What Are Student Learning Outcomes???
Before moving into the wild world of assessment, we first need to have something to assess. Something that has been learned.
In order to assess learning, we look at learning outcomes. A learning outcome is what we expect as a result of the purposeful and structured activities that occur in your courses.
Learning outcomes come in three varieties or domains:
These domains are often referred to in shorthand as Knowledge, Attitudes, and Skills (KAS). Some combination of all three are important in developing learning outcomes. The importance of each depends on what is being taught.
This time, we will look at the Cognitive outcomes. Simply put, these outcomes define what you know about a topic.
Some version of Bloom’s Taxonomy is often used to identify cognitive learning outcomes. Bloom created a hierarchy of learning starting with knowing facts, (the Declaration of Independence happened in 1776) all the way up to creating new knowledge or theory (the discovery of the charm quark).
However, it is usually not sufficient to be able to recall facts. Some level of thought is needed in order to make sense of the facts and…dare I say it? Possibly apply it in a different setting.
At the college level, the lower order knowledge outcomes of remembering and understanding are considered necessary but certainly not sufficient. In fact, (no pun intended) to be an educated person , this basic level of knowing is often considered prerequisite for college work. At UIS, we are however, VERY interested in the application and analysis of knowledge, assessments of worth and, ultimately, creating new knowledge, because that is what universities do!
Because CEHS prepares students for professional roles in teaching and human services, we are naturally very interested in higher-order learning . Here are some examples of the higher-level cognitive learning outcomes you might find at CEHS:
One thing that is immediately apparent with all of these examples is that thought and reflection is required. And the questions cannot be answered with a simple yes or no, making it sometimes challenging to document and measure these outcomes.
HOWEVER, as important as it is to measure knowledge, it almost never a sufficient measure of student learning. Looking at attitudes, beliefs and dispositions is very important, especially in ou
r college, which we will explore next time.
—— THE DATA WIZARD