Learning Outcomes Carolynn Rankin YULIS Friday 5th May 2006 How to avoid disaster! Practical tips for successful information literacy teaching Introduce myself

Learning & Learning Styles Deep and surface learning Learning styles Activists/reflectors/theorists/ pragmatists Consider the needs of visual learners auditory learners tactile learners

Benefits of learning outcomes Student centred approach A shift from the content we teach to what the student is able to do on the successful completion of the session “The guide on the side rather than the sage on the stage” What other benefits can you think of? Discuss this with the person sitting next to you.

Benefits of learning outcomes Guide students in their learning by explaining what is expected of them Useful in compiling progress files Help avoid plagiarism LO – students will be able to demonstrate the origins of their ideas by referencing sources used in their work Assessment criterion – correct use of the Harvard referencing style within the text for all information sources used

Use active verbs – promote positive outcomes Spell out what the students will be able to do You may only have one shot at a teaching session with a group of learners

Avoid the fuzzy … Really know Become acquainted with Learn the basics of Obtain a working knowledge of Have a good grasp of Be aware of Understand When writing learning outcomes we can all fall into the trap of saying the student will understand ….etc when understand is too difficult to quantify

Bloom’s Taxonomy The cognitive domain consists of Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation The Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (Bloom, 1956) To help you write your outcomes I suggest you consider looking at Bloom’s Taxonomy which despite its age is still one of the best aids to writing good learning outcomes. In the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives published in 1956 Bloom identified 6 categories of learning – knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation which you can use at any academic level. The taxonomy aspired to provide a classification of our educational system and has been applied to assess learning outcomes and define the nature of learning ever since.

Cognitive areas Activities which give evidence of knowing Define, describe, identify, label, list, name, outline, reproduce, recall, select, state, present, extract, organise, recount, write, measure, relate, match, record

Cognitive areas Activities giving evidence of comprehension Interpret, translate, estimate, justify, clarify, defend, distinguish, explain, generalise, exemplify, infer, predict, rewrite, summarise, discuss, perform, report, present, indicate, find, represent, formulate, contrast, classify, express, compare, recognise, account

Cognitive areas Activities giving evidence of application of knowledge/understanding Apply, solve, demonstrate, change, compute, manipulate, use, employ, modify, operate, manipulate, use, employ, modify, operate, predict, produce, relate, show, select, choose, assess, operate, illustrate, verify

Cognitive areas Activities giving evidence of analysis Recognise, distinguish between, evaluate, analyse, break down, differentiate, identify, illustrate how, infer, outline, point out, relate, select, separate, divide, compare, contrast, justify, resolve, examine, conclude, criticise, question, diagnose, categorise, elucidate

Cognitive areas Activities giving evidence of synthesis Arrange, assemble, organise, plan, prepare, design, formulate, construct, propose, present, explain, modify, reconstruct, relate, re-organise, revise, write, summarise, account for, report, alter, argue, order, select, manage, generalise, derive, synthesise, enlarge, suggest

Cognitive areas Activities giving evidence of creativity Originate, image, begin, design, invent, initiate, state, create, pattern, elaborate, develop, devise, generate, engender

Cognitive areas Activities giving evidence of evaluation Judge, evaluate, assess, discriminate, appraise, conclude, compare, contrast, criticise, justify, defend, rate, determine, choose, value, question, measure

Writing learning outcomes Specify the minimum acceptable standard Have a small number of learning outcomes which are central - not a large number of superficial outcomes.

Have you been clear How well were the intended learning outcomes of your session communicated? Did you make it clear to the students what they should gain from the session, and where the topic fits in to their overall course of studies Try to use language that will make students want to achieve the outcomes – or at least help students see that achieving the outcomes will be valuable to them.

Summary Consider learning strategies and learning styles Write using clear language Focus on a few central learning outcomes Indicate the connections – the context

Over to you now – 10 minutes to work on your group teaching task