Course Level Assessment Planning

Steps in the Assessment Process:

• STEP 1: Articulate your course goals and learning objectives.

  Course Goals

  Goals are aspirational statements that set the larger picture of the course for you and your students. 

  Guidelines for writing course goals:

  • Goals are broad statements that describe what you want for your students by the end of the course
  • Goals should be student centered rather than instructor centered
  • Goals do not need to be measurable and can use more general terms like "understand" or "value"
  • Goals are able to be translated or divided into one or more specific, measurable learning objectives

  
  

  Student Learning Objectives

  What are student learning objectives?

  • Student learning objectives are specific and measurable statements of what a student should be able to do when a class, module, or even semester is complete.
  • These statements refer to specific knowledge, practical skills, areas of professional development, attitudes, higher-order thinking skills, etc. that faculty members expect students to develop, learn, or master during a course (Suskie, 2004).
  • Student learning objectives are also often referred to as learning outcomes, objectives, expected learning outcomes, or learning outcome statements.

  Learning objectives have three major characteristics:

  1. They specify an action by the students/learners that is observable
  2. They specify an action by the students/learners that is measurable
  3. They specify an action that is done by the students/learners (rather than the instructor)

  Learning objectives make it easier for instructors to...

  • Make decisions about selecting course content
  • Design assessments that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills
  • Design teaching strategies or learning activities that will help students develop their knowledge and skills
  • Measure student learning accurately and effectively

  Having explicit learning objectives helps students...

  • Decide if the course is a good fit for their academic trajectory
  • Identify what they need to do to be successful in the course
  • Take ownership of how they progress
  • Be mindful of what they are learning

  When writing learning objectives it is important to...

  • Make your objectives SMART: 
    • Specific: state exactly what the learner will be able to do
    • Measurable: focus is on observable student behavior
    • Achievable: attainable for students within the schedule time and specific conditions
    • Relevant: relates to the needs of the student, and the goals of the course/academic program
    • Timebound: by the completion of the course or time of the assessment
  • Use simple, specific action verbs
  • Use Bloom’s Taxonomy to help you craft objectives that help students build from lower-order thinking to higher-order thinking.

  Bloom's Taxonomy

   

  

  Student Learning Objectives Generator

  Learning Objectives Resource Guide

  Background: 

  In 1956, Benjamin Bloom with collaborators Max Englehart, Edward Furst, Walter Hill, and David Krathwohl published a framework for categorizing educational goals known as Bloom’s Taxonomy. Updated in 2001, this framework consists of six major categories: Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyingze, Evaluatinge, and Creating. The categories range from lower order to higher order thinking skills. 

  APPLication:

  You can use Bloom’s Taxonomy to assist in creating your learning objectives. Below you will find guiding questions and action verbs to help you create objectives that correspond to different levels of knowledge.

  • Remembering: Can students recall or remember information
    • sample verbs: define, describe, identify, recognize, recall
  • Understanding: Can students explain ideas or concepts? 
    • sample verbs: classify, explain, discuss, predict, summarize
  • Applying: Can students use the information in a new context?
    • sample verbs: change, employ, apply, demonstrate, relate
  • Analyzing: Can students distinguish between the different parts and how they are connected? 
    • sample verbs: appraise, compare, contrast, differentiate, examine
  • Evaluating: Can students justify a stand or decision, explain which options are better and why?
    • sample verbs: argue, assess, judge, interpret, evaluate
  • Creating: Can students create a new product or point of view based on what they have learned? 
    • sample verbs: design, assemble, create, compose, devise
• STEP 2: Align your learning objectives with assessment methods and course activities.

  Course Alignment

  Course alignment is a design process that ensures learning objectives, assessments, and course learning activities are all well linked. The learning objectives you craft will drive your choice of formative and summative assessments, which will then determine which learning activities you plan for class time. Making this connection clear and explicit for your students helps to reinforce your course organization, effort in design, and the relevance of assignments and activities.

