Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Assessment Day Session 2 Assessment Day Session 2 Kim Cossey, Heidi Fowler Laurie Huffman, Liz Speelman

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Workshop goals – by the end of this workshop you will be able to: Describe the hierarchy of learning outcomes at Georgia College Use the process of backward design to write learning outcomes.

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Big Picture USLGCUBE Program/Department Course

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) University Shared Learning Goals Written and Oral Communication ◦ Integrate effective speaking and writing skills in multiple contexts Critical Thinking ◦ Use critical thinking skills to analyze evidence Global Understanding ◦ Analyze and evaluate the diverse responses of peoples, cultures, societies, or groups to global issues Informed Citizenship ◦ Demonstrate an understanding of the responsibilities of informed citizenship in personal and professional contexts

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Mapping Example – Outdoor Education As a result of this class students will be able to:Related Program Goal (Objective)Course Assessments demonstrate technical and facilitation competencies in leading low and high challenge course activities; 1.1 Graduates are technically proficient in a variety of outdoor activities. (Students will demonstrate competency in challenge course activities). Technical Skill tests Policy & Procedures Quizzes demonstrate understanding of GC policy and broader industry standard related risk management and preferred practice; 3.2 Graduates are prepared to manage actual and perceived risk according to industry standards and preferred practice. (Students will integrate risk management concepts and strategies into program design, implementation, and evaluation.) Policy & Procedures Quizzes Program Designs develop environmentally sound and effective challenge course programs; 2.1 Graduates are prepared to integrate experiential education theory and philosophy in outdoor education programs. (Students will plan programs for a wide range of client groups, contexts, and outcomes.) Program Designs Final Exam apply professional practice for challenge course facilitation management. 6.4 Graduates are prepared to advocate for the profession. (Students will engage in professional practice.) Policy & Procedures Quizzes Challenge Course Facilitation Log

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Backward Design – Why Bother? Focus your planning efforts on what you want students to achieve. Re-design a course. Move away from ‘covering the curriculum’. Improve student and faculty engagement. Connect course goals, activities, and assessment. Facilitates mapping of course goals and student assessment to program / department / college-level goals. Create a more useful syllabus.

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Assessment Resources Innovative Course Building Group blog: On the Cutting Edge - Professional Development for Geoscience Faculty Designing Effective and Innovative Courses: Understanding by Design by Wiggins & McTighe Backward Design Learning Outcomes/ Goals Instructional activities Assessments Adapted from Understanding by Design by Wiggins & McTighe Goals Activities Did students achieve the goals? Include formative & summative assessment. Debates, reports, experiments, posters, presentations, interviews, essays, exams Ideas What is the “big picture” or lofty idea? What do you want your student to be able to do?

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Essentials of Goals / Learning Outcomes Essentials of Goals / Learning Outcomes Based on the work of Barbara Tewksbury and Linda Nilson

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Components of good learning goals Student-centered Measurable Concrete Higher-order

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) It isn’t what you do. A learning outcome doesn’t describe what you plan to do in a course. Rather, a learning outcome indicates what you expect your students to be able to do upon successful completion of the course. A learning outcome should be student- centered.

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Example: Students have been exposed to all the fundamental ideas of single variable calculus.

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Observable behaviors Caution: The verbs to know, learn and understand indicate internal mental states not automatically accessible to an observer. Students must demonstrate their knowledge, learning, and understanding in some way to make assessment possible. Objectives must be easily measured.

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Example: Upon completion of this course students will be able to grasp the essential nature of research and how to synthesize research in writing so that the insights and documentation are logical and clear. Students will understand the genetic basis of evolution.

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Lofty Ideals Example: Students will enrich their critical thinking skills.

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) The problem: This statement is neither concrete nor easily measurable. A solution: Students will demonstrate their critical thinking skills by….. add what students will be doing in your course here.

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Professional behaviors What do you do as a professional in your discipline? Ask yourself this question to help you set goals. Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com)

Educational Frameworks Focus on higher-order thinking skills that include lower-order thinking skills.

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Ultimate Outcomes- Begin with the end Ultimate outcomes address the most challenging or cognitively complex tasks. Ultimate outcomes require integration of multiple skills acquired throughout the course. Ultimate outcomes can be assessed by capstone or end-of semester project/exam. Limited in number

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Mediating Outcomes – Take a step back Mediating outcomes will address the abilities that are requisite to achieve the ultimate outcomes. Each mediating outcome will address one component of an ultimate outcome. Mediating outcomes are often sequenced in a logical progression. Several in number.

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Foundational Outcomes - End at the beginning Foundational outcomes address lower order cognitive abilities necessary to achieve mediating outcomes. Requires learning the “language” of the discipline. May require a paradigm shift for students

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Before: *Calculate and interpret basic descriptive statistics; * Calculate probabilities for simple events from a variety of random experiments; * Describe and use properties of basic probability distributions; * Understand and be able to perform statistical inference in the form of confidence intervals and hypothesis tests; * Review with a more critical eye public information that informs decisions in our world today; * Use appropriate technology in evaluation, analysis, and synthesis of information in problem- solving situations. After: Ultimate: * Evaluate the validity of statistical inferences, through data analysis, concerning important professional or public issues. Mediating: *Interpret basic descriptive statistics in a variety of contexts. *Apply properties of basic probability distributions. *Perform statistical inferences in the form of confidence intervals and hypothesis tests. *Apply appropriate technology in analysis and synthesis of data in problem solving situations. Foundational: *Calculate basic descriptive statistics *Calculate probabilities for a sample events from a variety of random experiments. *Describe properties of basic probability distributions *Understand statistical inferences. *Choose technology appropriate to solve particular problems. A re-thinking of learning outcomes for Probability and Statistics

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Questions So Far?

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Backward Design Activity Learning Outcomes Backward Design Activity Learning Outcomes Get into groups of __ Choose a course topic: We have suggested some issues relevant to Georgians – Hope Scholarship, Water, Food, Poverty.

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com)

Backward Design Activity Learning Outcomes Backward Design Activity Learning Outcomes Choose a course topic: We have suggested some issues relevant to Georgians – Hope Scholarship, Water, Food, Poverty. Discuss with the group the characteristics of your ideal course.

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Backward Design Activity Learning Outcomes Backward Design Activity Learning Outcomes Choose a course topic: We have suggested some issues relevant to Georgians – Hope Scholarship, Water, Food, Poverty. Discuss with the group the characteristics of your ideal course. Individually, jot down skills, dispositions and abilities that a student who successfully completes the course will possess.

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Backward Design Activity Learning Outcomes Backward Design Activity Learning Outcomes Choose a course topic: We have suggested some issues relevant to Georgians – Hope Scholarship, Water, Food, Poverty. Discuss with the group the characteristics of your ideal course. Individually, jot down skills, dispositions and abilities that a student who successfully completes the course will possess. Write at least three learning outcomes for the course.

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Backward Design Activity Learning Outcomes Backward Design Activity Learning Outcomes Choose a course topic: We have suggested some issues relevant to Georgians – Hope Scholarship, Water, Food, Poverty. Discuss with the group the characteristics of your ideal course. Individually, jot down skills, dispositions and abilities that a student who successfully completes the course will possess. Write at least three learning outcomes for the course. Share learning outcomes with the group.

Innovative Course-building Group (icbg.wordpress.com) Take-Aways It’s a process. Keep the perspective. Campus resources – ◦ CETL ◦ IC-bG