How to Use Data to Improve Student Learning

Training Conducted at Campus-Based SLO Summit

Spring 2014

How to Use Data to Improve Student Learning

Participants’ Learning Outcomes

At the end of this training, participants will be able to Interpret SLO assessment data;

Make recommendations based on the interpretations.

We have collected SLO assessment data, now

what?

Once we have collected data, we tend to …

1. Make no recommendations;2. Make recommendations that

are too broad to be implemented;

3. Make recommendations but don’t implement them.

“We have met the outcome, so no recommendations for improvement at this time.”

Using assessment data involves—

Interpreting the Data

Making Recommendations (Future

Tense)

Implementing Recommendations

Report on Implementation (Past Tense)

Data are meant to be used!

Interpreting Data

1. Explain what factors contributed to the results. 2. Address why the target was met or not met?

Example 1PLO:  Identify and describe the use of various ceramic materials, production methods, and firing processes. (Art) Target Outcome: 70% of students enrolled will pass the final exam for the course.Actual Results: 85% of the students in the course passed the final exam, exceeding the target.

Interpretation of Data: Further analysis of the data indicated that 15% of the students (16 students) did not meet the outcome, and out of these 16 students, 10 students didn’t describe the firing processes adequately. This raised the questions about the teaching method and assessment method. Is verbal explanation of the firing processes sufficient? What is the best way to test students’ mastery of firing processes?

Making Recommendations Based on Interpretation

Interpretation of Data: Further analysis of the data indicated that 15% of the students (16 students) did not meet the outcome, and out of these 16 students, 10 students didn’t describe the firing processes adequately. This raised the questions about the teaching method and assessment method. Is verbal explanation of the firing processes sufficient? What is the best way to test students’ mastery of firing process?

Recommendations: 1. Use visual aid to

explain the firing process;

2. Use video to demonstrate the firing process;

3. Test students’ mastery of the firing processes by having students display their ceramic art work that is produced by students’ applying firing processes.

Interpret the Data

Example 2

PLO: Gather information and formulate conclusions regarding the client's needs and priorities to develop a client centered intervention plan. (Occupational Therapy Assistant) Target Outcome: 80% of students should score a 3 and 100% should score a 2 or above on a scale of 1-3).

Actual Result: 54% of the students scored a 3 (Excellent) and 100% of the students scored a 2 Satisfactory). The target was partially met.

Interpretation of Data: Faculty discussed the actual results and found that students who failed to score “3” failed to demonstrate critical thinking skills when designing the intervention plan, which prompted the necessity to implement critical thinking activities in OTHA2302.

Making Recommendations Based on Data

Interpretation of Data: Faculty discussed the actual results and found that students who failed to score “3” failed to demonstrate critical thinking skills when designing the intervention plan, which prompted the necessity to implement critical thinking activities in OTHA2302.

Recommendations: Faculty will design student critical thinking activities and incorporate these activities in OTHA2302.

Types of Recommendations

Recommendation Types Examples

Instructional Strategies

(1). Adjust course delivery to teach the course using a topics-based approach and make it more engaging by incorporating active learning strategies and case studies to increase retention of concepts.(2). We would like to incorporate more hands on activity in lab to reinforce learning. 

Curriculum Changes (1). Add more relevance and pertinence to the biology non-majors’ curriculum so that non-majors can use the basic concepts in biology to better understand social issues related to the environment and public health. (2). We would like to add a research paper in the course, showing uses of the information in real life.(3). Require uniform amount of time to teach the learning outcome (e.g. 45 minutes).

Types of Recommendations

Recommendation Types Examples

Student support 

(1). Continue to advise and motivate students: encourage attendance and encourage completion of coursework.(2).Offer tutoring during office hours

Teacher Development (1). We would like to provide professional development for faculty on collaborative learning.(2). Implement faculty mentoring system

Assessment Method

(1). Using one capstone project to evaluate all PLOs may not be adequate. We will add simulation questions that simulate the state exams to assess each PLO.(2). We will revise the grading rubric to target more discrete skills so that we can identify which area is most challenging to students.

Implement Recommendations

Recommendations made based on data interpretation

need to be implemented during the subsequent

assessment cycle.

Ways to implement recommendations include the

following:

A. Make the recommendation a departmental

requirement;

B. Form a taskforce to complete the recommended

project;

C. Implement the recommendation in the classroom;

D. Other activities.

Report on Implementation

Example 1 (Departmental Activity and Chair’s Requirement)The recommendation, “Provide professional development to adjunct faculty with regard to the course content standards set by the department and require them to abide by the standards,” was implemented by the chair who organized the professional development event and also communicated the requirements to the adjunct faculty in Fall 2013.

Report on the implementation by specifying what recommendation was implemented in what way and by when;

Use past tense.

Report on Implementation

Example 2 (Faculty Classroom Activity): The recommendation, “Faculty will design student critical thinking activities and incorporate these activities in OTHA2302,” was implemented by Faculty who designed and implemented the critical thinking activities in OTHA2302 in Fall 2013.

Report on Implementation

Example 3 (Taskforce Activity): A taskforce was formed with full-time and part-time faculty representatives to address the recommendation, “Revise the grading rubric to target more discrete skills so that we can identify which area is most challenging to students.” The revised rubric was adopted in Fall 2013. Using the revised rubric, the faculty was able to identify the “translation process” to be the most challenging area for students, so instruction was adjusted to focus more on teaching the “translation process.”

Participants’ Activity

Based on the scenario of data interpretation, please make recommendations and report on the implementation:

Scenario 1: The accounting faculty at a campus found that some aspects of the accounting cycle proved to be difficult to students. Faculty believed that lack of critical thinking skills might have contributed to the difficulty in understanding the accounting cycle concepts.

RecommendationReport on Implementation

(at the end of subsequent year)

   

Participants’ Activity

Based on the scenario of data interpretation, please make recommendations and report on the implementation:

Scenario 2: The Math faculty found that students who failed the exam were online students who failed to complete all the practice exercises.

RecommendationReport on Implementation

(at the end of subsequent year)

   

Thank you!