Peter Newbury Center for Teaching Development University of California, San Diego 30 October 2014 collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

1. Learning Outcomes - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
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Flight Deck by Wayan Volta on flickr CC
Do you understand how to fly an airplane?
Yes
Prove it: let’s look at this checklist.

2. The College Classroom Week 3: Learning Outcomes
October 28 – 30, 2014
Unless otherwise noted, content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- Non Commercial 3.0 License.

3. What is the Value of Course-Specific Learning Goals
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What was the most important thing you learned from Simon & Taylor? [1]
More about perceptions of learning than performance
Students liked having learning outcomes so they knew what to study
LO’s helped instructors
LO’s allow students to connect ideas to the big picture
Outcomes

4. What is the Value of Course-Specific Learning Goals
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What was the most important thing you learned from Simon & Taylor? [1]
Students found them valuable
Faculty found them valuable in structuring courses and making them consistent across instructors
Helped improve student learning but not necessarily exam performance
Outcomes

5. What is the Value of Course-Specific Learning Outcomes
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Learning Outcomes - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

6. How People Learn: Key Finding 2 (Expertise)
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7. How People Learn: Key Finding 3 (Metacognition)
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diversity.ucsd.edu/policies-and-initiatives/teachingdiversityconference.html Abstract deadline: extended to November 21, 2014

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cirtl.net > Events > CIRTLCasts

11. (Image: NASA)
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12. Introductory “Astro 101”
Traditional Course Syllabus
Course with Learning Outcomes
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This course covers Chapters
1.Mercury
2.Venus
…
8.Neptune
9.other objects
10.Formation of the Solar System
deduce from patterns in the properties of the planets, moons, asteroids and other bodies that the Solar System had single formation event.
provide notable examples of how comets influenced history, art and science

13. Learning outcomes
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completes the sentence, “By this end of this lesson/unit/course, you will be able to…”
begins with an action verb (“deduce”) (more later)
tells the students what they must do to demonstrate they “understand” the concept

14. Learning outcomes are valuable to…
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students
reveal what the instructor is looking for (no more guessing what “understand” means)
big picture of the next part of the course
allows student to check that s/he has mastered the concept (especially when studying later)
instructors
crystallizes what the instructor cares about
helps the instructor choose questions for peer instruction (“clickers”) in class, write the final exam, decide what instructional activities to include

15. choose questions for peer instruction
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ClassAction http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/

16. write the final exam
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(10 marks) List 3 patterns of the Solar System as a whole. Then, outline in some detail the current model for the formation of the Solar System. In particular, make sure you explain how the observed patterns and regularities are related to this theory of formation.
Teaching to the test?
Yes!

17. A course should have
Course-level LOs
Topic-level LOs
Learning Outcomes - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
several LOs giving big picture, attitudes, behaviors
(likely) can’t be assessed with a single exam question
supported by many topic-level LOs
many LOs defining what it means to “understand” at this level (freshman,…)
can be (should be) repeatedly assessed on homework, exams
 support one or more course-level LOs
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18. Topic-level LO
Topic-level LO
Topic- level LO
Course-level LO #4
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Course-level LO #2
Course-level LO #3
Course-level learning outcome (LO) #1
Topic-level LO
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Topic- level LO
Topic-level learning outcome

19. Topic-level LO
Topic-level LO
Topic- level LO
Course-level LO #4
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Course-level LO #2
Course-level LO #3
Course-level learning outcome (LO) #1
Topic-level LO
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Topic-level learning outcome

20. Topic-level LO
Topic-level LO
Topic- level LO
Course-level LO #4
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Course-level LO #2
Course-level LO #3
Course-level learning outcome (LO) #1
Topic-level LO
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Topic- level LO
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Topic-level LO
Topic-level learning outcome

21. Topic-level LO
Topic-level LO
Topic- level LO
Course-level LO #4
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Course-level LO #2
Course-level LO #3
Course-level learning outcome (LO) #1
Topic-level LO
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Topic- level LO
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Topic-level learning outcome
sync your LOs see ASTR 310 handout

22. Writing topic-level LOs
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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.

23. Bloom’s Taxonomy [2,3]
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transform or combine ideas to create something new
think critically about and defend a position
break down concepts into parts
apply comprehension to unfamiliar situations
demonstrate understanding of ideas and concepts
remember and recall factual information
6
Create
5
Evaluate
4
Analyze
3
Apply
2
Understand
1
Remember

24. Bloom’s Taxonomy [2,3]
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higher order thinking
lower order thinking
6
Create
5
Evaluate
4
Analyze
3
Apply
2
Understand
1
Remember

25. Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs
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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
6
Create
5
Evaluate
4
Analyze
3
Apply
2
Understand
1
Remember

26. Please get out your multiplication quizzes.
Let’s try it…
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27. Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy [5]
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Learning Outcomes - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

28. Multiplication quiz, Question 1
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Each table, reach consensus and then use the laser pointer

29. Multiplication quiz, Question 2
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30. Multiplication quiz, Question 3
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31. Multiplication quiz, Question 4
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32. Multiplication quiz, Question 4
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33. Driver’s Ed 101: How to Drive in CA
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Task: Write a learning outcome that your group’s question assesses.
(refer to Wieman handout for Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs)

34. 1. Writing LOs – The Wrong Way
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Astro 101 Learning Outcomes
1.understand how Saturn’s rings formed
Assess your LOs:
“Understand”? That could be a sentence…or a thesis
how does a student demonstrate to you s/he “understands” at this level?
how does a student check that s/he has mastered the Saturn part of the course?

35. 1b. Writing LOs – More Effective Way
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Astro 101 Learning Outcomes
1.give a detailed description of the size and structure of Saturn’s rings
2.trace the gravitational feedback cycle that keeps Saturn’s rings so thin
Assess your LOs:
Is this really what I want them to know?
Are they capable of that?
Do I have a question I can use to assess this LO?

36. 2. “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?

37. 3. 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 too many low-level LOs. When you revise, you’ll start grouping them into higher-level LOs.

38. Share your LOs with your students
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(good) Publish your LOs as part of your syllabus.
(better) Publish them in your syllabus AND include relevant learning goals in your lecture slides at the beginning of each topic, even each class.
Be wary of reading them aloud: your students may not yet have the knowledge (or jargon) to appreciate the LOs. The LOs will be there when they study.
Don’t worry about “spoon-feeding” them – help the students do exactly what you feel demonstrates understanding

39. Watch the blog for next week’s readings and assignments
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Next time: Week 4 Fixed and Growth Mindsets and Assessment that Supports Learning

40. References
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1.Simon, B., & Taylor, J. (2009). What is the Value of Course-Specific Learning Goals? Journal of College Science Teaching, 39, 2, 52-57. PDF available at www.cwsei.ubc.ca/SEI_research/files/LifeSci/Simon_Taylor_ValueOfCourseSpecificLG.pdf
2.Bloom B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay Co Inc.
3.Adapted from edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+Digital+Taxonomy
4.Adapted from Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A Taxonomy for Learning. Teaching, and assessing: A revision of bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives.
5.Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/RevisedBlooms1.html
6.California DMV Sample Class C Written Test 5 www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/interactive/tdrive/clc6written.htm
7.Excerpt from Wieman, C. (2007). Slides from the Wieman Learning Goals Workshop. www.cwsei.ubc.ca/resources/learn_goals.htm
8.Clark, D. Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Domains. www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html

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