Introducing NTU Libraries’ outcomes based learning approach
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Presented at the Information Literacy Seminar @ Li Ka Shing Library, Singapore Management University 29 January 2015 NTU Art, Design & Media (ADM) subject librarians implemented outcomes-based learning for their workshop design where previously the workshops were content-driven and focused heavily on slides. They began writing learning outcomes when planning library instructional programs. The librarians implemented learning outcomes when they were invited to conduct a workshop for all first year students in the foundation course, “Introduction to histories of Western art” in August 2013 and subsequent workshops. At the end of the academic year, the university’s Teaching, Learning & Pedagogy Division conducted 3 half-day training sessions for all NTU Librarians. The training sessions included a refresher on writing learning-outcomes and also went more in-depth by introducing Bloom’s Taxonomy, formative assessment, and assessment criteria. This prompted ADM Librarians to further refine the design of the future outcomes-based workshops for by introducing these three new items: 1) Envisioning the ‘successful student’ - The librarians wrote a description of a ‘successful student’ when planning the library workshop to help determine the overall purpose of the library workshop. The statement was also shared with the course instructors and tutors to make sure that the library’s objectives aligned with theirs. 2) Matching the learning outcomes to cognitive skills from Bloom’s Taxonomy - In doing so, it was determined that the learning outcomes for the second round of workshops were adjusted accordingly to achieve higher cognitive skills for the students. 3) Designing activities based on the ‘formative assessment’ and ‘expected outcomes’ concepts- The assessment activities helped to determine whether the students actually achieved the learning outcomes. If it did not, the feedback received was useful to refine future workshops These have become the basis whenever library workshops are designed by ADM Librarians. The workshops’ activities and presentations had to align with the set of learning outcomes. By working on these together with the course instructors, this ensured that the workshops were more focused rather than covering a wide range of topics. It also ensured that the students learn what the librarians and instructors had decided upon and provides feedback and assessment on whether the lessons taught were useful for the students. The feedback received from the students is encouraging as they mention that they had picked up useful information and tips even beyond the learning outcomes.
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Introducing NTU Libraries’ outcomes based learning approach
- 1. Introducing NTU Libraries’ outcomes-based learning approach at the Art, Design & Media Library: A case study of implementation Melissa Man Librarian, Yale-NUS College V Somasundram Art Librarian (Media Arts)/Librarian (Library Promotion), Nanyang Technological University Information Literacy Seminar @ Li Ka Shing Library, Singapore Management University 29 January 2015
- 2. Why outcomes-based learning at ADML? Before outcomes-based learning •Learning objectives •Content-driven •Focus on preparation of slides
- 3. Implementation Learning outcomes for "Introduction to histories of Western art" Library workshop in August 2013:
- 4. Training on Pedagogy • Writing learning outcomes • Formative assessment and Bloom’s Taxonomy • Facilitation techniques http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/4719NTU ADM Librarians refined our approach to workshop design by implementing the following: 1. Envisioning the ‘successful student’ 2. Matching the learning outcomes to cognitive skills from Bloom’s Taxonomy 3. Designing activities based on the ‘formative assessment’ and ‘expected outcomes’ concepts 4. Formulating lesson plans • Illustrate the above based on the ongoing workshops, “Introduction to Citation, Plagiarism Detection and Asian Art History Sources” (January 2015) • 7 classes completed, 2 more tomorrow!
- 5. 1. Envisioning the ‘successful student’ After attending the workshop, the student would be able to choose the most appropriate information sources for their information needs. (S)he understands how plagiarism is detected at NTU using Turnitin. (S)he is able to cite references in their assignments using the Chicago Style.
- 6. 2. Matching the learning outcomes to cognitive skills from Bloom’s Taxonomy http://ww2.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm Cognitive skills Related verbs Remembering: can the student recall or remember the information? define, duplicate, list, memorize, recall, repeat, reproduce state Understanding: can the student explain ideas or concepts? classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, locate, recognize, report, select, translate, paraphrase Applying: can the student use the information in a new way? choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write. Analyzing: can the student distinguish between the different parts? appraise, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test. Evaluating: can the student justify a stand or decision? appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, evaluate Creating: can the student create new product or point of view? assemble, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, write. At the end of the workshop students will be able to: Bloom’s taxonomy cognitive skill achieved: 1 Explain how plagiarism is detected in NTU using Turnitin Understanding: can the student explain ideas or concepts? 2 Demonstrate citing different information sources using the Chicago Style Applying: the student can use the information in a new way 3 Compare the similarities and differences of search results between Google Search and Google Scholar, and JSTOR and OneSearch. Analyzing: can the student distinguish between the different parts? LEARNING OUTCOMES
- 7. 3. Designing activities based on the ‘formative assessment’ and ‘expected outcomes’ concepts
- 8. 4. Formulating the lesson plan
- 9. Feedback One new thing that you learnt in this workshop….
- 11. Learning Points • "Successful student" - allows faculty to envision their expectations • Outcomes-based planning AND execution • Formative assessment forces us to plan activities that will show us whether students have achieved outcomes • Consistency for multi-instructor workshops with lesson plans
- 12. References • Biggs, J. B., Tang, C. S. (2011).Teaching for quality learning at university: What the student does. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill/Society for Research into Higher Education/Open University Press. • Boxham, S. (2007). The busy teacher educator’s guide to assessment. Retrieved Jan 22, 2015, from http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/13028/ • Davie, S. (2010). Effective assessment in a digital age : a guide to technology-enhanced assessment and feedback. Retrieved Jan 22, 2015 from http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/elearning/digi assass_eada.pdf THANK YOU!
