FINDING/CREATING MEANING IN SLO ASSESSMENT Randy Beach, ASCCC South Representative, Southwestern College SLO Symposium, North Orange County Community College District
February 3, 2017 DESCRIPTION & OUTCOMES Making assessment meaningful and relevant for faculty is often a challenge, yet even reluctant faculty are willing to give SLO assessment a chance when processes are simple and lead to useful results. This session will focus on important considerations for making SLO assessment more meaningful for faculty as they attempt to close the loop on outcomes assessment and create action plans based on assessment data.
So What Do You Want to Get Out of Today?
So What Do You Want to Get Out of Today? So
What Do You Want to Get Out of Today? How Do
You Feel About SLOs??? SLO Coordinat or
Making It Meaningful MAKING IT MEANINGFUL The authors of Using Evidence of Student Learning to Improve Higher Education write, ...gathering evidence for student learning is not for compliance with
external demands but, rather, an institutional strategy, a core function of continuous improvement, and a means for faculty and staff to elevate student success and strengthen institutional health (Preface). MAKING IT MEANINGFUL: SLO? I STILL
IT SLOs are actionDONT statements (read GET as commands) What students will be able to think, know, feel or do as a result of an educational experience, often at different levels of that organized educational experience (course/program/institution) Objectives are what we intend to teach Outcomes are what students can do once taught
Course objectives are the BASIS of outcomes at the course level CSLOS are synthesized to create Program Level Outcomes TO MAKE SLO ASSESSMENT MEANINGFUL. First write a meaningfu l SLO
OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES Objective Student Learning Outcome Instructor will teach: Student will be able to:
Effective use of the compare and contrast rhetorical mode for developing an argument Write a paragraph using the compare and contrast rhetorical mode to create
an argument WHERE DO I START TO WRITE A MEANINGFUL SLO? Dont think about content, but instead think about the life or work skills that students will use beyond the end of the course or the program. Consider what students should be able to do with what theyve learned. Make a concrete list.
Consider the higher-level thinking aspirations you have for students. Look beyond recitation or recall of content knowledge. (Dont use the word understand go for higher level skills.) WHAT DO I ASK WHEN WRITING A MEANINGFUL SLO? Do I require students to synthesize many separate skills? What can students do after they learn ALL these skills? How will students demonstrate that new knowledge or
ability? Be concrete and specific. Is this SLO measurable? Are there degrees of performance? Would a rubric be helpful? MAKING IT MEANINGFUL: THE ASSESSMENT Now that youve written a kicking SLO, you need to measure it right? WHAT IS ASSESSMENT? COURSE LEVEL
Outcomes assessment at the course level continuous process of collecting, evaluating, and using information determine if and how well student performance of outcomes aligns course objectives, matches learning expectations, and is supported by teaching strategies and resources.
WHAT IS ASSESSMENT? PROGRAM LEVEL Outcomes assessment at the program level: continuous process of collecting, evaluating, and using information affirm the courses in the program are supporting student proficiency in the skills and abilities that faculty desire for students
Determine if changes are needed to support student success. WHATS IN IT FOR ME? Results, positive or negative, are used to stimulate meaningful dialogue between student and instructor about how instruction and non-instructional services can be utilized to increase student success Results and actions must be
documented and reviewed to be useful outside of that interaction WHAT IS AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT? Assessment designed to assess student ability to apply standard-driven knowledge and skills to real-world challenges. Authentic assessments typically ask students to generate ideas/products, rather than choose a response, to demonstrate what they know and can do. Differs from Traditional which focuses on forced-choice measures of multiple-choice
tests, fill-in-the-blanks, true-false, matching. TRADITIONAL AUTHENTIC VS Select a Response
Performing a Task Contrived Questions Real Life Situations Recall/Recognition Construction/Application
Teacher Structured Student-Structured Indirect Evidence Direct Evidence
MAKING IT MEANINGFUL: FORMATIVE VS. SUMMATIVE Formative Short Focused Fluid for Feedback Quick Turnaround Student-Centered
Summative Longer Synthesizes many skills Terminal/Recorded Normed/Against a standard Teacher-Centered
MAKING IT MEANINGFUL: THE ASSIGNMENT Best to use something you already use, but align it with the outcome you want to assess Identify formative and summative data points in the same assignment Link the outcome to the assignment on your syllabus An assignment is not always a test for a grade Consider an assignment shared by all instructors Develop a concrete rubric
TYPES OF ASSESSMENT TOOLS: COURSE OUTCOMES Multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blanks, true-false, matching The breadth of the assessment tool depends on the breadth of the outcome One tool to measure multiple outcomes Item analysis Multi-step project
Portfolio TYPES OF ASSESSMENT TOOLS: COURSE OUTCOMES One outcome measured with multiple tools Improves validity of your assessment TYPES OF ASSESSMENT TOOLS:
INSTITUTIONAL OR PROGRAM Demonstrations of General and Specialized Knowledge Portfolios, Projects, and Exit Exams Using Rubrics Usually in Capstone Courses Employer Surveys and Interviews Student and Alumni Interviews Surveys (national, alumni, local) External Judges IF A TREE FALLS IN THE WOODS?
Spurs dialogue-thats a good thing, BUT... Dialogue without action is wasted Action not documented, resourced, implemented and assessed is busywork TO RECAP...
THE TAKEAWAYS... Your SLOs have to be written well to give you good data. An outcome is NOT an objective. Your assessments must allow students to give concrete examples of performance of the outcome
THE TAKEAWAYS... Formative assessments are the in progress assessments Summative assessments are the data you really look at Keep your students in the loop by linking assignments to outcomes on the syllabus
THE TAKEAWAYS... Type of assessment tool depends on the outcomes purpose and hugeness of your outcome Measuring an outcome in multiple ways gives you better
data Assessment without Action is Wasted Time
