February 2011

1. Levels of Knowing: Are We Teaching and Assessing What is Most Important to Us?Pamela Miller, Ph.D.Associate VP for Learning February 2011

2. Session Description • This interactive workshop provides a framework for deciding whether our instructional methods are helping student achieve the levels of learning that are important to us as teachers and expected from our instructional programs. The session will also provide guidance for creating student learning activities that match our instructional goals.

3. Introductions Name, School, Program/Discipline Level of Experience with: Writing Learning Outcomes Using Bloom’s Taxonomy Designing Learning Activities Accommodating Learning Styles

4. Learning Outcomes The participant will: • Learn and apply the definition of assessment and describe the four levels of assessment engaged in at SJC • Learn and apply the definition of learning outcomes to SJC’s Common Student Learning Outcomes (CSLO’s) and then to one’s own course(s) • Use Bloom’s Taxonomy to design learning activities that address the outcomes for one CSLO at varying cognitive levels • Improve own and others’ learning activities associated with SJC’s CSLO’s by sharing and discussing drafts • Reflect upon the learning activities utilized in one’s own courses – • Do they clearly align with one or more student learning outcomes (SLO’s) identified on the course syllabus? • Are they expressed at the appropriate level of Bloom’s? • How is student learning assessed?

5. Assessment – The Big Picture

6. Assessment - defined • Assessment: An ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student learning. Assessment involves making our expectations explicit and public; setting appropriate criteria and high standards for learning quality; systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well performance matches those expectations and standards; and using the resulting information to document, explain, and improve performance.  Assessment in this context does NOT mean institutional judgment and evaluation of individual performance or either faculty or students. When it is embedded effectively within larger institutional systems, assessment can help us focus our collective attention, examine our assumptions, and create a shared academic culture dedicated to assuring and improving the quality of higher education.

7. Levels of Assessment @ sjc • All College • Common Student Learning Outcomes (CSLO’s) • Program • 5-Year Assessment Plan • Program Review • Course • Annual Assessment Plans and Reports • General Education • Annual NMHED Core Competency Reports • Communications • Mathematics • Laboratory Science • Social/ Behavioral Sciences • Humanities/Fine Arts)

8. Student Learning

9. Learning Outcomes - defined Learning Outcomes specify the observable and/or measurable knowledge, skills and judgmentwhich a person is expected to have developed or acquiredas the result of acourse of study or a set of identifiable experiences. They describe what a person should know or be able to do or demonstrate at a given point in their development. Learning Outcomes: • are unambiguous • use plain language • use verbs which require verifiable performances

10. The Course Syllabus – Learning Outcomes • Think about the syllabus for one of the courses that you teach: • How were the learning outcomes for the course developed? • Do the LO’s clearly describe what students should know and be able to do upon completion of the course? • Do all of the learning activities in the course (reading, assignments, homework) support the learning outcomes? • How do you know that students are mastering the learning outcomes in your course?

11. Levels of Knowing – Bloom’s Taxonomy • Bloom's Taxonomy is a multi-tiered model of classifying thinking according to six cognitive levels of complexity • The levels have often been depicted as a stairway, leading many teachers to encourage their students to "climb to a higher level of thought” • The taxonomy is hierarchical; each level is subsumed by the higher levels • This hierarchical arrangement led to natural divisions of lower and higher level thinking • This taxonomy is frequently used when writing learning outcomes to describe the cognitive level that is expected in student work • HANDOUT: Bloom’s Taxonomy “Revised” – Key Words, Model Questions, and Instructional Strategies

12. Bloom’s Taxonomy Bloom’s Taxonomy is a multi-tiered model of classifying thinking according to six cognitive levels of complexity

13. Levels of Knowing – CSLO’s • In small groups, consider one of the five CSLO’s identified by SJC: • Using Bloom’s Taxonomy, identify the cognitive level at which each “characteristic” of the CSLO is written. • What patterns, if any, did you discover? • Are both lower- and higher-level thinking addressed in the characteristics? • Are the characteristics primarily written at the lower levels of Bloom’s? If so, why do you suppose this is the case? • Should all six cognitive levels be expected for each CSLO? Why or why not?

14. Levels of Knowing – CSLO’s • In small groups, consider one of the five CSLO’s identified by SJC: • Select one of the courses that a member of the group is teaching. • Identify the learning activities that are currently used in the course that address one or more of the CSLO characteristics. • Identify additional learning activities that might be developed to further integrate assessment of the CSLO in the course. • Higher cognitive level? • Characteristic not already addressed?

