student should have learnt
• Keeps assessment on track
• Helps colleagues plan precursor or successor courses
4
Potential disadvantages
• Prescriptive – may narrow the experience
• Where is the love of learning?
• What if students learn other things not listed - is this
wrong?
• Standardization takes away from the art of teaching
5
Cognitive Domain
• Recall data
• Understand
• Apply (use)
• Analyse (structure elements)
• Synthesize (create/build)
• Evaluate (assess, judge in relational terms)
6
Example of Content LO
• By the end of this course, students will be able to
categorize macroeconomic policies according to the
economic theories from which they emerge.
• By the end of this unit, students will be able to describe
the characteristics of the three main types of geologic
faults (dip-slip, transform, and oblique) and explain the
different types of motion associated with each.
(taken from University of Toronto website http://www.teaching.utoronto.ca/topics/coursedesign/learning-outcomes/examples.htm)
7
Affective attitude
• Receive (awareness)
• Respond (react)
• Value (understand and act)
• Organize personal value system
• Internalize value system (adopt behaviour)
8
Example of Values LO
• By the end of this course, students will be able to work
cooperatively in a small group environment.
• By the end of this course, students will be able to
identify their own position on the political spectrum.
(taken from University of Toronto website - http://www.teaching.utoronto.ca/topics/coursedesign/learning-outcomes/examples.htm)
9
Psychomotor skills
• Imitation (copy)
• Manipulation (follow instructions)
• Develop precision
• Articulation (combine, integrate related skills)
• Naturalization (automate, become expert)
10
Example of Skills LO
• By the end of this course, students will be able to ask
questions concerning language usage with confidence
and seek effective help from reference sources.
• By the end of this course, students will be able to
analyze qualitative and quantitative data, and explain
how evidence gathered supports or refutes an initial
hypothesis.
(taken from University of Toronto website - http://www.teaching.utoronto.ca/topics/coursedesign/learningoutcomes/examples.htm)
11
Vague LO
By the end of this course, students will have added to their
understanding of the complete research process.
(taken from University of Toronto website - http://www.teaching.utoronto.ca/topics/coursedesign/learningoutcomes/examples.htm)
12
Better LO
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
•
describe the research process in social interventions
•
evaluate critically the quality of research by others
•
formulate research questions designed to test, refine, and build theories
•
identify and demonstrate facility in research designs and data collection
strategies that are most appropriate to a particular research project
•
formulate a complete and logical plan for data analysis that will
adequately answer the research questions and probe alternative explanations
•
interpret research findings and draw appropriate conclusions
(taken from University of Toronto website http://www.teaching.utoronto.ca/topics/coursedesign/learning-outcomes/examples.htm)
13
Learning Outcomes
Good SLOs are SMART (adapted from Institute for Evidence-Based Change,
Presentation from the Ontario Tuning Process Workshop, November 17th, 2011):
• Student centred - focussed on the learner, not the instructor
• Measurable - should express the intended learning in a form that can be
assessed (in the US over 200 institutions are voluntarily participating in
the Collegiate Learning Assessment or CLA) – i.e., they need to be realistic
• Action oriented - use active language (see Hand-out on Bloom’s
taxonomy) – verbs should also reflect level of understanding required
• Results driven - emphasize application and integration now and for the
future
• Tailored to a specific degree level – should reflect what the program is
about
14
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
Avoid pitfalls (revised from: Institute for Evidence-Based Change,
Presentation at the Ontario Tuning Process Workshop, November 17th, 2011]:
• Wordy statements (be concise)
• Stacked outcomes (avoid too many outcomes in a single statement)
• Procedural statements (focus on outcomes, not processes)
• Outcomes that cannot be measured (this does not assume quantitative
measures but it does assume specific observable outcomes)
• Vague language - verbs like “understand, demonstrate, or discuss”
because they are open to multiple interpretations
15
Plan a 3 hour course:
• How to buy a house in Canada
• How to be an affective hotel receptionist
• Motor maintenance 101
• Shoe repair
• Planning a holiday of a lifetime or a wedding
• Getting the most from your digital video recorder
• How to select the best school for your child
16
Degree Level Expectations - DLEs
• Depth and breadth of knowledge
• Knowledge of methodologies
• Application of knowledge
• Communication skills
• Awareness of limits of knowledge
• Autonomy and professional capacity
See link http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/postsec/oqf.pdf for Ontario Qualifications
Framework (based on degree level expectations)
17
Defining Competencies
Competencies are:
• The broad statements about what students will know when they
complete a program – you can think about competences about the
knowledge, skills and/or values that are developed by and that
belong to the student (Tuning Educational Structures in Europe. A
Guide to Formulating Degree Programme Profiles, Jenneke Lokhoff
et al., eds. 2010:21)
• Competences are not necessarily measurable and typically involve
a definition
• Illustration: Start with the name of the competence and then add a
short definition
o Communication or communication skills? Definition: the ability to
communicate effectively with a range of people from different
backgrounds
18
Why? Evidence-Based Support for the Value of
Curriculum Mapping
19
• Enhances integrity of academic programs
(coherence of program and constructive alignment
between the program, the courses and
assessment)
• Student-centred approach to learning
• Enhances quality of student learning experience
• Makes program goals and qualifications more
transparent
• Facilitates recognition of credentials across
universities/countries and therefore enhances
portability of credentials
Why? Continued…
• Supports lifelong learning/seamless education
including pathways between colleges and
universities
• Supports internationalization, joint/dual degrees
• Focus on SLOs enhances potential for recognizing
prior learning (i.e., PLAR)
• Assessment based on SLOs has been found to
reduce failure rates
• Helps students and employers understand
knowledge and skills that can be expected
20
Curriculum Mapping – the Program
Competence
Competence 1
Courses/
Student
Learning
Outcomes
A
B
X
C
X
X
X
X
Course 3
Course 4
Course 5
21
Competence 3
Program Student Learning Outcomes
Course 1
Course 2
Competence 2
D
F
G
X
H
X
X
X
E
X
X
X
X
X
References
Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, Hill and Krathwhol (1956) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives:
Handbook 1, The cognitive domain, Allan and Bacon, Boston, MA.
Bloom, Krathwhol and Masia (1964) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Volume 2, The
affective domain, Allan and Bacon, Boston, MA.
Dave, R.H. (1970) in R.J. Armstrong (Ed)Developing and Writing Behavioural Objectives,
Educational Innovators Press, Tucson, AZ.
Institute for Evidence-Based Change, Ontario Tuning Process Workshop, November 17th, 2011
Ontario Qualifications Framework http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/postsec/oqf.pdf
Tuning Educational Structures in Europe. A Guide to Formulating Degree Programme Profiles,
Jenneke Lokhoff et al., eds. 2010:21
University of Toronto – http://www.teaching.utoronto.ca/topics/coursedesign/learningoutcomes/examples.htm
22