1. MARGARET (MIDGE) COZZENS TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY FEBRUARY 22, 2013 Learning Outcomes

2. What are they? Learning outcomes are statements of what students are expected to learn in a course or in a class session. The statements are focused on student learning rather than instructor teaching. These statements include a verb phrase and an impact phrase -- what students will be able to do and how they will apply that skill or knowledge. 2

3. Levels of Cognitive Skills Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives - 2003 Knowledge/remembering Comprehension/understanding Application/applying Analysis/analyzing Evaluation/evaluating Synthesis/creating 3

4. Verbs that are measurable Knowledge: define, list, recognize Understanding: characterize, describe, explain, identify, locate, recognize, sort Application: choose, demonstrate, implement, perform Analysis: analyze, categorize, compare, differentiate Evaluation: assess, critique, evaluate, rank, rate Synthesis: construct, design, formulate, organize, synthesize 4

5. Examples for lessons After completing the lesson, the student will be able 1. to understand and be able to identify the traditional elements in specific fables, fairy tales, etc. 2. discuss, interpret, and ascribe meaning to the data shown in the following spread sheets. 3. understand how Archimedes influenced the development of mathematics. 5

6. Examples for courses After completing this course, a student will: 1. Be able to evaluate the impact of monetary policy on a country’s economy. 2. Be able to analyze a situation and develop a model to reflect this analysis. 3. Understand predator-prey relationships and discuss ways they would go about determining these predator prey relationships in Yellowstone National Park. 6

7. Course Examples cont. 4. Compare and contrast the different types of business ownership; 5. Describe the relationship between the past and the present in war torn Iraq; 6. Discriminate among different Western music styles; 7. Analyze current research findings in the areas of physiological psychology. 7

8. Learning Progressions Learning progressions are descriptions of the successively more sophisticated ways of thinking about a topic as one learns about and investigates a topic over a span of time. (began to be used in 2005) See handout for an example of a linear progression for students learning about size and scale. Allows the setting of learning goals, not just learning outcomes. Incorporates what students come to class knowing and able to do. 8

9. Getting Started 1. Ask yourself: what are the most important things a student should know, be able to do or demonstrate after completing my course ? Make a list of these. 2. Reread the course description given in the catalog. Does it reflect your expectations for the course? 9

10. Development of specific learning outcomes 3. Write some learning outcomes using verbs that are measurable. [See handout.] 4. Look at the learning outcomes and determine an order to when you can expect them – either a partial order or linear order. 5. Share your answers with others. 6. Compare your learning outcomes to others. 7. Does this change your mind – if so make changes. Save them for afternoon session. 10