X I A H E J A N I C E F O L K

LEARNING OUTCOMES FACILITATION

ASSESSING STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Quantitative design can be overwhelming and often leads to failure because of that. Qualitative design is considered when the number of subjects is too small for quantitative design. • Both methods are used in some cases• Not all outcomes are student learning outcomes i.e. outcomes for health service or financial aid is not a learning outcome

ASSESSING STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMESCONTINUED

• Most credible design: Astin’s input-environment-outcome (IEO) framework • Input: students’ background before they enroll• Environment: students’ experience after they

enroll

ASSESSING STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMESCONTINUED

General categories of student learning outcomes (Schuh and Upcraft, 2001, p.155)• Complex cognitive skills• Knowledge acquisition• Intrapersonal development• Interpersonal development• Practical competence• Civic responsibility• Academic achievement• Persistence

COMPONENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE OUTCOMES-BASED ASSESSMENT PLAN AND REPORT

List of components (Bresciani, Gardner, and Hickmott, 2009, p. 31)• Mission statements• Goals• Learning and development outcomes• Methods• Results• Decisions and recommendations that are derived

from those results

HOW MANY ASSESSMENT PLANS DOES ONE DEPARTMENT NEED?

• Could be a few that focus on common outcomes of many different programs• Could be one outcome for each program if there

aren’t too many programs• Depends on what

COMPONENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE OUTCOMES-BASED ASSESSMENT PLAN AND REPORT--

MISSION

• Give a sense of ownership to everyone involved• Enable people to stay focused

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GOALS AND OUTCOMES

• Goals: broad, not directly measurable, measured through a combination of outcomes

• Outcomes: derived from goals, detailed

TYPES OF LEARNING OUTCOMES

--Institutional and Divisional• Broad• Gathered data are comparative• Findings may be generalizable to division or

institution--Department and Programmatic• Detailed• Data lead to decisions for improvement• Not generalizable

DRAFTING LEARNING OUTCOMES

Three criteria• Measurable• Meaningful• Manageable

MAPPING LEARNING OUTCOMES

Two alignment processes• Align learning outcomes with goals, helpful in

deciding how the funding can be allocated

• Align activities with intended end results

DELIVERY OF OUTCOMES

• Important to tie activities to outcomes• Maki’s grid document List outcomes on the left side List activities across the top

REPORTING

• Inform students’ achievements and identify where improvements can be made

• Choose right data for right audiences

OTHER COMPONENTS

• Clarify who is responsible• Include action plans for recommendations• Include comments from decision makers• Indicate whether the outcomes were connected

to other institutional or divisional initiatives