Student
Learning Outcomes (SLO) FAQ
The FCC Curriculum Committee has developed a
SLO Handbook to
assist faculty writing student learning outcomes. In addition,
the division curriculum representatives as well as the curriculum
chair are available for assistance.
What is a
student learning outcome?
|
Conditions under which student will demonstrate competence
OR
Given the following conditions |
Behavioral objective (student will know and be able to do)
OR
The student will |
Criteria/ performance standard/ primary traits
OR
To the following standard |
Rubric
for scoring
OR
As measured by the following method (use rubrics)
|
| Given a
particular behavior and the context in which it occurs |
the
student will describe how a behaviorist would interpret the
behavior |
using a
minimum of three basic behaviorist notions |
in an oral
presentation assessed on the following traits: (rubrics) |
Download sample Excel Worksheet to use in converting your
course objectives to student learning outcomes.
What student
learning outcome components does the Fresno
City College Course Outline of Record require?
Using the example above, the required
components for the Course Outline of Record are:
- conditions of performance (given...)
- performance objectives (the student will...)
-
assessment (as measured by...)
The
standards of performance are helpful and will make a more useful
and complete student learning outcome but are not currently required on the Course Outline of
Record. Keep in mind that all student learning
outcomes must be measurable and include appropriate assessment. You
are also encouraged to work as a department on rubrics to
assess the SLO.
Download sample Excel Worksheet to use in converting your
course objectives to student learning outcomes.
Can I make an
opening and/or closing statement about the conditions of performance
and/or the assessment rather than
writing the same verbiage over and over again for each SLO?
Yes, if it is appropriate to all outcomes.
What is
important to remember when writing Student Learning Outcomes?
Are the SLO's specific enough to be meaningful for instructional
and assessment practices?
Are the SLO's up-to-date and accurately reflect the shared
understandings of those teaching the course?
Are the SLO's measurable?
Can I see some
examples of objectives rewritten as Student Learning Outcomes?
Examples from FCC courses
Air Conditioning 57
In an applied setting, given instructions and/or demonstrations
the student will be able to
- Identify various air conditioning system configurations
- Recommend an appropriate control strategy given a typical
system configuration
- Create a basic control sequence appropriate for a given system
configuration
to industry standards as determined by the instructor.
Child Development 7A
Given a description of an infant with a particular disability,
students will identify ways to provide support and education to
parents including; on-site, in-home, and community services
available. As demonstrated on final exam.
Computer Science 26
Given a programming task of searching or sorting items, generate
a tree as subset of a graph and construct an efficient algorithm
based on structure of the tree.
The examples below are courtesy of Bill Scroggins.
Old Course Objective #1 (English) Write well-organized, accurate and
significant content.
Statement of Desired SLO Context: Given an in-class writing
task based on an assigned reading,
Objective: demonstrate appropriate and competent writing
which
Traits: states a thesis, supports assertions, maintains unity
of thought and purpose, is organized, and is technically correct in
paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and
word use.
Old Course Objective #2 (Psychology) Analyze behavior following the
major accepted theories.
Statement of Desired SLO Context: Given a particular behavior
and its context (e.g., playing incessantly with one's hair when
under pressure in the presence of the opposite sex),
Objective: describe how the perspectives of behaviorism,
humanistic, psychoanalytic, and biological psychology would
interpret that behavior and what methods might each use to alter
that behavior.
Traits: Include theoretical basis, description of causality,
and treatment regimen.
Old Course Objective #3 (Biology) Understand and apply the scientific
method.
Statement of Desired SLO Context: Given a hypothesis,
Objective: design experiments and interpret data according to
the scientific method in order to evaluate the hypothesis.
Traits: Include the ability to approach the scientific method
in a variety of ways, formulate questions, design experiments that
answer the questions; and manipulate and evaluate the experimental
data to reach conclusions.
Old Course Objective #4 (Film) Compare and contrast the text and film
versions of a literary work.
Statement of Desired SLO Context: After viewing an assigned
film based on a literary text,
Objective: write a review of the film.
Traits: Include an appraisal of the director's selection and
effective translation of content from the literary text and the
dominant tone the director seems to be trying to achieve, supporting
each statement with detail from the text and film and your personal
reaction to the cited scenes.
Do any other resources or guides
exist?
Contra Costa SLO page
(includes many links to other sites)
Assessing Student Learning: Available Resources
by Amy E. Mark Many professional organizations have
created Student Learning Outcomes for their respective disciplines.
If you know of one for your discipline, please send it to
Maggie Taylor.
American Society of Microbiology
American Psychological Association
Association of College and Research Libraries
Where can I get help
on campus?
The curriculum representatives for your area can help or send your Student Learning Outcomes to
Maggie Taylor
for review.
Last Update: August 9, 2007
Comments or questions? Contact
Maggie Taylor
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