Designing Outcomes & Assessments

This section is designed to help anyone who is new to IVC's Student Learning Outcome (SLO) process:  new faculty, part-time faculty, etc. 

Here are a few things to help you begin.

I.  Learning Outcomes & Assessment Development Workbook

II. SLO Assessment Cycle Phase I Worksheet  

III. Blooms Taxonomy

IV.  Examples of course level outcomes at IVC

The workbook, Learning Outcomes & Assessment Development Toolkit, will help one begin the SLO process by explaining the benefits of outcomes and how to design outcomes and assessments.

A slide presentation that includes basics on Developing Student Learning Outcomes:  New to SLOs Spr 11

A video to help you get started:  SLO Basics Video  Or you may cut and paste this address:

http://ivci4.imperial.edu/ivcmediasite/Viewer/?peid=51bf29c0c3d442ee9ed1a536a972ad7d

Here is a slide presentation given by Dr. Daniel Gilison on August 19, 2011 at the Flex Day workshop:  Identifying SLOs and Assessments

Getting Started

1. Collect the official Course Outline of Record (COR)for your class and review it, especially the objectives.  If you do not have the COR, please request it from your department chair or secretary.

2. Review the Learning Outcomes & Assessment Development Toolkit 

3.  Use the SLO Assessment Cycle Phase I Worksheet  

4. Consider the most important abilities, knowledge or attitudes you hope students will improve upon after successful participation in your class.  Turn your big course activities (papers, presentations, practical exams, etc) into how you assess your outcome, but make sure each outcome

   a. measures at least two course objectives

   b. is truely measurable

   c. is agreed upon by those who plan on teaching the class

   d. begins with an action verb.  (Consider using words from Bloom's Taxonomy to help describe an outcome.)

   e. will help the instructor better assess teaching effectiveness

Relax and give it a try!  You are not being asked to change your approach to teaching, but asked instead to articulate the one you are already using.  If you find that outcomes or assessments do not work, that is OK.  You can change, update, and improve them as you go through the process. 

Once you have written your outcomes, please provide them to your department chair.  Your Chair can explain how to submit them.  We now submit them through CurricUNET.  You may contact Dixie Krimm at 760.355.6344 to receive assistance and password information for CurricUNET.  Here is a sheet with step-by-step directions:  Instructions for Identifying SLOs and ILOs in CurricUNET

Thank you for your willingness to partake in the outcome process at IVC.  Please feel free to contact the SLO Coordinator with questions, concerns, and suggestions.

Sincerely,

Toni Pfister

Questions and comments may be directed to  Toni Pfister, SLO Coordinator, at 760.355.6546 or toni.pfister@imperial.edu