Course Assessment Basics

8/3/2019 Course Assessment Basics

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CourseAssessmentBasics:EvaluatingYour

Construction 1. Please log into the phone as wellas the computer with the same code(185104).

2. Please put phones on mute *6

We will start at 11:00

3. Please type your name, collegeand your role with SLOs on yourcampus into the chat line and hitsend.

Dr. Janet Fulks,

Bakersfield College

Marcy Alancraig,Cabrillo Colle e



To Deal with StudentLearning Outcomes You

Need:

• Sense of Play

• Willingness to Experiment

• Ability to translate assessmenttheory and jargon into plain English



A Quiz on your SLOKnowledge

Type in your answersto the following

questions



True or False?

SLOs (student learning

outcomes) and

assessment are new fadsthat began with Dr.Spellings and the Bush

administration.



True or False?

According to both the

Academic Senate and

WASC, writing SLOs anddesigning assessmentprocesses is a faculty

responsibility.





DEFINING SLOS



So What’s an SLO?

• Knowledge

• Skills

•Abilities

• Attitudes

• Beliefs

• Opinions• Values

that a student can demonstrate

after a course of study



SLO Exercise

• Pick your favorite course

• What is the one big thing -- idea,attitude, value, skill, ability or self-realization – that you want studentsto retain?

• Type in your answer



SLOs should:

• Require HIGHER LEVEL thinkingskills

• Synthesize many discreet skills

• Require students to APPLY whatthey’ve learned

• Result in a product• Product must be evaluated or

assessed by faculty



Course level SLOs shouldcover

a. Discipline knowledge

b. Discipline skillsc. Discipline values and

beliefs

d. Answers a & b only

e. All of the above



Objectives vs. Outcomes

Objectives

• Describes small,discreet skills

• Requires basicthinking skills

• Do not

necessarilyresult in aproduct

Outcomes

• Requires synthesisof skills

• Uses higher levelthinking skills

• Results in a

product



Difference between Objectivesand Outcomes

Objectives Outcomes Scope Skills, tools, or content to

engage and explain a particular

subject Overarching results - subsequent learning

Target Details of content coverage andactivities which make up a

course curriculum. Higher level thinking skills that integrate thecontent and activities.

Major

Influence Input – nuts and bolts Output – Observable evidence (behavior,

skill, or discrete useable knowledge) of

learning. Number Objectives can be numerous,

specific, and detailed to direct

the daily activities and material.

SLOs are limited in number (5-9) to facilitate

modification and improvement of teaching

and learning.



Example: Reading 961 SLOs(two levels below college-level

English) :

• Utilize vocabulary skills to comprehend

assigned readings.• Determine and differentiate main ideas

and supporting details in assignedreadings.

• Make appropriate inferences in assignedreadings



Reading 961 objectives:

• Apply knowledge of vocabulary commonly used incollege reading, writing, and speaking.

• Identify main idea in assigned readings.

• Identify supporting details in assigned readings.

• Identify organizational patterns and relationships of ideas

in assigned readings.• Utilize graphic organizers (mapping, outlining,

summarizing) as a method of organizing ideas in prosereading.

• Apply contextual clues as a method of improving

comprehension through informing vocabulary in assignedreadings.

• Apply critical thinking skills including distinguishing factfrom opinion, making inferences, and identifying author’s

purpose and tone in assigned readings.



ASSESSING SLOS



What is Assessment?

• An ongoing process aimed atimproving student learning.

• Faculty making learning

expectations explicit and public.• Faculty measure if students have

met them.

• Faculty make changes based onresults- in the classroom, studentservice, administrative programand the college.



Assessment Defining (and Re-assessing)Assessment: A Second Try

T. A. Angelo, (1995) AAHE Bulletin no.48, p.7.

• "Assessment is an ongoing process aimed atunderstanding and improving student learning.

• It involves making our expectations explicit andpublic;

• setting appropriate criteria and high standardsfor learning quality;

• systematically gathering, analyzing, andinterpreting evidence to determine how wellperformance matches those expectations andstandards; and

• using the resulting information to document,explain, and improve performance.



