Program Objectives and Learning Outcomes

Program Objectives and Learning Outcomes Saouma BouJaoude

Outline • Program Mission Statements • Program Educational Objectives (with examples) • Program Learning Outcomes (with examples) • Alignment between mission, objectives, and learning outcomes

Questions on Program Mission Statements • How can you make sure that the program mission is aligned with the University mission? • What can you do to make sure that a program covers all topics/issues included in the mission?

Missions, Objectives, and Learning Outcomes • Writing the mission, objectives, and learning outcomes is a dynamic and reflexive process. Each of the components influences and is influenced by the other.

Mission Statements • Mission: A statement of the overall purpose of an organization. It describes what the program is, what it does, for whom it does and with what benefits* * See Selim, B.R., Pet-Armacost, J., Albert, A., and Kirst, P.S., Program Assessment Handbook Guidelines for Planning and Implementing Quality Enhancing Efforts of Program and Student Learning Outcomes, UCF, 2005.

The mission statement should: • provide a clear description of the purpose of the programand the learning environment. • in specific terms, reflect how the program contributes to the education and careers of graduating students. • reflect how the teaching and research efforts are used to enhance student learning. • be distinctivefor your program. • be aligned with the Department*, College, and University’s mission. * In departments with more than one program

Tips for Writing a Mission Statement • Briefly, state the purpose of the academic program. • Indicate the primary functions or activities of the program. • Indicate who the stakeholders are. • Write a distinctive mission statement. • Ensure that the mission statement clearly supports the institution’s mission.

Group activity • Read the following mission statements • Use criteria 1-4 for writing mission statements to evaluate these mission statements (checklist) Note: Alignment with university mission will be done at a later stage

Hypothetical mission The mission of the bachelor’s degree program in Hypothetical Engineering is to educate (through courses and an internship) students coming from diverse backgrounds in the fundamental skills, knowledge, and practice of hypothetical engineering in order to (1) prepare them for hypothetical engineering positions in service and/or manufacturing industries and (2) prepare them for continuing for advanced degrees in hypothetical engineering or related disciplines. The program will promote a commitment to continued scholarship and service among its graduates and foster a spirit of innovation. It will also promote an environment that is inclusive and diverse.* *See:http://www2.oeas.ucf.edu/oeas2/pdf/acad_program_assessment_handbook_rev022704.pdf

Examples of program mission statements: biology The Biological Sciences Department in Qatar University, being the oldest and the only full-fledged department in the country. The mission of the Department is to provide students with excellent science, knowledge, and laboratory, research, and field techniques to prepare them for satisfying careers in biology-related areas and to prepare them in their pursuit of advanced degrees in biology, environment, or health-related professional schools, reflecting the educational mission of the Qatar university.

Examples: شريعة / أصول دين • يسعى برنامج شريعة / أصول دين إلى تقديم تعليم فقهي وأصولي متميز ذي جودة عالية تعتمدعلى قدرةونشاط المتعلم في استيعابالآراء الفقهيةليتمكن من اكتساب المعرفة الفقهية والأصولية والمهارات التطبيقية في الواقع العملي في ميدان التعليم والقضاء والاستشارات الفقهية في المجالات الاجتماعية والمالية والمصارف الإسلامية

Group activity • Review your program mission to make sure that it satisfies the criteria listed above (checklist) • Present the changed mission statement followed by group discussion.

Alignment with university mission: Group work • What are the elements or components of QU mission? • Identify the elements of the QU mission and write them in the form entitled “Alignment between university and program missions” • What are the elements or components of your program mission? • Identify the elements of your program mission and write them in the form entitled “Alignment between university and program missions”

Group work- continued • Are there common elements between your program mission and QU mission? • Adjust your program mission statement to align it with the University mission. • Present the changed mission statement followed by group discussion

Uses of Program Mission Statements • Program Mission Statements can be used to develop two more specific levels of tasks: • program educational objectives • program learning outcomes

Program educational objectives • Program Educational Objectives: program Educational Objectives are expressed in broad statements that describe the academic and/or professional accomplishments that the program is preparing students to achieve. • Program educational objectives should be aligned with the mission statement

Students should develop a critical understanding of the historical and contemporary aims and methods of experimental psychology. Students should develop an understanding of important concepts and methods in the field of literary criticism. students should understand the scientific basis of nutrition and apply that to the practice of medicine. QUESTION: What are the characteristics of the above objectives? Examples of Objectives

The Department of ___________will produce graduates who Understand and can apply fundamental concepts of the discipline. Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing. Conduct sound research. Address issues critically and reflectively. Create solutions to problems. Work well with others. Are committed to open-minded inquiry and lifelong learning. QUESTION: What are the characteristics of the above objectives? Examples (cont’d)

Study the concepts of cellular structure Determine the structure-function relationships of cells Helping students to Enhance critical thinking skills Demonstrate awareness of lab safety procedures and the environmental impact of chemical process. Familiarizing students with linguistics, its sub-branches, applications and relations to other disciplines QUESTION: What are the characteristics of the above objectives? Examples from QU

Group activity • Review the objectives of your program to make sure that they are broad rather than specific statements (checklist) • Present program objectives followed by discussion

Alignment between program missions and objectives • Use the elements of the mission statement identified earlier to make sure that objectives are aligned with the mission. • Use the table entitled “alignment between program mission and program objectives.” • Present alignment table followed by discussion

Program Learning Outcomes • Program learning outcomes are expressed in statements that describe significant and essential learning that learners have achieved and can reliably demonstrate at the end of a program. They identify what the learner will know and be able to do by the end of a program.

Writing Program Learning Outcomes There are at least three characteristics of well-developed learning outcomes: • The specified action/behavior by the learners must be observable. • The specified action/ behavior by the learners must be measurable. • The specified action/ behavior must be done by the learners.

