DEFINING LEARNING

OUTCOMES
Assessment Workshop
March 2017
 Overview

Introduction

Clarifying / reviewing department-level learning

outcomes
Defining department-level learning outcomes
Writing your own learning outcomes
Leveraging CLC Learning Outcomes
 What do we mean by
assessment of student learning?
Assessment is an ongoing process of:
Establishing measurable, clear, and documented expected
outcomes of student learning
Providing students with sufficient opportunities to achieve those
outcomes
Systematically gathering and analyzing evidence to determine
how well, and in what ways, student learning matches the
documented outcomes and expectations (criteria)
Using the evidence to inform decisions to improve student
learning

Adapted from: Learner Centered Teaching (https://learnercenteredteaching.wordpress.com/teaching-

resources/definition-of-assessment-of-student-learning/)
 Why Assess?
Help students achieve the learning
outcomes you want them to achieve

Have evidence that students are

learning what you want them to

Identify specific challenges and

strengths of student learning

Because HLC said so! We need to!

 Levels of Learning Outcomes
Pre-exercise: Organize a set
of outcomes with colleagues

8 College Learning Outcomes

College (CLOs)

CLOs + department level

Department learning outcomes + field
standards (if relevant)

Course Reference Form

learning outcomes (should
Course include some department and
college learning outcomes.
5-Step Department Assessment
Process
1. Define/refine learning March
outcomes and criteria for Workshop
success

5. Document results and

update assessment plan 2. Select assessment
to indicate changes in method(s) and design
curriculum, instruction, tools
etc.

May
Workshop April
Workshop
4. Analyze assessment
data and identify 3. Implement assessment
strengths and areas for tools to gather data
improvement
Purpose of department learning outcomes
Define expected mastery of knowledge, skills and abilities gained through the
department

Communicate expected standards (criteria) of performance

Provide a structure for evaluating student learning

Correspond with CLC Learning Outcomes (CLOs)

Coordination across department courses

Adapted from: Dee Fink & Associates (2016). Integrated

Course Design Workshops. www.designlearning.org
 Key Concepts for Defining
Department Learning Outcomes
What do you want What level of What are the
Is it measureable?
students to learn? student learning? criteria for success?
By the end of a Blooms Would multiple Student success
program or taxonomy faculty be able to Success for your
across all courses Recall vs tell when a department
in your application student achieved
department it?
Content Can you
knowledge, skills, distinguish
processes different degrees
of achievement?
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
What do you think about these
outcomes?

Students demonstrate a reasonably high

degree of competency of technical
execution appropriate to the chosen
medium.

From: Dee Fink & Associates (2016). Integrated Course

Design Workshops. www.designlearning.org
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
All journalism majors will learn the role technology and
the new media are playing in the current and future
worlds of news gathering and dissemination. Our course
work will emphasize that the arrival of internet and
broadband technology as well as satellite and video tape
technology is as significant in its own way as the
Gutenberg Revolution and the introduction of the
telegraph were to the future of journalism. Each has
accelerated the news cycle as never before and
challenged journalists to get the news fast and to get it
right. Our students will learn how to do both.

From: Dee Fink & Associates (2016). Integrated Course

Design Workshops. www.designlearning.org
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Knowledge of contracts.

From: Dee Fink & Associates (2016). Integrated Course

Design Workshops. www.designlearning.org
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Students will be able to apply the

sociological imagination by
connecting a variety of Sociology
course topics (gender, class, race,
sexuality, families, deviance) to their
own lives and experiences
Tips to remember
The outcome should be
Clearly written and specific
Use action verbs
Measurable and observable
Focused on the behaviors of the student
Refer to learning across courses, by the
end of a program, or in high-impact
courses

What are Characteristics of Good Student Learning Outcomes? ; http://condor.depaul.tla/Learning/what.html

Common pitfalls to avoid
Using vague verbs like, understand, have
knowledge of, be aware of, appreciate
Including how an outcome will be measured in the
text of an outcome
Focusing on instructors rather than the students
Complex outcomes that actually address multiple
concepts
Too many or too few outcomes for the department

Adapted from: Dee Fink & Associates (2016). Integrated

Course Design Workshops. www.designlearning.org
 Learning Outcome Formula

Action Learning Learning

Students will
verb statement outcome

What
Target Future Measurable students
audience tense behavior will know/
be able to
do

http://assessment.uconn.edu/primer/goals1.html
http://www.uta.edu/ier/Resources/ABCD_Outcome_Writing_Model.pdf
http://ets.tlt.psu.edu/learningdesign/objectives/writingobjectives
 Your Turn! Define a department-
level learning outcome
Option 1
1. Look at the CRFs for your
departments courses
2. Identify a concept, skill, process, or
content knowledge that you expect
students to learn across the courses
or by the end of a course sequence
3. Use the brainstorming tool (if
needed) to select one of particular
interest
4. Write the department-level learning
outcome using the formula
5. Document rationale for why this
learning outcome is appropriate and
important for your department
Exercise 1: Define a department-level
learning outcomes using one of the
options below (25 minutes)
Option 2
1. Look at the CLO(s) that your
department identified during the
last Academic Department
Review
2. Review the current CLOs
3. Pick one CLO that fits your
department
4. Document rationale for why this
learning outcome is appropriate
for your department
5. Consider if you need to adjust the
CLO to suit your department (is
an element of the definition
irrelevant for your department?)
 Assess your learning outcome
Exercise 2: Assess your learning
outcomes as a group (5-10 minutes)

Refer to the rubric

provided to assess your
learning outcomes

Share outcomes with the

group to receive
feedback
5-Step Department Assessment
Process
1. Define/refine learning March
outcomes and criteria for Workshop
success

5. Document results and

update assessment plan 2. Select assessment
to indicate changes in method(s) and design
curriculum, instruction, tools
etc.

May
Workshop April
Workshop
4. Analyze assessment
data and identify 3. Implement assessment
strengths and areas for tools to gather data
improvement
 Support Resources
TLETC: Developing and delivering dept. trainings
Page Wolf, Faculty Instructional Developer
pwolf@clcillinois.edu, ext. 2446

WAC Coordinator & Reading Consultant: Writing and Reading Support

Amanda Cash, WAC Coordinator, acash@clcillinois.edu, ext. 2988
Kelly Black, Reading Consultant, kblack@clcillinois.edu, ext. 2770

Division Offices: Helping with assessment project logistics

Dean or Associate Dean

IEPR: Collecting and analyzing results

Nick Branson, Assistant Director for IEPR, nbranson@clcillinois.edu, ext. 2417
Megan Lombardi, Accreditation & Assessment Manager, mlombardi@clcillinois.edu , ext. 2502

Assessment Team!
Vasilka Maslanka, ASLC Chair, vmaslanka@clcillinois.edu, ext. 2364
Ali OBrien, AVP, aobrien@clcillinois.edu, ext. 2409