1. Assessing COREStudent Learning Outcomes Summer Assessment Institute August, 2005 Presented by Jerry Rudmann Coastline Community College

2. Desired Outcomes of this Session Participants will be able to… • Explain why robust SLOs are appropriate for representing Institutional (or “CORE”) learning goals • Write a robust SLO statement • Create and use a scoring rubric for assessing a robust SLO • List and describe several ways to facilitate the assessment of CORE learning outcomes

3. More specifically: AStudent Learning Outcome or “SLO” is… A specific observable, measurable behavior stated in terms of what students should be able to do as a result of instruction.

4. The Four Levels of Student Learning Outcomes • Lesson or unit level • Course level • Program level • College level

6. Two General Categories of CORE SLOs • Content knowledge – facts, terms, concepts, dates, definitions, etc. • Robust outcomes – products of complex behaviors and skills that students take with them and use later (e.g., a paper, a speech, an analysis of the merits and flaws in a persuasive message)

7. 5. The “Robust” Learning Outcome Meets These Criteria… • A behavior or skill beyond content knowledge • Bloom’s levels 3 to 6 • Specifies the conditions / context • A real life skill • Experts agree on importance • Standard of excellence • Can assess with a rubric • Global in scope • Student is thinking, acting like a “pro”

8. Robust Outcomes are Critically Important Products of Learning

9. Handout – Robust Outcome Rubric

10. Examples of Robust SLOs Written by College Instructors Course: DGA 166A Dreamweaver Based on customer needs and specifications, create an accessible, professional-looking five-page Website that reflects the nature of the business and the intended audience and that includes text, graphics, multimedia, and interactive elements.

11. Eng 100 - English Composition Students will be able to write a well organized, well-developed essay of 650 to 1,000 words using standard written English.

12. Psychology 1 – Introductory Psychology Given an explanation of behavior taken from the popular media, students will critically evaluate the explanation using the appropriate evaluation criteria (e.g., indications of non-random sampling, experimenter bias, lack of peer review, the confirmation bias, and a correlational research design).

13. To Review: Robust Outcomes are Critically Important Competencies Meeting the Following Criteria The “robust” learning outcome… • Is a behavior or skill beyond recitation • Bloom’s Taxonomy level 3 or higher • Specifies the conditions • Is a real life skill • Considered high priority by experts in your unit • Has a benchmark of excellence • Is amenable to assessment (e.g., by rubric) • Is an overarching outcome rather that something minute

14. Try Writing One • A CORE Student Learning Outcome defined: Knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes a student has attained upon transfer and/or graduation from your institution. • Try writing a robust outcome

15. Share Draft Robust Outcomes

16. Assessment of Content Knowledge Objective/multiple-choice Fill in the blank Matching Short answer essay Assessment of Robust SLOs Scoring rubric Assessment

17. Embedded Assessment • A clever way to do gather SLO evidence • Minimal impact on current practices • No problem with student motivation

18. Introduction to the Rubric • Scoring rubrics are ideally suited for assessing robust learning outcomes.

19. Let’s Develop an Assessment Rubric for a Resume

20. Chocolate Chip Cookie Rubric Chocolate Chip Cookie Rubric

21. A Rubric is Good! • Facilitates staff dialogue regarding satisfactory performance. • Creates a more objective assessment. • Makes expectation explicit to the student. • Encourages metacognitive skill of self-monitoring own learning. • Facilitates scoring and reporting of data.

22. Design Your Own Rubric • Use the worksheet in your packet to design a scoring rubric for one of your new robust SLOs

23. Brainstorm – Strategies for Moving Forward in Assessing CORE SLOs

24. Assessment of CORE SLOs –Strategies for Moving Forward • Look for existing sources of data • Multiple measures – triangulation • Embedded assessment • Map CORE SLOS to courses, programs, services • Assessing a sample versus population • Theme years • Technology tools • Commercial instruments • Qualitative assessment (exit surveys, interviews, focus groups) • Create an implementation plan • Make SLO assessment report part of an annual Institutional Effectiveness Report (?)

25. The Implementation Plan • Who, how, where and when will your college gather CORE SLO assessment data? • Who will review this assessment data? • Who will write and file a SLO report?

26. Email: jrudmann@coastline.edu Work phone: 714-241-6338