1. Taft College SLO Summer Team: Connecting SLOs with Assessment June 19-July 24, 2008

2. Objectives for Summer SLO Team Dialog about SLOs, assessment, and existing practices at TC Identify course, certificate, and program level SLOs to assess this summer Align SLOs with TC’s institutional SLOs Identify or design assessment for an SLO Identify or design rubric or evaluation instrument for assessment Conduct assessment and complete assessment report

3. Objectives for Thursday, June 19 Discuss SLOs, assessment, and discursive terminology Identify or create one SLO to measure this summer Identify SLO with TC institutional SLO(s). Discuss types of assessments Begin planning an assessment Consider rubric or scoring guidelines for assessment (we will establish these on Tuesday, 6/24)

4. Student Learning Outcomes SLOs refer to a specialized process of assessment which includes identification, assessment, and improvement. This process is cyclical and intended to increase student learning by collecting data through assessment, analyzing the data, and making improvements. It involves thoughtful planning of instruction and services, clear standards of evaluation, and a commitment to change.

5. The Cycle of Assessment identifyassessinterpretimprove

6. SLOs Are Not Course Objectives However, they are similar. SLOs do use cognitive verbs and Bloom’s taxonomy. The main difference is that the SLO itself must be measureable. The SLO is what students should be able to perform at the end of a course, not simply knowledge. Refer to “SLOs versus Course Objectives” in your packet. Refer to “SLO Checklist” in packet.

7. Guidelines for Writing SLOs Use active verbs that are measurable. Make them specific. Words like know or understand are too general and, therefore, too hard to measure. “Make the SLO a statement of what students should be able to DO,” not know (Fulks, 2004). Consider how to assess them. Discuss them in the campus community. Consider TC’s institutional SLOs. Plan to share them with students.

8. Sample SLOs from BC http://www2.bc.cc.ca.us/tl/sampleSLOs.htm “Use examples of infections, treatment, and epidemiologic control to compare and contrast the characteristics of prions, viruses, bacteria, protozoans, and multicellular parasites.” “Explain the dynamics of commensal and pathological relationships that occur between microbes and humans.” “Evaluate methods of microbial control and apply the proper methods necessary when given a scenario.” There are many examples of SLOs in your packet.

9. Identify or Create an SLO Using the resources you brought with you, take time now to consider and discuss a SLO you will assess this summer. Pick one which you think you will be able to measure. Pencil it in in your Individual Assessment Report Identify the TC Institutional SLO it aligns with.

10. Rubrics You will need to identify or create a rubric or scoring matrix with which to assess the outcome of the SLO you are working with. There are many ways to do this, and we will focus on identifying or creating one on Tuesday. For now, simply consider the criteria or primary traits you would use to assess the SLO you chose.

11. The Future... By the time you leave today, identify the SLO you want to work with, align it with TC’s institutional SLO, and consider how you will assess it. When you come back on Tuesday, have a working idea of how you think you will assess it. We will identify or develop rubrics and finalize our assessment plans Tuesday. Within the following month, you will conduct your assessment and complete your brief report.

12. Works Cited Fulks,Janet. Assessing Student Learning in Community Colleges (2004), Bakersfield College, jfulks@bakersfieldcollege.edu jfulks@bakersfieldcollege.edu Fluks, Janet, Pluta, and Granger-Dickson, “Sample Student Learning Outcomes.” Bakersfield College, Santa Monica College. “Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) versus Course Objectives.” http://academicsenate.smc.edu/curriculum/student_learning_outcomes.htm