Learning Outcomes

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Learning Outcomes

• Staff Development Day
• February 2003
• Gavilan Community College

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Expected Outcomes

• Describe learning outcomes
• Explain why we must attend to learning outcomes
• List and compare assessment methods
• Outline Gavilans approach
• Create a learning outcome
• Identify resources for further research
• Submit to the will of WASC

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• This is a subliminal message to promote
• Bike To Work and School Day
• on
• May 15th
• Pedal Peace, not war

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Perspective

• In the past, year-end reports demonstrated proper
  management but not whether the programs directly
  aided student learning
• Colleges measured enrollments, participation
  rates, budget expenditures
• More recently have expanded to measure success,
  retention, persistence, graduation, and transfer
• Focus has also been on instructional delivery
  versus student learning
• Means have been mistaken for the ends
  (Barr Tagg 1995)
• Learning outcomes now required by WASC

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What are Learning Outcomes?

• Learning outcomes not a new concept
• Used in California in K-12 and vocational
  programs
• Used in other college systems (i.e. Maryland,
  England)
• Barr and Tagg called for learning outcomes in
  1995
• Focuses on what and how much students learn not
  on how we instruct or support them outcome based
• Emphasis on higher more complex level of learning
• Clearly states educational intentions for students

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Sounds like behavioral objectives!

• Learning outcomes differ from behavioral
  objectives by
• Being broadly stated
• Having instructors assess gains in skills rather
  than creating detailed list of specific topics
  and abilities to be mastered (Harden 2002)
• Some authors do not perceive that the difference
  between learning outcomes and behavioral
  objectives is important (Prideaux 2000)

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• The definition of insanity is doing the same
  thing over and over again and expecting different
  results so if at first you dont succeed try, try
  again

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New Perspective

• Shift from instruction as core of the college
  towards learning as central focus
• Potentially lessens threat to faculty by shifting
  focus of evaluation from teaching to learning
• We must treat the college as a learning
  laboratory John Baker, VP SS Gavilan
• Some areas may be easier to evaluate than others
  such as Vocational programs
• Many Student Services will be more difficult to
  assess

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Levels of Analysis

• Institutional
• Department or Program
• Class or Service
• Assignment or Student Interaction

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Gavilan Institutional Learning Outcomes

• Communication
• Cognition
• Information Competency
• Social Interactions
• Aesthetic Responsiveness
• Personal Development and Responsibility

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Gavilan Institutional Learning Outcomes

• Communication
• Listening
• Reading
• Writing

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Gavilan Instutional Learning Outcomes

• Cognition
• Analysis Synthesis
• Problem Solving
• Creative Thinking
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Transfer of Knowledge Skills to a New Context

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Gavilan Instutional Learning Outcomes

• Information Competency
• Research
• Technological

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Gavilan Instutional Learning Outcomes

• Social Interaction
• Teamwork
• Effective Citizenship

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Gavilan Instutional Learning Outcomes

• Aesthetic Responsiveness
• Differentiate between people who can sing and
  people who cant
• e.g. Brittney Spears vs. Norah Jones
• Distinguish between art that offends you, art
  that is cheesy, art you cant understand, and art
  that is too expensive

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Gavilan Instutional Learning Outcomes

• Personal Development and Responsibility
• Students will develop individual responsibility,
  personal integrity, and respect for diverse
  people and cultures
• Self-management Students will demonstrate habits
  of intellectual exploration, personal
  responsibility and physical well being
• Ethics and Values Students will demonstrate an
  understanding of ethical issues that will enhance
  their capacity for making sound judgments and
  decisions
• Respect for Diverse People and Cultures Students
  will respect and work with diverse people
  including those with different cultural and
  linguistic backgrounds and different abilities

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Learning Outcome Example Introduction to
Statistics
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Assessment Considerations

• Assessment has a role but is not an end in itself
• Assessments must feed back into practices
• All data collection must be preceded with
  consideration of how it will be analyzed and how
  well it can answer the question of service
  efficacy and desired learning outcomes
• Collect a few well-chosen pieces of evidence
  rather than obtaining all possible data

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Data Considerations

• Quantitative and Qualitative
• Direct and Indirect
• As students are exposed to many influences on
  learning, separating the effects of a service
  from other factors proves difficult
• How long does it take for learning to manifest
  itself in observable behavior? Must assess in
  many places and stages.
• Not everything that can be counted counts and not
  everything that counts can be counted -Einstein

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(No Transcript)
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Common Assessment Methods

• Tests
• Locally developed or Standardized
• Performances
• Recital, Presentation, or Demonstration
• Cumulative
• Portfolios, Capstone Projects
• Surveys
• Attitudes and perceptions of students, staff,
  employers
• Database Tracked Academic Behavior
• Grades, Graduation, Lab Usage, Persistence
• Narrative
• Staff and student journals, essays, and
  interviews
• Embedded Assessment
• Using grading process to measure ILO