Characteristics of Program Learning Outcomes Program Learning outcomes should: • Be stated in clear, specific and measurable terms • Describe what the learner can accomplish as a result of completing a program or a course, • Describe what the learner can draw from the knowledge, skills, and experiences acquired in multiple courses, and combine or apply them in ways that exceed what they learned in the individual courses.

Characteristics of Program Learning Outcomes (cont’d) • be aligned with the institutional and program missions, objectives, and expectations of the profession. • Focused on broad conceptual knowledge and higher order skills and represent the minimum requirements to complete a program.

Types and levels of program learning outcomes • Learning outcomes for a particular program may be of various types and levels. • One useful way of categorizing them for the purposes of writing learning outcomes might be to use Bloom’s taxonomy which delineates types and levels of knowledge.

Types and levels of program learning outcomes (cont’d):Bloom’s Taxonomy • In Bloom’s taxonomy there are three types: • Cognitive: classifying student cognitive behavior into six levels ranging from simple (knowledge) to more complex behaviors (evaluation). • Affective: This taxonomy refers to developing learning outcomes related to students’ feelings, attitudes, values, and emotions. • Psychomotor: Learning outcomes here relate to developing muscular skills and abilities and what students are expected to do.

Types and levels of program learning outcomes (cont’d) • Please note that Bloom’s is not the only possible taxonomy you could use. There may be a more useful discipline-specific taxonomy in your field that could be used for this same purpose.

Examples Objective:Know how to apply fundamental concepts of the discipline. Learning Outcomes: • Demonstrate understanding of basic concepts in the following areas of the discipline: _______, _______, _________ and _________. • Identify the source(s) of major viewpoints in the discipline. • Apply concepts and/or viewpoints to a new question or issue.

Examples (cont’d) Objective :Respect persons from diverse cultures and backgrounds. Learning Outcomes: • Communicate positively with those from groups other than the student’s own. • Entertain viewpoints from a variety of perspectives. Adapted from: http://www.academics.calpoly.edu/assessment/assessplanguide.htm#defining

Activity Remember that in good program learning outcomes: • The specified action/behavior by the learners must be observable. • The specified action/ behavior by the learners must be measurable. • The specified action/ behavior must be done by the learners • Also LOs should be a different levels of Blooms Taxonomy Read the Learning outcomes on the following pages and decide if they satisfy the above criteria.

Examples of LOs from QU • Describes and analyzes experimental data • Recognizes ecological principles • Discusses biological principles and their relation to other scientific disciplines. • Organize work flow and keep work area neat and clean in biomedical labs. • Demonstrate awareness of environmental chemical hazardous materials • Demonstrate knowledge related to the functions and metabolism of nutrients and their food sources

Examplesfrom QU (cont’d) • Demonstrate personal attitudes towards lifelong learning and professional growth • Recognize the concept, nature, types, scope and effects of rights. • Recognize arbitration rules and procedures. • Teach mathematics to all levels of general education (see Communicate mathematical ideas orally and in writing). • Pursue higher studies in statistical science by having a solid background of theoretical and mathematical statistics.

Examples from QU (cont’d) • يتواصل مع الثقافات الإنسانية. • يستعمل مصادر التراث الأدبي واللغوي. • قراءة الوثائق. • استخدام التقنيات الحديثة لخدمة علم التاريخ و الآثار. • يشارك في حوارات ومناظرات تتناول القضايا والسياسات الاجتماعية المعاصرة بفاعلية وكفاءة.

Activity Review the learning outcomes developed for your program • Check if they satisfy the three criteria for writing learning outcomes. • Check the types and levels of the objectives using Bloom’s taxonomy. • Use the document entitled “checklist for good program learning outcomes” • Present a number of your PLO followed by discussion

Alignment of learning outcomes and objectives • Check the alignment between objectives and learning outcomes using the table entitled “Alignment between Learning Outcomes and Objectives” • Make sure that all objectives have learning outcomes and all learning outcomes are related to objectives. • Present alignment table followed by discussion

Institutional mission Institutional educational objectives Faculty mission Institutional learning goals Faculty educational objectives Program mission Program educational objectives Program learning outcomes Course educational objectives Course learning outcomes Link between PLO-PEO and Mission

Question • Why is it important to prepare program learning outcomes? Program Learning Outcomes are important because they are tools for determining consistency, accountability, and accessibility.

Course Educational Objectives • Course Educational Objectives • Course Learning Outcomes • Characteristics of Course Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes at the Course Level • Course learning outcomes are statements that describe significant and essential learning that learners have achieved, and can reliably demonstrate at the end of a course. In other words, learning outcomes identify what the learner will know and be able to do by the end of a course.

Question • What are the characteristics of course Learning Outcomes?

Characteristics of course Learning Outcomes Course learning outcomes should: • Be stated in clear, specific, and measurable terms, • Describe what the learner can accomplish as a result of completing a course, • Focus on what the learner can draw from the knowledge, skills, and experiences acquired in a course. • Be aligned with the program learning outcomes and represent the minimum requirements to complete a course.

Institutional mission Institutional educational objectives Faculty mission Institutional learning goals Faculty educational objectives Program mission Program educational objectives Program learning outcomes Course educational objectives Course learning outcomes Links

Examples • Analyze the effects of laser energy, beam profiling and beam modification on different forms of matter, and articulate the advantages of laser machining over conventional machining processes. • Analyze the characteristics of a variety of optical resonator configurations in order to determine the effects on laser radiation quality. • Design optical trains and beam delivery systems for specific applications, including the proficient handling and cleaning of optical components.

Question • Why is it important to prepare course learning outcomes? Provide the opportunity to establish consistency, accountability, and accessibility in an educational program.

Program Objectives and Learning Outcomes