1. Learning Objectives, Performance Tasks and Rubrics: Demonstrating Understanding and Defining What Good Is
Brenda Lyseng
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
Center for Teaching
and Learning

2. Goals
Review how the assessment cycle matches what you do in your class
Move from Learning Outcomes to Learning Objectives to Assessment
Build Performance Tasks
Write Rubrics

3. Activity
Make a concept map to show the relationship between these words
As you discuss, think about
Who?
What?
How?
When?
Why?
Assessment of student
Course
Faculty
Learning activities
Learning objectives
Learning outcomes
Program
Student
University

4. The Big Picture

5. From Learning Outcomes to Learning Objectives to Assessment
What are learning objectives at the course level?
What are characteristics of learning objectives?
What impact should learning objectives have on how you teach?
What is the importance of assessment of learning objectives?

6. Learning objectives What do we expect students to be able to do
after instruction or learning activity?
Focuses on student, not teacher
Establishes direction
If well-stated, makes it clear what type of assessment would be appropriate
Continuum from highly specific objectives or very broad learning goals – need intermediate to get at higher-level skills that are specific enough to be assessed

7. Educational Objectives and Verbs for Stating Specific Learning Outcomes
Major categories in the cognitive domain (Bloom, 1956)
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation

8. Educational Objectives and Verbs for Stating Specific Learning Outcomes
Major categories in the affective domain (Krathwohl, 1964)
Receiving stimuli
Responding
Valuing
Organization
Characterization by a Value or Value Complex

9. Educational Objectives and Verbs for Stating Specific Learning Outcomes
Major categories in the psychomotor domain
(Simpson, 1972)
Perception
Set (Mental, physical, emotional readiness)
Guided Response
Mechanism
Complex Overt Response
Adaptation
Origination

10. Checking objectives: Are they complete? Are they appropriate?
Are they sound?
Are they feasible?

11. Critique Time! How could you improve the following
learning objectives?
Teach students key concepts.
Student will be able to communicate.
To learn about joint structure
Student will identify a concept and apply concept.

12. From Learning Outcomes to Learning Objectives to Assessment Planning Worksheet
Broad skill, intended
outcome
Graduates will demonstrate effective verbal, non-verbal, and written communication skills in a wide variety of contexts, including collaborative activities.
Objectives
What supporting
knowledge and
skills will students
achieve?
Learning Activities
Assessment
Look at examples;
Look at examples

13. From Learning Outcomes to Learning Objectives to Assessment Planning Worksheet
Broad skill, intended
outcome
Graduates will demonstrate effective verbal, non-verbal, and written communication skills in a wide variety of contexts, including collaborative activities.
Objectives
Learning Activities
What will students do that will lead them to the learning objectives?
Assessment
Think about the specific skills involved and which ones need to build on others; what skills do they already have? What skills do they need to practice in class or with a group? What do they need from you?

14. From Learning Outcomes to Learning Objectives to Assessment Planning Worksheet
Broad skill, intended
outcome
Graduates will demonstrate effective verbal, non-verbal, and written communication skills in a wide variety of contexts, including collaborative activities.
Objectives
Learning Activities
Assessment
How do students demonstrate mastery?
How will you assess the student’s ability perform these skills? Could be short in-class problem, exam question, group discussion, project or assignment

15. Performance Tasks
Emphasis is on doing – not merely knowing; on process as well as product
Goal is to be as authentic as possible
Used to measure learning outcomes and learning objectives that cannot be measured well by objective tests
Suited for less structured problems, creation of a product or a performance
Can be narrow in definition or more broad and open

16. Examples of Tasks
Prepare and deliver a speech to persuade people to take actions to protect the environment.
Write a computer program in BASIC that will sort a list of words alphabetically.

17. Examples of Tasks
Design and carry out an investigation to estimate the acceleration of a falling object. Describe the procedure used, present the data collected and analyzed, and state your conclusions.
You are approaching the age of menopause and need to make a decision about HRT. Explain the criteria that are important to you in your decision. Present in decision in the form of a dialogue with your health care provider.

18. How to build a performance task
Identify the specific content and/or skills students will learn.
Build the task that the students will do while identifying the criteria or standards that you will assess. These can be a mix of content standards and lifelong learning skills standards.
What type of activities will reinforce and deepen students’ understanding of the content and skills?

19. Build a performance task
Learning Objectives
Which one do you want to assess?
Task
What is the core task you want students to perform?

20. Build a performance task
What content standards do you want students to demonstrate?
What knowledge will students demonstrate?
What performance standards do you want students to demonstrate?
What skills will students demonstrate?
What will be their sources of information?
Interviews, primary sources, secondary, textbook
What type of product do you want?
Written report, oral report, recommendation, graph
How will students work?
Individual, partner, team

21. Standards or Criteria Content Standards
Lifelong Learning (Skill or Performance) Standards

22. Write Rubrics
Scoring tool that describes evaluation criteria based on the expected outcomes and performances of students. Each rubric consists of a set of scoring criteria and point values.

23. Why use rubrics? Improve reliability of grading assignments
To convey goals and expectations of students in an unambiguous way
To convey grading standards and relate to classroom goals
To engage students in critical evaluation of their own performance – self-assessment
To aid in intradepartmental discussion about standards and criteria
To form the basis for departmental and institutional assessment

24. Considerations when constructing a rubric
What elements must be present to ensure high quality?
How many levels do I want?
What is a clear description of each achievement level?
Rubrics are for you and the students!
Ask students for feedback on the rubrics

25. Getting started…
Consider a 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 scale where a “3” means that the student has completed the project in a satisfactory manner (generally a low B or high C)
Write the “4” description first
Don’t try to cover too many different skills or content areas within one rubric

26. Activity
At your table, write a rubric for a great semester break

27. Rubric for a Productive Session
4 – Faculty member met with other faculty members for a work session. Faculty began in various stages but all brought ideas to work on. Faculty learned from each other, gave suggestions, and modified their work. Faculty designed performance tasks for their own courses. Faculty gained experience in the use and writing of rubrics.

28. Rubric for a Productive Session
3 – Faculty member met with other faculty and discussed teaching and learning issues. Ideas were exchanged with promises of talking more about teaching and sending each other assignments, etc.

29. Rubric for a Productive Session
2 – Faculty member worked on course material in isolation from others. Materials may or may not show growth.

30. Rubric for a Productive Session
1 – “Assessment Session? What’s assessment have to do with me?”