Editor's Notes
- Background At NTU Libraries, subject librarians conduct library workshops for students. Soma and I will be sharing an ‘information literacy story’ about our experience of learning about outcomes-based learning and introducing and applying that to library workshops conducted at the Art, Design & Media Library. Soma and I worked together on this ongoing project when I was still there- he will be sharing more about their current experiences.
- Why outcomes-based learning at ADML Before introducing outcomes-based learning, we found that our workshops were content-driven. We, like other librarians probably, had a tendency to come up with a long list of learning objectives and we were focused on preparing slides and presentations. When NTUL introduced outcomes-based learning, ADML librarians started writing learning-outcomes in order to focus our attention on student learning. We wrote learning outcomes and eventually introduced formative assessment and our own lesson plans.
- Implementation In August 2013 ADM Librarians wrote ‘learning objectives’ as a group for a workshop that we were conducting for a course called “Introduction to the histories of Western art”. This is a foundation course which all first year students at ADM take in their first semester. The ADML librarians wrote the ‘learning objectives’ together, in consultation with the course syllabus. Their assignments required them to cite images and information, so we tailored our learning objectives to that.
- Training on pedagogy The following semester, all NTU librarians underwent a 3-part training conducted by NTU’s Teaching, Learning & Pedagogy Division. We were able to apply some of what we learned in training to subsequent iterations of our workshops The training sessions were: Writing learning-outcomes Formative assessment and Bloom’s Taxonomy Facilitation techniques [Soma takes over] After attending these training, the ADM librarians refined our approach to our workshop planning process by implementing the following. I will explain further by using our ongoingworkshops that are being conducted for the NTU School of Art, Design & Media Year 1 students, taking the course “Introduction to art histories II” The planning was done in consultation with the lecturers teaching the course
- Envisioning the successful student During our training, we did an exercise on describing the successful or ideal student which we found to be very useful. By describing the attributes of a successful student, it helped the faculty and us to identify the concrete skills that we wanted to develop in the students through our learning outcomes. Here’s an example By doing so, it helped us to write better learning outcomes. The successful student that we described here is in a specific context- we want the successful student to be able to display certain understandings in an academic setting. Sometimes we also describe specific practices and habits that we want the successful student to have. E.g. seek out high quality images and authoritative information, rather than use the first things (s)he finds
- Matching the learning outcomes to cognitive skills from Bloom's Taxonomy Prior to our training, we wrote our learning outcomes based on the skills we thought students needed most and on the course curriculum. During our training we learned about Bloom's Taxonomy of cognitive skills. The skills form a hierarchy with basic skills that build up to advanced skills. Basic skills are at the top. When we evaluated the learning outcomes we had applied to our earlier workshops for the Introduction to Histories of Western Art class, we saw that we were only developing mainly basic cognitive skills such as remembering and understanding. Therefore, for our next round of workshops, make it a bit more challenging for the students. We wrote learning outcomes for students to display mainly advanced cognitive skills, such as applying & analyzing.
- Designing activities based on the 'formative assessment' and 'expected outcomes' approach During our training we also learned about formative and summative assessment. Summative assessment is to evaluate student learning and includes things like exams and final projects. Whereas formative assessment is to monitor student learning and provide feedback to the student about where they are in their learning. We decided that formative assessment was particularly relevant to us, and that we should include formative assessment in the form of activities and exercises which would allow students to demonstrate their learning. So, we designed assessment activities for each of the learning outcomes that would allow students to demonstrate the learning outcome and kept us focused on the learning outcomes. We also identified an expected outcome of the activities so that we could identify whether the student had achieved the learning outcome and performed well on the assessment activity. [Illustrate photo examples]
- Formulating the lesson plan After designing activities for the workshop, we prepare a lesson plan which a common template used by teachers. The lesson plan helps us to adhere to the time given, illustrates what we should actually do during the workshop and prevents deviating too much. This is also a record which we can use again or to refine future workshops. With such a lesson plan, it helps to plan out the time given to us and ensure that the different workshop sessions are consistent.
- We did away with the formal feedback about the workshop where previously we asked about how the workshop, its pace or how the instructor performed. Instead, we tried to be informal by asking the students to write on a piece of paper, what are the new or important thing that they had learnt from the workshops. We use it to find out whether what they have written mirrors the learning outcomes and it’s encouraging to see what they have writted that it does as you see here. (students talk to us) We also receive feedback from the lecturers about the workshops (without asking!). We will follow up with the faculty at the end of the semester to check whether the students have met these expectations and if there are any rooms for improvement
- The “successful student” description helps to envision the faculty’s expectations. Not only is our planning outcomes-based, but our execution is outcomes-based too. The formative assessment forces us to plan activities which makes the workshop more engaging and help to demonstrate that the students have achieved the outcomes. The lesson plans ensure consistency for our multi-instructor workshops, avoid deviating from what has been planned and that time is adhered to.