Making SLO’s Work at Southwestern College January 2008

1. Making SLO’s Work at Southwestern CollegeJanuary 2008

2. How do you state SLO’s? Principle:Each course should have only two or three SLO’s with each SLO representing a major learning goal you want students to accomplish as a result of taking your course.

3. How do you state SLO’s?Student Learning Outcomes As an outcome of this course you will acquire knowledge of and skills and strategies for: • Analyzing the logic of what you are reading using the Elements of Reasoning • Assessing the logic and quality of what you are reading using the Universal Intellectual Standards • Using fair-minded critical thinking to read and learn well in a broad array of disciplines

4. How do SLO’s relate to Objectives? Principle:SLO’s tell students the major learning you want them to accomplish as a result of taking your course. Objectives tell students the class-to-class, week-to-week learning you want them to accomplish. In other words, the objectives in the aggregate lead directly to the accomplishment of the SLO’s.

5. How do SLO’s relate to Objectives?Course Objectives In order to accomplish the three STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES for this course you will need to successfully: • Put sentences that you have read into your own words. • Create headlines (titles) that you think express the main ideas of the readings. • Ask questions to authors of the readings that you would really like an answer to. • State the purpose why you think readings were written.

6. How do SLO’s relate to Objectives?Course Objectives Continued • Stating what you think would be the implications and consequences if we follow, or do not follow what various authors/readings suggest we do. • Identify what you think is the most important conclusion the author comes to in each of the readings. • State what you think should be done to deal effectively with the issues or problems being presented in the readings. • State, Elaborate, Exemplify, and Illustrate certain vocabulary words and concepts in the readings that you need to better understand. • State what assumptions you think authors are making in the readings. • Stating ideas or answering questions about each reading as if you were the author herself or himself (i.e., speaking in the author’s voice).

7. How do SLO’s relate to Objectives?Objectives related to SLO’s for this course As a result of achieving these class-to-class, week-to-week objectives (above) you will acquire knowledge of and skill and strategies for: • Analyzing the logic of what you are reading using the Elements of Reasoning • Assessing the logic and quality of what you are reading using the Universal Intellectual Standards • Using fair-minded critical thinking to read and learn well in a broad array of disciplines

8. How do you assess SLO’s? Principle:Based on students’ work throughout the course, an Outcome Rubric should be used to indicate students’ overall accomplishment in your course.

9. How do you assess SLO’s?Outcome Rubric Your overall level of success for the course will be determined by the extent to which you display achievement within each of the three outcomes (above) as evidenced with the following frequency and depth: • Typically and characteristically and with depth of understanding (level 9-10) • Often, but inconsistently and sometimes superficially (level 6-8) • Sometimes but with limited understanding (level 3-5) • Rarely (level 1-2) • Virtually never (level 0)

10. How do SLO’s relate to grades? Principle:There is no mystery or complex computation here! Just figure out grades as you always do. The grades you give will indicate directly the degree to which students have accomplished your course SLO’s as state in the “Outcome Rubric”.

11. How do SLO’s relate to grades? Course GradeOutcome Rubric Level • ATypically and characteristically and with depth of understanding (level 9-10) • BOften, but inconsistently and sometimes superficially (level 6-8) • CSometimes but with limited understanding (Level 3-5) • DRarely (level 1-2) • FVirtually never (level 0)