Best Practices in Writing

1. Best Practices in Writing Student Learning Outcomes Jill Allison Kern, PhD Director of Assessment & Accreditation Eastern Washington University June 2018

2. Learning Outcomes for Today’s Training • At the end of today’s training, participants should be able to do the following: • Distinguish among course, program, and institution learning outcomes • State the two necessary and sufficient criteria that make a student learning outcome assessable • Write an assessable student learning outcome for their course or program • Provide an example of an assignment they could use to assess the student learning outcome they generate • Use the recommendations put forth in this presentation to evaluate the soundness of a student learning outcome

3. Play Bach Learn Scales

4. What Are Student Learning Outcomes? The knowledge and skillsstudents are required to demonstrate at the end of a learning unit

5. What StudentLearningOutcomes are NOT: NOT • Inputs (e.g., readings, lectures, experiential exercises, internships) • Student achievement outcomes (e.g., post-grad employment, graduate school admission, student-authored publications) • Program goals (e.g., increase course offerings, earn programmatic accreditation, improve retention and graduation rates of majors) • Self-reports (i.e., students’ reports of how much they learned about X)

6. 3 levels • ClO’s • PlO’s • IlO’s

7. Bedrock of Assessment Edifice

8. Poorly designed SLOs

9. Weak Foundation

10. Fortify the Bricks

11. Equation for Building Sound SLOs

12. “Hook” and “Ladder”

13. The “Hook” Students who successfully complete [name the learning unit] should be able to do the following:

14. Hook Examples • Upon the successful completion of Psychology 101, students should be able to do the following: • Graduates from the Computer Engineering BS program Eastern Washington University should be able to do the following: • Those who earn an undergraduate degree at EWU should be able to: CLO hook PLO hook ILO hook

15. The “Ladder” List of skillsandknowledge

16. Ladder Visual reminder; Not a hierarchy

17. Hook Upon the successful completion of the BS degree in Computational and Applied Mathematics at EWU, students should be able to: • COMP MATH-PLO – 1: Solve problems using calculus. • COMP MATH-PLO – 2: Solve problems using real analysis. • COMP MATH-PLO – 3: Describe the logical structure of proofs. • COMP MATH-PLO – 4:Construct proofs of core mathematical results. • COMP MATH-PLO – 5: Develop viable mathematical models of physical or economic phenomena. • COMP MATH-PLO – 6: Utilize a programming environment to conduct a successful simulation. Ladder

18. Hook Graduates of EWU’s BA program in Studio Art should be able to: • Create a body of work that demonstrates conceptual intent. • Create a body of work that demonstrates technical skill. • Critically evaluate art work using appropriate terminology. • Produce a professional quality portfolio that includes an artist’s statement, résumé, and documentation of their work. Ladder

19. For each rung to be assessable, it needs to meet two necessary&sufficient criteria:

20. Assessable SLOs Observable Single barreled

21. Criterion 1: Observable * *by the faculty member

22. Skills • Perform a monologue • Mixchemicals • Create a lesson plan • Conduct an audiology exam • Sing an aria • Builda robot • Writea press release • Program a computer • Compose an original jazz score • Prepare a financial statement • Takea patient history

23. What is inside the student’s head is not directly observable to the faculty member

24. * Examples of Non-observable Verbs • Know • Learn • Understand • Comprehend • Appreciate • Study • Experience • Become familiar with • Be knowledgeable about • Think • Value • Realize • Become aware of • See *Don’t use these!

26. Examples of Observable Verbs To Assess Student’s Knowledge • Create • Analyze • Arrange • Critique • Synthesize • Predict • Describe • Explain • List • Present • Write • Formulate

28. Convert NotObservable Observable • Know the arguments • Reflect on the issues • Think critically • Understand the principles • Comprehend the methods • Appreciate art Summarize the arguments Discuss one’s reflections on the issues Question the assumptions implicit in theories Apply the principles Explain the methods Describe the aesthetic properties of art works that appeal to you

29. Criterion 2: Single-Barreled * *One action

30. * Double-Barreled Students who earn a degree in French should be able to writeandspeakfluent French. not assessable *

31. * Single-Barreled • Students who successfully earn a degree in French should be able to write fluently in French. • Students who successfully earn a degree in French should be able to speak fluently in French. *assessable

32. Multi-Barreled • Students who successfully earn a degree in French should be able to write fluently in French about literature, philosophy, and science. • Students who successfully earn a degree in French should be able to write fluently, persuasively, and expressively in French.

33. Avoid “and”

34. However, SLOs that connect two or more verbs with “ ” are . assessable or

35. Those who earn a degree in music should be expected to compose complex scores or play an instrument skillfully.

36. Requirements Describes an action that’s observable to a faculty member at a moment in time Describes one action only

38. Recommendation 1: Be succinct

39. Rather than . . . Examine the ways in which economic, political and social systemsperpetuate and reinforce inequality based on differences in class, race,culture and gender, and access to power. Oy! Go with . . . Explain how inequality between identity groups is perpetuated

40. Students who earn a BA in Economics from EWU should be able to: • Apply the cost/benefit principle to a current socio-economic issue. • Use supply/demand modeling to explain an economic event. • Identify the appropriate economic concept to resolve a policy issue.

41. Recommendation #2 Avoid comparative verbs or adjectives

42. Avoid

43. Examples of “Comparative” SLOs • Those who earn a degree in computer science should improvetheir capacity to solve software engineering problems. • Graduates of the BA program in Sociology are expected to demonstrate an enhancedability to pose researchable questions about societal problems.

44. DOUBLES YOUR WORK! Post Pre

45. Doesn’t set threshold

46. Convert Non-Comparative Comparative Those who earn a degree in computer science shouldimprovetheir capacity to solve software engineering problems. Those who earn a degree in computer science should be able to solve software engineering problems.

47. Collect “post” data only

48. Recommendation #3 Specify • Skill • Body of knowledge, or • Level of mastery Unlikely acquired prior to learning unit

49. Example Upon successful completion of EWU’s BA program in Art History, students should be able to produce original art history research.

50. Recommendation #4 For every learning outcome statement you write, you should be able to create a graded activity that flows logically from the observable verb that begins each rung of the SLO ladder.