Goals? Outcomes? What?

“Assessment begins not with creating or implementing

tests, assignments, or other assessment tools but by

deciding on your goals: what do you want students

to learn and why.”

Suskie, 2009

What do you want to achieve and why?

Cornell Matrix

Cornell Educational Objectives Department / Program

Goals

Intended Student

(Learning) Outcomes

One: Be able to acquire, analyze,

interpret, and communicate knowledge;

possess skills including, but not limited to,

writing, reading comprehension, critical

thinking, quantitative reasoning,

information literacy, and oral

communication;

Goals

“Goals state what you, your colleagues, or your

college aim to achieve. They can describe aims

outside the teaching and learning process as well as

within it.”

Suskie, 2009

Writing Goals

Focus on what the program/department aims

to achieve.

Be specific.

Define terms.

Articulate time frames.

Use action verbs.

Be realistic.

Goal Examples

The Geology Department will:

enhance all middle and upper level courses by 2011-12 to include extensive group or individual research projects;

require all Geology majors to complete at least one field course;

foster student appreciation for other cultures via participation in field study in the Bahamas and/or New Zealand;

secure funding to send 10 students per year to the Geological Society of America annual conference.

Goal Examples

The Office of Admission seeks to:

identify, attract, select, and enroll a well-

rounded and diverse community of students

who will benefit from our distinctive learning

environment; and,

achieve enrollment and revenue goals which

will allow the institution to remain a healthy

and vibrant community.

Give it a try…

Think about your department / program / office.

Make a list in your own words of what you’re

trying to accomplish.

Select one item on your list.

Write that item as a goal statement.

OR

Review your existing goals to determine how well they

capture that item.

Outcomes

“Outcomes are goals that refer to a destination rather

than the path taken to get there – the end rather

than the means, the outcome rather than the

process….an outcome explains why we do what we

do.”

Suskie, 2009

Learning Outcomes

“Learning outcomes … describe how students will be

different because of a learning experience. More

specifically, learning outcomes are the knowledge,

skills, attitudes, and habits of mind that students

take with them from a learning experience.”

Suskie, 2009

Learning Outcomes

Translate intentions into actions.

Describe what people should be able to do, value, or

know as a result of participation in a learning activity.

Articulate what people should be able to

demonstrate / produce.

Use action verbs.

SWiBAT

Upon completion of the pre-ninja program,

students will be able to:

rip a man’s heart out and show it to him before

he dies;

spin slowly in mid-air;

skulk undetected through abandoned factories at

night;

mix black clothes with other black clothes without

clashing. Dean Dad, Inside Higher Ed, April 21, 2008

Evaluation

Synthesis

Analysis

Application

Comprehension

Knowledge

Compare, contrast, deconstruct,

differentiate, analyze

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom (1956)

Appraise, compare, conclude, critique,

defend, interpret

Compile, compose, explain, revise,

reconstruct, combine

Compute, construct, modify, predict,

use, solve, relate

Comprehend, convert, explain,

distinguish

Define, describe, identify, know,

recognize, recall

Affective*

receiving phenomena ask, describe, select, follow, select

responding to phenomena answer, assist, conform, discuss

valuing demonstrate, justify, differentiate, initiate

organization adhere, formulate, arrange, relate

internalizing values act, display, influence, question

*Krathwohl, Bloom, Masia (1973)

Bloom’s Taxonomy

SMART Outcomes

Specific: Clear and definite terms describing expected

abilities, knowledge, values, attitudes, and performance.

Measurable: It is feasible to get the data; data are

accurate / believable; can be assessed in more than one

way.

Aggressive but Attainable: Consider stretch targets to

improve programs.

SMART Outcomes

Realistic: Take note of the timeframe and the

resources you have available.

Time-bound: Describe where you would like

students to be within a specified period of time.

Adapted from Paula Krist,

Director of Operational Effectiveness and Assessment Support,

University of Central Florida, May 2006.

Cornell Educational Objectives Department /

Program Goals

Intended Student

(Learning) Outcomes

Two: Understand the methods and practices of the

natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and

humanities:

• as a result of their experiences with various

methods of inquiry, graduates will recognize and

apply different disciplinary and interdisciplinary

forms of thinking;

• as a result of their experiences with a major or

concentration, graduates will possess depth of

understanding and research skills in at least one

method of inquiry;

Every Geology major will

successfully complete a core

curriculum of 5 courses and a

set of 3 electives.

Over the course of their

junior and senior years, at

least 75% of majors will

attend a science-oriented

conference.

(Geology): “Graduating

seniors will be able to

conduct original scientific

research and present it in

writing and orally to a

scientific audience.”

(Walvoord, 2004)

Three: Possess intercultural knowledge and

recognize global perspectives;

50% of students will study

off-campus

“Students will demonstrate

the ability to perceive any

given event from more than

one cultural viewpoint.”

(Global Learning for All,

2009)

Four: Integrate and transfer knowledge and skills

from one setting to another;

Five: Be cognizant of their responsibility for

individual, civic, and social choices

100% of graduating seniors

will have participated in

community service

Outcomes Examples

As a result of their co-curricular experiences, students will:

Demonstrate behaviors to maintain a healthy lifestyle and relationships;

Engage in civic, leadership, and campus activities;

Develop effective leadership skills/traits;

Consider differing social, political, and cultural viewpoints and share perspectives in a mutually respectful manner;

Outcomes Examples

As a result of their experiences in a Living

Learning Community, students will:

be able to analyze and interpret a societal

issue in-depth;

create an action plan to address issues and

concerns that arise from researching the group’s

topic;

be able to articulate the purpose of roommate

agreement.

Outcomes Examples

Upon completion of the Studio Art major, students

will:

demonstrate competent and creative studio

practice in at least one medium;

be able to locate their art within an historical

continuum of art ideas and in relation to

established art antecedents.

Give it a try…

Think about your department / program / office.

Make a list in your own words of what you think

[students] are learning.

Write a quick / simple learning outcome.

Try using one of these sentence stems:

Upon completion of …, students will…

As a result of participation in [xyz] program,

[Cornell alumni] will…

SWiBAT formula: “Students will be able to…”

Verbs cognitive affective

evaluation appraise, compare, conclude,

critique, defend, interpret

receiving

phenomena

ask, describe, select,

follow, select

synthesis compile, compose, explain,

revise, reconstruct, combine

responding to

phenomena

answer, assist, conform,

discuss

analysis compare, contrast, deconstruct,

differentiate, analyze

valuing demonstrate, justify,

differentiate, initiate

application compute, construct, modify,

predict, use, solve, relate

organization adhere, formulate,

arrange, relate

comprehension comprehend, convert, explain,

distinguish

internalizing values act, display, influence,

question

knowledge define, describe, identify,

know, recognize, recall

Consider

Meaningful: Is this outcome aligned with the division or department

missions or goals?

Manageable: Is this outcome actually achievable and assessable?

Measurable: Can you articulate how you would know you achieved the

outcome?

Questions & Concerns

For next time…

Completed steps…

Finalize mission statements.

Draft and/or revise your department’s goals.

Draft and/or revise your department’s intended student

(learning) outcomes.*

Readings…

“Making Claims About Student Learning…” (Maki, 2004)