STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES (SLOs) “Designing” © Pennsylvania Department of Education

2 SLO Process Phases: DESIGN Thinking about what content standards to measure Organizing standards and measures Discussing collective goals with colleagues Researching what is needed for a high quality SLO

3 Goal & Objectives Goal: Create the structure necessary to build a Student Learning Objective, including applicable performance measures. Participants will: 1. Develop a “Goal Statement” 2. Identify underlying content standards 3. Create a blueprint

4 Helpful Tools Participants may wish to reference the following: Handouts Handout #1 - Goal Statement Examples Handout #2 - Targeted Content Standards Example Handout #3 - SLO Blueprint Example Templates Template #1 - Goal Statement Template #2 - Targeted Content Standards Template #3 - SLO Blueprint

GOAL STATEMENT

6 What is a Goal Statement? Definition: Narrative articulating the “Big Idea” upon which the SLO is based Characteristics: Central to the content area Foundational concept needed for later subjects/courses

7 Goal Statements Typically addresses: WHAT the “Big Idea” is in the standards WHY the “Big Idea” is a central, enduring concept (rationale statement) HOW the skills and knowledge support future learning PDE’s SAS portal has identified “Big Ideas” for most content areas.

8 Goal Statement Example Ref. Handout #1 Should reflect the what, why and how: WHAT is being measured: Application of concepts and competencies of nutrition, eating habits, and safe food preparation techniques. WHY is it being measured: To determine understanding of the impact to overall health and wellness. HOW does it impact student learning: Understanding the impact of overall health and wellness impacts on the life cycle at individual, family and societal levels.

9 1.Each team member will work independently to create a statement about the “Big Idea” in terms of the standards. 2.Build consensus by focusing on each aspect of the statement and underlying rationale. 3.Draft a sentence reflecting the group’s consensus for each aspect and review as a group. 4.Merge each sentence to create a single paragraph “statement”. Again, review to ensure this statement reflects the group’s intent. 5.Finalize the statement and double-check for editorial soundness. Process Steps

10 TARGETED CONTENT STANDARDS

11 Standard IDDescriptionRationale ACTFL 1.1 WL 1.1—Students listen and respond, engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express preferences, emotions and feelings, and exchange opinions and beliefs. (Interpersonal) To achieve functional levels of communicative competence in a world language, students need to use the language regularly in everyday social interactions such as conversing, arguing, criticizing, requesting, convincing and explaining effectively. ACTFL 1.2 WL 1.2—Students comprehend and interpret written and oral language on a variety of topics. (Interpretive) Developing literacy in a world language is a crucial 21 st century skill. Students need to develop a variety of reading and listening strategies that will allow them to comprehend, analyze and synthesize information. ACTFL 1.3WL 1.3—Students present information, concepts and ideas in oral and written form on a variety of topics. (Presentational) Students need the ability to gather, comprehend, evaluate, synthesize and report information and ideas. The need to conduct research and consume media intended for speakers of other languages are crucial 21 st Century skills. Targeted Content Standards Example (Handout #2)

12 Targeted Content Standards Choosing Targeted Content Standards means: Selecting certain standards for use with the performance measure being developed. Identifying standards that represent the “Big Ideas” within the content area.

13 Targeted Content Standards Criteria Are a refined list of the content standards. Represent the essential knowledge and skills that students are expected to acquire. Are the standards upon which educators will spend the most time. Create transparency for families and the community about what is most important for student success. Are the identified content standards used to create the performance measures.

14 Guiding Questions ENDURANCE- Will this standard provide students with knowledge and skills of value beyond a single test date? LEVERAGE- Does this standard provide knowledge and skills of value in multiple disciplines? READINESS FOR THE NEXT LEVEL OF LEARNING- Will this standard provide students with essential knowledge and skills necessary for success in the next level of instruction?

15 Process Steps Step 1: Given the Goal Statement, identify those underlying content standards. Step 2: Place the code for each standard in the Standards ID column. Step 3: Place the descriptions (or hyperlink) for each standard in the Description column. Step 4: Describe in the Rationale column how each standard is aligned to the “big idea”. Step 5: Refine list based upon “endurance”, “leverage”, and “readiness” criteria.

16 BLUEPRINTS

17 What is a Blueprint? A Design Tool Aids in the SLO design process Visually depicts the relationship among key SLO components Aligns the technical components Serves as the foundation for creating the SLO

18 Blueprint: Basic Elements Goal Statement- a narrative articulating the “Big Idea” upon which the SLO is based. Targeted Content Standards- reference the PA standards that align with the Goal Statement. Performance Measure (PM)- an assessment tool used to measure the knowledge and skills acquired by students. Performance Indicator (PI)- a description of the expected level of achievement based on the Performance Measure.

19 SLO Blueprint Example (Handout #3) Goal Statement Participation in physical activity impacts wellness throughout a lifetime Performance MeasurePM #1 Physical Activity Student Log (Fitnessgram) PM #2 My Personal Fitness (Pre & Post) Testteria in rubric. Targeted Standard A; C; D, F Performance Indicator PM #1 Physical Activity Student Log (Fitnessgram) PM #2 My Personal Fitness (Pre & Post) Test

20 Process Steps Step 1: Add Goal Statement and Targeted Content Standards from Templates #1 and #2. Step 2: Review alignment of the Performance Measures with the Targeted Content Standards. Step 3: Identify potential measures, including “mastery” and/or “growth” metrics. Step 4: Draft performance indicators for each performance measure. Step 5: Refine Blueprint.

21 Summary & Next Steps Summary Module 1: Designing Designed a Goal Statement, selected Targeted Content Standards, and developed the blueprint needed to build a Student Learning Objective. Next Steps Module 2: Building Given the completed Blueprint, build the SLO following a set of procedural guidelines, including those used to develop Performance Measures.