Assessment Defining (and Re-assessing)Assessment: A Second Try

T. A. Angelo, (1995) AAHE Bulletin no.48, p.7.

When it is embedded effectively withinlarger institutional systems, assessmentcan help us

• focus our collective attention,

• examine our assumptions, and

• create a shared academic culturededicated to assuring and improving thequality of higher education. "



WYMIWIG

• What you measure is what you get

• Formative Assessment• Summative Assessment



Types of Assessment

Formative

• Done while learning isin process

• Helps students improveperformance

• Low stakes

• Acts primarily asdiagnostic tool

• Provides feedback forcurrent teaching andlearning (benefitscurrent students)

• Examples: CATS,

quizzes, homework

Summative

• Done at the end oflearning

• Final evaluation of studentlearning

• High stakes

• Used to evaluate studentperformance

• Provides feedback forfuture teaching andlearning (benefits futurestudents)

• Examples: portfolios,

major assignments, finalexams



SLO Assessmentsshould:

• Require HIGHER LEVEL thinkingskills

• Synthesize many discreet skills

• Require students to APPLY whatthey’ve learned

• Result in a product• Product must be evaluated or

assessed by faculty

(sound familiar?)



Which of the following aremethods for assessing

course SLOs?

a. Major assignment graded by a

rubricb. Portfolios

c. Embedded test questions

d. Projects

e. All of the above



Types of Information

Direct Data

• Evaluate whatstudents can do

• Is expressedthrough work youcan evaluate

• Setting: confined

and structured• Examples: exams,

papers, projects

Indirect Data

• Ask students or othersto evaluate skills

• Is expressed throughopinions; learning isinferred

• Setting: unconfined

and unstructured• Examples: surveys,

focus groups



Direct or Indirect Data?

1. What is polling information on whopeople will vote for in an election?

a) direct data

b) indirect data

2. What is the actual vote countreported after an election?

a) direct data

b) indirect data



Direct or Indirect Data?

3. People’s opinion about their favorite

make of car.

a) direct data

b) indirect data

4. The number and make ofautomobiles actually sold.

a) direct data

b) indirect data



Qualitative versusQuantitative?

A faculty member is convinced that field trips are the mosteffective way to teach geology but it is impacting thebudget. Which data would be most convincing in abudget discussion?

a) A narrative on the benefits of field trips (qualitative data)b) A collection of student opinions about field trips (indirect data

could be qualitative or quantitative)

c) An example of student grades related to topics covered on thefield trip that compares the scores of students who went on

the field trip and those who did not (direct, quantitative)d) A list indicating the number of the other institutions and

geology programs that support geology field trips as anintegral part of the pedagogy (indirect, quantitative)

e) A combination of these data

Q alitati e ers s



Qualitative versusQuantitative?

An ESL instructor has discovered from feedback from her studentsthat the most important outcome they are hoping for is properpronunciation when they speak. Which would be the mostuseful type of assessment data both for the individual studentand for the course outcomes as a whole?

a) Direct statistical data from a multiple choice test about

the fundamental rules in pronunciation (quantitative).b) A national standardized ESL test (quantitative).

c) A student log book created as a result of listening andanalyzing recordings of their own speaking(qualitative).

d) An interview developed to assess pronunciation andevaluated using a rubric that indicates the major typesof errors and a narrative summary of the overallpronunciation expertise (could be qualitative andquantitative).

e) A classroom speech evaluated by comments from

fellow classmates (qualitative).



Models for AssessingClassroom SLOs

• Embedded test questions

• Cabrillo KISS method

• Projects – Engineering at BC• English Portfolio at Cabrillo

• Culinary Arts Portfolio at BC

• Pre and Post testing at Cabrillo• Capstone – Case Study at BC



Activity: Assessing

Course SLOs• What can you use to assess your

SLO? Think about majorassignments or activities. Type insomething you might use.



CLOSING THELOOP



What is Closing the Loop?

• Final step in SLO Assessmentprocess

• A time to reflect on data

• A time to dialogue with colleaguesabout how to improve teaching andlearning

• Should be part of all levels of SLOassessment



Develop, modify,

or review a

curriculum,

course, program,

or service.

Develop or

modify Stude

nt Learning

Outcomes

(SLOs)

Design &

Measure Student

Learning as a

result of the

Curriculum,

Course, orProgram

Collect,

discuss,

andanalyze

data.

Determine

refinements

based on

outcomes

data.

Closing theAssessment Loop



A Few Words of FinalAdvice

• Keep it simple.

• Keep it safe.

• Focus on just one or two SLOs at a time.

• Start small. Complete an entire loop withone course or a series of classes andsee what it teaches you.

• Keep assessment a faculty responsibility.Don’t give it over to others.

• Use the assessment samples postedto create dialogue about the best

instrument.



Next Steps

Write down one thing you will do in

response to the information you

received in this webinar.

Comments and Questions

Documents

Course Assessment Basics