Revising Course Outlines with SLOs Made easy

1. Revising Course Outlines with SLOsMade easy What you need to include for successful submission to Curriculum Committee & meet PC’s need to be up to date on course-level SLOs Jay Hargis SLO Coordinator & Curriculum Committee member Spring 2009

2. What You Need to Start • Your current Course Outline(s) of Record for any courses in need of updating (more than 4 years old) or without course-level SLOs • Go to My Computer, J-drive (curriculum), your division, your subject, your class(es) • Access blank curriculum forms for creating your up-to-date Course Outline with SLOs • My Computer, J-drive, Blank forms • You can also simply copy the blank forms folder to your H drive to give you access to all the necessary forms • All Course Outlines of Record need: • Blank forms #1, 3, & 5 for credit courses and #1, 4, & 5 for non credit ones. If you intend now or in the future to teach your course(s) online, you also will have to complete form #6

3. Steps to Updating Your Course Outline • Copy the parts of old Course Outline of Record to the blank form (form 3 or 4) for each area necessary • Make sure you “save as” renaming the document with the course number or name when you have finished working • Revise/update (as needed) each section of the new Course Outline, including: • #4 – Hours: a typical 3-unit class should be 54 total hours and 54 lecture hours • Convert your previous Course Objectives to measureable Student Learning Outcomes (#7) (see Writing SLOs slides for details) • Do NOT revise sections #11-13 without checking with the campus articulation specialist first • Complete the SCANS portion (#14) of the new Course Outline (this used to be a separate document)

4. Steps to Updating (continued) • Update your Course Content (#15a) [and Lab Content (#15b) if necessary] to be a comprehensive description of what is taught in the course. Short, general, or vague descriptions which were acceptable in the past are no longer. The UCs and CSUs look closely at these descriptions and if they are not comprehensive with details of sub categories of content they are not accepted for transfer • Complete out-of-class learning activities (#16) • Check appropriate boxes under methods of instruction (#17) • You must check Mediated Instructionif you wish to offer this class online

5. Steps to Updating (continued) • In #20, your class texts (or at least the main one) must be current – that is be published in the last 4 years. Anything 5 years or more is “outdated” and not acceptable or is about to be unacceptable and you would have to update next year. • Make sure you list each text according to the format given in #20 • Be sure to check for spelling, grammar, proper formatting and spacing • Complete the attached SLO matrix (according to the instructions on the Writing SLOs slides)

6. Completing the Other Documents • The Content Review procedure has not changed. If your Content Review is not current (last 4 years) you need to update it • Content Reviews need to be done if you have prerequisites or recommended prerequisites • Complete the Distance Learning Addendum if you or another instructor will teach this class online. The key to this document is to ensure “Effective Instructor-Student Contact” • You can’t be casual about this. The state mandates both sychronous and asychronous substantive and regular contact • Students need clear and concise information and regular feedback and communications with or from the instructor. Instructions for the course are not enough.

7. The Course/Program Cover Sheet • The Cover Sheet has been updated recently so make sure you fill it out completely • Any changes to the existing course must be noted by checking the appropriate box • As before, any changes to course information (name, number, content, delivery, texts, assessments, SLOs, etc.) need to checked and explained as necessary. • Make sure that you have an appropriate English level prerequisite or recommendation for the course here and on the course outline. The criteria for appropriate English levels are in the Blank Forms on the J-drive.

8. Writing SLOs • Some overall considerations when writing SLOs • What you write should be an authentic assessment of whether students are learning in your class • You as the subject matter specialist are the expert as to whether they are learning or not, so write your SLOs for your students, but do it in a way that others who may teach this class can agree to as well • SLOs differ from class objectives in that you are focusing on student learning not delivery of content • Remember the whole point of SLOs is that you are creating the process of how you will assess whether your students have learned or not. • And it is better that you determine this for your students rather than someone else

9. Writing SLOs (continued) • The SLOs are listed in #7 (Student Learning Objectives) and are detailed in the SLO matrix • Make sure the SLOs describe what students will learn, not what you or the instructor will teach • Each SLO must be in measureable language. Refer to Bloom’s Taxonomy for action verbs. See: http://www.skagitwatershed.org/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html • Write the SLOs with assessment in mind. You will have to assess them so make them clear and concise

