What the*!?# is an SLO? Train the Trainers Workshop Marcy Alancraig Cabrillo College maalancr@cabrillo.edu Very honored to be here Faculty are the ones who are key to this whole business You take charge This feels like karma – when Cabrillo was working on all this, brought outsiders to the college to explain assessment. Only succeeding in uniting us and defining what we didn’t like. So if I do that today, great. If not, hope can mean more and give you some real answers.

Overview of Afternoon SLO Writing Workshop – 1.5 hours How to Run a Training – 1 hour Course Embedded Assessment and Rubric Writing –1.5 hours

What do you Already Know? Quickie Quiz on SLOs Answer multiple choice questions with the best answer Answer the others as True or False This is the attitude we’ve discovered has worked best for us to deal with accreditation. Want you to know that I started out as a skeptic and found when I really started using this in my classes, it worked.

1. A Student Learning Outcomes refers to student demonstration of: A) Knowledge B) Skills C) Abilities D) Attitudes E) All of the Above Also discovered that Kubler-Ross’ five stages of grief apply to SLOs Denial – it’s a fad and going away Anger – it’s a corporate model applied to education. Why do we have to do it? Bargaining – how much do we really have to do? Depression: do we really have to do this? Acceptance: discovering how it can really help teaching and learning What stage of grief are you in? Circle on handout. Hope that by the end of the morning, you’ll have moved. We’ll come back to this and see.

2. The ACCJC standards require that SLOs are written and assessed in: A) Courses B) Programs C) Degrees and Certificates D) Student Services and the Library E) All of the above Place where you think De Anza is at this moment

3. Course SLOs should cover: A) Discipline Knowledge B) Discipline Skills C) Discipline values and beliefs D) Answers A and B only E) All of the above Here’s what accreditation standards say you must do.

True or False 4. An SLO is really the same thing as an objective in our course The thing I like about assessment standards is that they don’t tell you HOW to do it. Get to design it. The main thing is talking about the results and making improvements.

True or False 5. According the the Academic Senate and the ACCJC, writing SLOs and designing assessments for them is a faculty responsibility

True or False 6. Faculty members can write different SLOs for the same course

True or False The college community must be involved in helping to define Institutional Outcome since it affects the entire campus

8. At what level of the ACCJC rubric on SLOs must colleges be by 2012? A) Awareness B) Development C) Proficiency D) Continuous Quality Improvement

SLO 101 “This is an evolution of best teaching practices, not a revolution” Lars Kjeseth, El Camino College

What is an SLO? Knowledge Skills Abilities Attitudes that a student can demonstrate by the end of a course, program, certificate or degree

SLOs: The Big Picture Requires HIGHER LEVEL thinking skills Synthesizes many discreet skills Requires students to APPLY what they’ve learned Results in a product Product must be evaluated or assessed by faculty

Must be written for Courses Programs, including GE and vocational Degrees and Certificates Library and Student Services

Who? Faculty, as discipline experts, must write SLOs

Why? Covering material doesn’t guarantee that students learn it Must demonstrate it Transparency is key Practice is also key

When? Should be at Development stage of ACCJC rubric now Should be at Proficiency by 2012

Where Should SLOs live? Course Outline of Record? Addendum to COR? Somewhere else? According to ACCJC, objectives must be in syllabus Good idea if SLOs are also

Remember SLOs: The Big Picture Requires HIGHER LEVEL thinking skills Synthesizes many discreet skills Requires students to APPLY what they’ve learned Results in a product Product must be evaluated or assessed by faculty

Objective: Nuts and Bolts Describes small, discreet skills Requires basic thinking skills Do not necessarily result in a product

SLO versus Objective Activity Fill out chart on page 9 Hint: Some of the examples are neither an SLO or objective

Sample SLOs Examine samples on page 13-14

Course Outline Activity Look at your CORs Which objectives listed may actually be outcomes? Which could be combined to become an outcome? Which are objectives?

Writing SLOs Activity Look at Guide to Writing SLOs on page 15 Use the charts on pages16-17 to write SLOs for both your classes, either creating new ones or revising what’s on your COR Afterwards, use the checklist to see how you’ve done

How the #%$!& am I Going to Lead Workshops on This Stuff? Workshop Planning

Possible Workshop Format Look at outline on page 20 What might you want to keep? What would you want to change?

Burning Questions List the top 3-5 burning questions you think your faculty will have Share in groups Brainstorm answers to the top 3 Ease is key. Must be sustainable.