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Embedded Assessment Example
Down for grades, across for outcomes assessment
after Nichols
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Assessment Strategies

• Track outcomes for every student all the time
• Randomly select a set of classes to assess once
  per year

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Gavilans Approach

• Educational Master Plan calls for each department
  to identify learning outcomes for at least one
  course
• Student Services held a retreat to address the
  application of learning outcomes
• Instruction is revising selected course outlines
  to include learning outcomes
• Next step is to develop more comprehensive and
  formalized communication among departments and
  between Student Service and Instructional
  divisions
• What is learned needs to be systemically
  integrated into ongoing services and evaluation

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Teamwork

• The task of evidence compilation is an
  institutional responsibility and must be
  distributed across the institution
• There is no I in team but there is a me if
  you take out the a and switch the m and the
  e

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Writing Learning Outcomes

• Should be based on our Mission
• In an environment that nurtures creativity and
  intellectual curiosity, Gavilan College serves
  the community by providing a high quality
  learning experience which prepares students for
  transfer, technical and public service careers,
  life-long learning, and participation in a
  diverse global society

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Writing Learning Outcomes

• and our Values
• Value 1 We value excellence in and promotion of
  comprehensive programs, services, and activities.
• Because we value excellence, our objective is to
  develop learning outcomes and measures at the
  services and program level.
• The measure we will use to determine whether we
  have met our objective is that students will
  demonstrate their learning in all programs
  according to institutional learning outcomes.

From Harriett Robles
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Writing Learning Outcomes

• Outcomes must be observable so you can measure or
  record them
• Could be quantitative
• Play all major scales in eighth notes at 120
  beats per minute (comm, cog, aesthetic
  responsiveness)
• Or not
• Compose in sonata-allegro form (comm, cog, info
  comp, aesthetic responsiveness)
• Accurately complete a FAFSA (comm, cog)
• Course level learning outcomes sound like
  behavioral objectives (or really are the same)
  but LO tie into institutional learning outcomes

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Writing Learning Outcomes

• Good verbs (Blooms Taxonomy)
• Compile Arrange Classify
• Analyze Identify Operate
• Design Solve Write
• Apply Differentiate Calculate
• Demonstrate Formulate Compose
• Explain Predict Assess
• Compare Estimate Critique
• Bad verbs
• Know Understand Appreciate Learn
• Good verbs are clear and observable, bad verbs
  are vague states of mind

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Your Turn! 5 Minute Exercise

• Gather into groups with people you already know
  so you dont have to spend time asking their name
• Write 2 learning outcomes for a class and 2 for a
  service
• Some of you will be randomly selected to share
  your outcomes

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5 minute exercise suggestions
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Institutional Concerns

• Another education fad that will invoke hypnotic
  tendrils of smoke and little flame
• Sounds kindergarten
• Students have a fundamental right to services and
  if these services are not or cannot be related to
  learning outcomes, their existence could be
  unfairly jeopardized (Collins 2002)
• Uncritical application of business models and
  concepts to education
• Fear all this measuring will be a waste of effort
  and not enhance student achievement Luna,
  Gavilan College Academic Senate
• Do students really care about learning? Borden

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Learning Outcome Resources

• Authors
• Trudy Banta
• Patricia Cross
• Thomas Angelo
• James Nichols
• Victor Bordon

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Learning Outcome Resources

• WASC
• www.wasc.org
• American Association for Higher Education
• www.aahe.org/teaching/portfolio_db.htm
• Palomar College
• www.palomar.edu/alp/
• Novia Scotia Community College
• www.nscc.ns.ca/studentportfolio
• Cascadia Community College
• www.cascadia.ctc.edu/LearningForTheFuture/vanguard
  .asp
• Raymond Walters College
• www.rwc.uc.edu/phillips/index_assess.html
• Alverno Colleg
• www.alverno.edu
• Gavilan College Curriculum and Research
• www.gavilan.edu/curriculum
• www.gavilan.edu/research

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Learning Outcome Resources

• Curriculum Committee
• Academic Senate
• Student Services Council
• Researcher
• Reference Librarian

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Conclusion

• The learning outcomes challenge can be another
  opportunity to improve our efforts and to better
  integrate with instruction
• We must take control of the learning outcomes
  mandate and create a process that benefits our
  students
• We must work together
• Learning outcomes is a plot concocted by Texas
  CEOs to distract us from the budget crisis

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Acknowledgements

• Gavilan Student Services Division
• John Baker
• Margery Regalado
• Gavilan Instructional Division
• Marty Johnson
• Marlene Dwyer her Curriculum Committee
• Department Chairs
• Academic Senate, Enrique Luna
• Research and Planning Group
• Harriett Robles, Brad Philips, Fred Trapp
• WASC
• Darlene Pacheco, Barbara Beno

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Riddle

• Made from sheets
• Not meant for sleep
• It's bound to make you think
• With stories of smearing ink

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Thank You