Assessment Workshop 2 Developing Student Learning Outcomes

Workshop Learning Outcome  Participants will create learning outcomes that are appropriate for their discipline and program

Program Purpose Statement Vision Claiming every workplace in every nation as our mission field, LeTourneau University graduates are professionals of ingenuity and Christ-like character who see life’s work as a holy calling with eternal impact. Mission LeTourneau University is a comprehensive institution of Christian higher education where educators engage learners to nurture Christian virtue, to develop competency and ingenuity in their professional fields, to integrate faith and work, and to serve the local and global community. The reason that the program exists. It should connect to the mission, vision, and goals of LETU

Program Goals vs. Learning Outcomes  Program Goals are data that focus on program metrics: Enrollment, Graduation Rates, Faculty Workload, Research agendas, Graduate Employment, Number of Adjuncts, etc.  Student Learning Outcomes focus on what students should know, be able to do, and feel as a result of being a student in your program.  Both Program Goals and SLOs are important for determining the Shalom of your programs.

Characteristics of a Well-written Learning Outcome  Focus of the End, not the means  Clarify Fuzzy Terms (Students will learn…, Students will understand…, Students will demonstrate knowledge, skill, or understanding of…)  Neither too Broad nor too Specific  Specificity on who is being assessed  Use Concrete Action Words  Appropriate for the academic level  A well-written learning outcome makes the assessment process easier and more meaningful.

Cognitive Domain: Intellectual Outcomes Creating: Generate new products, ideasEvaluating: Use of reflection, criticism, and assessment Analyzing: Dissect Information to explore understanding & relationships Applying: Use strategies, concepts, principles in new situations Understanding: Grasp Meaning of Information Remembering: Recall, Restate, or Relay Information

Psychomotor Domain: Movement, Coordination, and Skills Origination: Creating new skills/ movements Adaption: modify movements to address unique situations Complex Overt Response: Proficiency in Skill, Automatic Performance Mechanism: Responses are habitual and performed with some confidence and proficiency Guided Response: Imitation/Trial & Error needed to learn a complex skill Set: Readiness to actPerception: Use sensory cues to guide motor activity

Affective Domain: Attitudinal Characteristics and Values Internalizing Values: Value system that controls behaviorOrganizing: Prioritize and contrast values, resolving conflicts Valuing: Worth or value a person attaches to a particular object, phenomenon or behavior Responding: active participation on the part of the learner Receiving: one who is aware of or passively attentive to certain stimuli or phenomena

Learning Outcomes within a Kingdom of God Framework  Hope-Filled: Are the learning outcomes helping students and faculty to focus on their role within the present, but not yet, Kingdom of God?  Shalom-Focused: Do the outcomes lead people and communities to wholeness?  Love-infused: Are the outcomes written out of love for your students, fellow faculty members, and God? Questions to ask concerning outcomes

Group Exercise  In groups of two or three, share your current student learning outcomes for your program.  Evaluate (rewrite) the outcomes for  Clarity  Specificity: Is it too broad or too specific, Who is being assessment  Use of action words  Appropriateness for the academic level  Linked to Program Purpose Statement and LETU Institutional Goals  Discuss the telos of your outcomes. How do they connect to Christ-like Character, Holy Calling, Christian Virtue, Theology and Vocation, and service to the local and global community.

For next week…  Review your Student Learning Outcomes and determine what assessment tools (assignments, exams, surveys, projects, etc.) are appropriate for determining if students achieving these outcomes.