10. Writing SLOs (continued) • Copy each Student Learning Objective to each part of the first column of the SLO matrix. • Add new rows as needed by right clicking in the matrix and then sliding over to add new rows • In the second column describe what the context & tasks students do to LEARN what will be measured • For my history classes: Students read their texts, listen to lectures, take notes, complete assigned document evaluation tasks, participate in discussions, ask questions, review maps, conduct out-of-class research, write research papers, work collaboratively with other students, prepare and present class presentations and/or other similar tasks • Do not include quizzes or exams in the second column. You do not learn by taking a quiz – this is assessment of learning • Try to not just copy the same thing over and over again (unless all your tasks prepare students for each and every SLO objective) – try to match tasks up with what skills or knowledge you want students to demonstrate in the objective part of the SLO

11. Writing SLOs (continued) • In the third column, describe how students demonstrate what they learned • Again, this must be something that can be assessed so that you can have data to make any necessary changes if they are not demonstrating learning • Example: “Students successfully recall “xyz” on the midterms and final exam with at least 70% accuracy” • Example 2: “Students’ essays will document their awareness of the complexity of status and subordination” • Example 3: “Student answers test questions correctly with proper terminology; diagrams are complete; samples are correctly identified on an in class, individual, closed note comprehensive exam. Lab answer forms are complete; diagrams are complete and correctly labeled; problems are analyzed and solved correctly, and lab report correctly summarizes activities and properly evaluates completion of the lab objective. Field trip report correctly summarizes content with proper terminology from the field trip notes and observations.”

12. Writing SLOs (continued) • Examples continued: • Student will: • -Define confidentiality and its rationale as it relates to the health care field • -Describe the role of the student in clinical setting regarding participation as a team member • -Briefly describe the history of the professions of nursing and psychiatric technology • -Define the term health care team and list/describe the role of each health care team member. -Describe contemporary ethical issues.”

13. Writing SLOs (continued) • Although it is NOT REQUIRED, many instructors have added a fourth column “Measurement Criteria” in anticipation of assessment. • Here is where you can refer to grading/assessment rubrics • Remember, you need to complete the assessment of at least one SLO for each course this semester • Again, the PC Senate only requires completion of the three columns

14. SOME FINAL SLO THOUGHTS • Course-level SLOs are only the first step • They need to connect to your degree or certificate Program SLOs • They need to reflect our Institutional SLOs • They don’t have to be perfect, but they should make it easy for you to focus on what you want your students to learn and then assess whether they are doing it or not • Then you assess, review your data and “close the loop” by making necessary changes in delivery, classroom tasks or evaluations, and even your SLOs

15. The Curriculum Process • Once you have finished you need to submit your completed course outline to your division chair or to your curriculum representative. Your division should have a process for approving courses before sending them forward. • Do NOT submit your document(s) directly to the chair of the committee, other committee members or the curriculum secretary (Judy Fallert) • Your division chair or curriculum representative will submit the course outline to the Curriculum Committee secretary for review – this indicates that the division has approved the course outline

16. Committee Process • Once received, the documents are combined in a single document and then are put up on Sharepoint. • The Curriculum Committee chair reads/reviewsevery course outline/document on Sharepoint • You can accessa read-only version of Sharepoint to see where your courses are in the Curriculum Committee process (see your curriculum representative for information) • The course outlines are then scheduled into future meetings of the Curriculum Committee • Once they are on a meeting’s agenda, committee members review them for content, completeness, and SLOs and make comments and corrective suggestions before the meeting

17. Committee Process - 2 • At the meeting (“The First Reading”) these comments and corrections are discussed and courses are returned via the divisional curriculum representatives for revision if necessary • When they are returned with corrections they are scheduled for a “Second Reading” • Prior to that meeting, Curriculum Committee members review (again) the edited course outlines • If no further corrections are necessary, the outlines are voted on and approved or not

18. What’s Next? • You have four years before you next need to update your course outline • You begin assessing your Student Learning Outcomes and make necessary changes • You will record your assessment data and any changes you need to make on an SLO Committee form (that is still in the “construction phase”) • You may make changes to your SLOs but you will not have to submit them to the Curriculum Committee until you have to update your course outline again