USING D2L TO ASSESS STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES Bruce DeRuntz & Mohamad Ali Department of Technology, Southern Illinois University

Competencies - Overview Competencies are the measurable or observable knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors. Competencies validate information about the knowledge, skills and abilities of students through the assessment of learning objectives. D2L Competencies Tool enables us to assess:  Program Competencies  Course Learning Objectives Evaluation Activities

Continuous improvement – curriculum, pedagogy Student success and retention Program Accreditation (Compulsory) Why?

Analyze Design Develop Implementation Evaluation Analyze Design Develop Implementation Evaluation Analyze Design Develop Implementation Evaluation Retention Growth Why? Retention Growth Retention Growth Student Retention Course Repetition

D2L Competencies Structure A competency structure is a hierarchy composed of three basic elements:  “Program” Competencies  “Course” Learning Objectives  “Assessment” Activities

D2L Terminology: Parent-child relationships between competency structure elements ElementParentsChildren “Program” CompetencyOther higher-order competencies Learning objectives. Other lower-order competencies “Course” Learning ObjectiveCompetenciesActivities “Assessment” ActivityLearning objectives

How it looks like in D2L “Program” Competency “Course” Learning Objective “Assessment” Activities

5 Step Process Work flow of Competencies Mapping

IT001 AKA “a” Knowledge of Fundamentals: An understanding of the fundamentals of management, quality, production, and automation. IT002 Interpreting Data: An ability to interpret graphical, numerical, and textual data. IT003 Problem Solving: An ability to apply relevant scientific and technology principles to solve real world, open-ended industrial problems. IT004 Design: An ability to design an industrial process to meet customer needs. IT004 Communication: An ability to communicate effectively in oral, written and visual forms. IT005 Teamwork: An ability to work in teams and understand the effective team dynamics and characteristics. IT006 Contemporary issues, non-technical issues, global awareness: An awareness of contemporary and non-technical issues in technology profession and the role of professionals in an interdependent global society. IT007 Professional Ethics: An awareness and understanding of professional ethics. Program Outcomes/Competencies :

Step #1  D2L administrator (JP Dunn) enters department level “program” competencies in D2L database

Step #2  Instructor enters course learning objectives in D2L database  From D2L menu - (Track/Competencies/New/Competencies or Learning Objectives)

Step #3  Mapping process – Instructor links course learning objectives to “program” competencies

After the linking “Program” Competency “Course” Learning Objectives

Step #4  Link Activities – Instructor select the method to assess the course learning objectives with identified activities (quiz items, rubrics, assignments, discussions)

Step #5  Set assessment criteria – Instructor sets the threshold to assess the learning objectives (e.g ≥ 60% of overall quiz score)

Competencies Reports

Reports – by learning objectives

Individual student report by objective

Overall Individual report for one competency “Define Key Terms”

D2L Insights Reports – JP generates course and department reports  %20reports %20reports  Other D2L Insights reports include:  Standard Report  Accreditation report  Competencies report  Grade report  Enrollment report

IT-208 – Fundamental of Manufacturing Process, Fall 2014

Important considerations  Use standard conventions in D2L to avoid confusions, including university-wide common assessment terminology.  Use measurable verbs in learning objectives, so that they can be assessed using learning activities.  A learning objective can be assessed with more than one activities, and vice versa.

D2L demonstration

Thank You