15. SJC Common Student Learning Outcomes (CSLO’s) - ACT • Students will act purposefully, reflectively, and respectfully in diverse and complex environments. • Characteristics of Act: • Demonstrates clear understanding of the context and roles for action • Collects and interprets appropriate information to determine course of action • Listens to and considers diverse viewpoints and perspectives • Formulates a plan of action and supports the plan through logical reasoning • Conducts action with competence, sensitivity, and integrity • Listens and contributes respectfully and honestly during interaction with others • Analyzes and evaluates action through reflection • Proposes changes in future action based on analysis

16. SJC Common Student Learning Outcomes (CSLO’s) - Communicate • Students will exchange ideas and information with clarity and originality in multiple contexts. • Characteristics of Communicate: • Introduces the main idea and purpose with an audience in mind • Maintains appropriate focus throughout the assignment • Demonstrates knowledge base necessary for appropriate terminology • Presents significant and substantive content • Uses effective strategies for delivery which are appropriate for the context of the message • Organizes in a logical way • Delivers message in a coherent and fluid manner • Anticipates and responds to possible reactions to the message • Uses language effectively

17. SJC Common Student Learning Outcomes (CSLO’s) - Integrate • Students will demonstrate proficiency in the use of technologies in the broadest sense related to their field of study. • Characteristics of Integrate: • Selects the best technology for the task at hand • Sets up a logical sequence for use of technology for the given task • Implements steps to complete task • Arrives at a logical and satisfactory conclusion

18. SJC Common Student Learning Outcomes (CSLO’s) - Learn • Students will actively and independently acquire, apply and adapt skills and knowledge to develop expertise and a broader understanding of the world as lifelong learners. • Characteristics of Learn: • Demonstrates clear mastery of subject matter and requisite skills through definition, and identification • Uses knowledge of major ideas and skills to demonstrate, illustrate, or examine an assignment, task or problem • Uses terminology and vocabulary appropriately to address an assignment, task or problem • Selects and synthesizes information to interpret or analyze a task or problem • Apply concepts to understand situations, accomplish a task or solve problems • Demonstrates more than rote memorization or dry reporting of facts

19. SJC Common Student Learning Outcomes (CSLO’s) - Think • Students will think analytically and creatively to explore ideas, make connections, draw conclusions and solve problems. • Characteristics of Think: • Demonstrates a clear understanding of the issue, problem, or task • Accurately relates and interprets evidence, information, or experiences • Examines and recognizes relationships • Draws logical conclusions • Uses knowledge and understanding to solve problems • Uses reasoning to develop and defend results, solutions, or arguments

20. Learning Styles

21. Learning Styles – Another Dimension The VARK Categories The acronym VARK stands for Visual, Aural, Read/write, and Kinesthetic sensory modalities that are used for learning information. Fleming and Mills (1992) suggested four categories that seemed to reflect the experiences of the students and teachers. Although there is some overlap between categories, they are defined as follows. • Visual (V): This preference includes the depiction of information in maps, spider diagrams, charts, graphs, flow charts, labeled diagrams, and all the symbolic arrows, circles, hierarchies and other devices, that instructors use to represent what could have been presented in words. It could have been called Graphic (G) as that better explains what it covers. It does NOT include movies, videos or PowerPoint. It does include designs, whitespace, patterns, shapes and the different formats that are used to highlight and convey information. • Aural / Auditory (A): This perceptual mode describes a preference for information that is "heard or spoken." Students with this modality report that they learn best from lectures, tutorials, tapes, group discussion, email, using mobile phones, speaking, web chat and talking things through. It includes talking out loud as well as talking to yourself. Often people with this preference want to sort things out by speaking, rather than sorting things out and then speaking. • Read/write (R): This preference is for information displayed as words. Not surprisingly, many academics have a strong preference for this modality. This preference emphasizes text-based input and output - reading and writing in all its forms. People who prefer this modality are often addicted to PowerPoint, the Internet, lists, filofaxes, dictionaries, thesauri,quotations and words, words, words... • Kinesthetic (K): By definition, this modality refers to the "perceptual preference related to the use of experience and practice (simulated or real)." Although such an experience may invoke other modalities, the key is that people who prefer this mode are connected to reality, "either through concrete personal experiences, examples, practice or simulation" [See Fleming & Mills, 1992, pp. 140-141]. It includes demonstrations, simulations, videos and movies of "real" things, as well as case studies, practice and applications.

22. Accommodating learning styles • In your small groups, re-consider the learning activities that you discussed to integrate assessment of the CSLO in the course you chose: • Identify which learning styles the activities are best suited to. • Identify how the learning activities might be adapted to suit different learning styles.

23. Questions?