Download pdf - SGTS Practical 3 - Learning Outcomes

Summer Graduate Teaching Scholars

May 15 and 17, 2013

Practical 3: Learning Outcomes

Scholarly approach to teaching:

SGTS Practical Stream - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

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Carl Wieman

Science Education Initiative

cwsei.ubc.ca

What should

students

learn?

What are

students

learning?

What instructional

approaches

help students

learn?

learning

outcomes

(goals, objectives)

assessment

Learning outcomes, recall,…


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are statements that complete the sentence, “By this

end of this lesson/unit/course, you will be able to…”

begins with an action verb, typically chosen by the

cognitive Bloom’s Level of the outcome (remember,

comprehend, apply, analyze, evaluate, create)

clarify to the students and to the instructors the

what it means to “understand” the concept

guide instructor’s choice of materials, activities,

assessment, etc.: Does it support the LO? Yes: use it.

No: find something else.

Topic-level and Course-level LOs


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You likely have some “big picture” goals for your course

that can’t be assessed by a single exam question

“gain a quantitative perspective on the scale, age and

diversity of our Solar System”

“develop evidence-based arguments to defend a position”

A complete set of LOs might have


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3 – 5 course-level LOs There should be some but not too many: how can

sufficiently support 10 course-level outcomes?

50 – 100 topic level LOs The number changes by discipline (more in intro STEM courses,

for example) Typically, lots of lower Bloom’s level goals, with

fewer and fewer LOs at higher Bloom’s levels.

When you have a list of topic-level LOs, sync them with

your course-level goals (see ASTR 310 Learning Goals)

1. “Back-engineer” LOs from exams


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Use last year’s (or several years’) final exam. For each

good question, ask yourself

What is this question assessing? What is the learning

outcome I want students to demonstrate to properly

answer this question?

Is that the outcome I want, or is it too low (or high)?

When you have a list of LOs,

Does it cover everything I want for this course?

Have I over- or under-represented any concepts?

2. Draft LOs from course outline


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Work your way through the list of topics. For each topic,

decide

What do I want students to be able to do, to

demonstrate they “get” this topic?

Don’t worry about drafting many low-level LOs.

When you revise, you’ll start grouping them into

higher-level LOs.

(see ASTR 310 Learning Goals)

Deciding on the level of a LO


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Writing learning outcomes is hard because you have to

recognize

declare

(admit)

what you want your students to be capable of doing.

A good start is picking the verb describing the action

the students will perform to demonstrate their mastery

of the concept.

Bloom’s Taxonomy


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Remember

Understand

Apply

Analyze

Evaluate

Create

think critically about and defend a position

transform or combine ideas to create something new

break down concepts into parts

apply comprehension to unfamiliar situations

demonstrate understanding of ideas and concepts

remember and recall factual information

Bloom’s Taxonomy


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Remember

Understand

Apply

Analyze

Evaluate

Create

higher order thinking

lower order thinking

Bloom’s Taxonomy


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Remember

Understand

Apply

Analyze

Evaluate

Create develop, create, propose, formulate, design, invent

judge, appraise, recommend, justify, defend, criticize, evaluate

compare, contrast, categorize, distinguish, identify, infer

apply, demonstrate, use, compute, solve, predict, construct, modify

describe, explain, summarize, interpret, illustrate

define, list, state, label, name, describe

Let’s try it: Find a partner and write a

few learning outcomes for your class:


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Pick a question

from your exam/hw

write the LO

being assessed

Does LO contain

“understand”?

yes

Great!

Do another

one!

How does an

expert show

understanding? no

Share your LOs with your students


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After you’ve gone to the trouble of creating learning outcomes, share them with your students

(good) publish them as a document along side your syllabus

(better) include relevant learning goals in your lecture slides at the beginning of each day/topic

Rather than always reading them aloud, take the time to remind students what they are and how to use them. The LOs will be there when they study.

Don’t worry about “spoon-feeding” them – so what if students do exactly what you feel demonstrates understanding?

Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain

(Levels of Learning) [Wieman, 2007] 14

6. Synthesis: transform and combine ideas to create something new

develop, create, propose, formulate, design, invent

5. Evaluation: think critically about and defend a position

judge, appraise, recommend, justify, defend, criticize, evaluate

4. Analysis: break down concepts into parts

compare, contrast, categorize, distinguish, identify, infer

3. Application: apply comprehension to unfamiliar situations

apply, demonstrate, use, compute, solve, predict, construct, modify

2. Comprehension: demonstrate understanding of ideas, concepts

describe, explain, summarize, interpret, illustrate

1. Factual Knowledge: remember and recall factual knowledge

define, list, state, label, name, describe