Role Play Activity: Dealing with Resistance Divide into pairs One act up; the other deal with it Switch roles Share what you learned Absolutely key. Cabrillo’s key philosophy!

Analyze and Revise SLO Activity Read draft SLOs on page 22 Pick two and think of questions you could ask faculty member to help him/her clarify it Note some suggestions you might make

What the *&%#! Is Course Embedded Assessment? Assessing Course SLOs

Course-Embedded Assessment: Expanded Grading Uses assignments produced in class – papers, projects, portfolios, presentations Grades them with rubrics or other explicitly stated criteria shared with students in advance! Results analyzed, resulting in changes to improve student learning and teaching This is one of the most commonly used right now. A new idea that avoids standardized tests, capstone courses or exit exams. Idea is that you can extrapolate from artifacts taken from classes how well the students are doing at mastering whatever SLOs you are measuring. You look at the assignment and see what it tells you about how students are doing. Duh! Everyone know what a rubric is? Explain if not. This is key. This is also part of this new way of approaching learning that actually works. Theory is students perform better if they know in advance how you are grading. Astonishing to me how well this works. Third component vague – designed so that you plug it into your college processes. What it means is: some group of people look at the assignment and analyze how well students did and then those results presented to a group of people who have the power to improve students and learning – usually means dollars.

How is this different from grading? Assignment analyzed for how it informs you about the SLO Is not the cumulative grade of the course May only use parts of the assignment Focus is on what it reveals about teaching and learning, not how individual students performed

Think “Sampling” Not every assignment in a class is used But enough evidence must be gathered and assessed to get a good sampling of students and their work

Choose An Assignment Look at the course SLOs you wrote earlier Choose a major assignment you already give in that class that you feel addresses the SLOs If you only give tests, choose specific questions that require higher level thinking skills and address the SLO Variation that makes sense to me. More detailed. First heard about it and thought finally I’ve found something that will work at Cabrillo. Came from Raymond Walters College in Cincinnati. Faculty centered. Created by chemist. Key here is that this method is designed to break down instructor isolation. Pick one assignment in a class that you feel evaluates whatever outcome you’re measuring – let’s say Critical thinking. Explain Primary Trait Scale Department meeting: Here’s my assignment, here’s my rubric, here are the numerical results. Departmental average calculated. Department then says to the college: here’s what we did and here’s what we need to improve learning.

So What’s a Rubric? A very detailed grading scale for one assignment A descriptor of each level of achievement Some of you are already using them in courses. Some of you will hopefully discover today how handy they can be

Why Rubrics Rock Great for students Doesn’t impinge on your academic freedom May make your teaching life easier Caveat: Doesn’t work for multiple choice exams Gives students much more detailed info on what you’re looking for. Supposedly perform better if have this info. I’ve found that some do and some choose to ignore it. They’re choice. You create and design your own rubrics – reflects your individuality and values, your autonomy. For me, it’s meant fast grading and more fair. No arguing with students. Also I use it as a teaching tool. It changed my life as an English teacher.

How do Rubrics Work? Rows: Criteria of rating Columns: Levels of mastery Beginner Developed Accomplished Cells: Describes work at each level of mastery Build from strengths and weaknesses you’ve seen in student work over the years Thank Grid! Two dimensions in a rubric plus the content of the cells. Rows describe the criteria for judgment. The columns portray shades of quality performance, often with three anchors as illustrated. The cells are filled in with brief descriptions of what student work would look like on the criteria (row) under each column of quality. This is hard work and needs agreement among faculty. Note the information on the handout. Look at Chocolate Chip cookie rubric on page 17 of workbook.

Sample Rubrics Grid Narrative with points Combined with Grading Sheet Look at examples on page 4 Should be as individual as instructor Lots of ways to do this Grid: Only one score is possible Narrative with points: be careful that it doesn’t turn into grading sheet but contains detailed info for students Notes how each of the narratives has same categories under each level – like a written grid Mine: Look at language and use of grading sheet. Explain how it works

Advice: Rubrics are As individual as instructor and assignment Works in progress, always changing Something students should see in advance I believe it helps them (and you) if they see it in advance

Activity Choose one particular major assignment Use workbook to create a rubric for it Share with folks at your table Workbook will take you through this step by step starting on page 10 Must do this for a specific assignment not in general Can do it for anything but multiple choice tests: speeches presentations portfolios papers labs performances I will float and answer questions. A lot this is word smithing. May find it hardest to describe difference between B and C level. Folks who use multiple choice tests look at page 16 of workbook.

Where do you go from Here? Next Steps