  Learning Objectives ⇒ Evidence & Assessment Methods ⇒ Instructional Resources & Learning Activities

  Course Alignment Tool

  How do I know what assessment methods to use?

  There are many tools and methods for assessing learning, but not all are appropriate for each of your learning objectives. Some assessments work best for objectives focusing on the lower levels of Bloom's Taxonomy (i.e. remembering or understanding), while others work better for higher order objectives (e.g. evaluating or creating). The table below provides some guidance to point you in the right direction.

  Bloom's Taxonomy	Suggested Assessment Methods*
  REMEMBER	Clicker questions, quizzes/exams (i.e. objective questions: multiple choice, true/false, matching, fill in the blank)
  UNDERSTAND	Concept mapping, summaries, infographics, quizzes/exams (mix multiple choice questions, short answer questions)
  APPLY	Discussion posts, lab reports, portfolios, quizzes/exams (mix multiple choice questions, short answer questions)
  ANALYZE	Case studies, essays, critiques, muddiest point, research paper
  EVALUATE	Essays, debates, discussion posts, presentations, peer evaluation
  CREATE	Research proposal, artistic composition, essays, website designs, business plans

  *Not an exhaustive list of assessment options

• STEP 3: Collect, analyze and interpret assessment data

  Collecting Assessment Data

  Collecting data for the purposes of a learning assessment involves more than just assigning a course grade for your students. Therefore your assessment methods and course assignments should be developed to align with your course objectives (refer to step 2 for more information). 

  Assessment data collection can involve both direct and indirect measures. 

  Direct assessment… 

  • involves methods and tools that have students perform a task based on what they learned in the course.
  • can include the tools embedded in course assignments (e.g. multiple choice questions, short answer questions, essays, lab reports, etc.)
  • often incorporates the use of rubrics to measure learning in more subjective assignments such as written work or presentations

  Indirect assessment… 

  • involves collecting data on perception of learning, typically by asking students to self report what they gained from a course.
  • includes methods such as surveys, interviews, focus groups and course evaluations

   

  Data Analysis & Interpretation

  Analyzing and interpreting data may seem like a large undertaking. However the process is simpler if you have already considered and defined criteria for successful learning on each of your objectives. Here are some guiding questions that can help you through the process of setting these criteria:

  • Are there specific question(s) on a multiple choice quiz or exam that target your learning objective(s)? If you are using multiple objective questions to measure a single learning objective, what percent of correct responses indicates successful learning? 
  • What scale point on your rubric(s) indicates a student met the learning objective(s)?
  • What is the benchmark learning rate (i.e. the percentage of students who learned what you intended) for you to consider the course successful in teaching your learning objective(s)?

  Keep in mind these questions may differ based on the assessment methods you selected for each of your learning objectives. However, once you have answered questions such as the ones above, you will be able to determine which students' learning outcomes met each of your course objectives, and the percentage of students who successfully learned each of your objectives. This process can be made even easier through the use of Competencies  in Brightspace.

  When interpreting your data, perhaps you observe the overwhelming majority of students demonstrated learning on one course objective, but only half were successful on another objective. You can use this information to make improvements to the course - whether that means adding a mid-semester review of certain concepts (i.e. in formative assessment), or making changes to your course activities for the next semester you teach (i.e. in summative assessment).

• STEP 4: Close the loop - make course improvements based on assessment results

  Assessment is a cyclical process!

  
  

  The main value of assessment is using the information to improve the student learning experience. Therefore, after collecting and interpreting data, it is important to close the loop by making adjustments to your course(s). Keep in mind that the assessment process can reveal opportunities for change whether students met your minimum criteria for successful learning or not. Below are some questions for you to consider in each of these situations.

  When students demonstrate successful learning on a given objective:

  • • Did you have appropriate expectations for your students? Were they challenged enough? Should you raise your expectations in future semesters?
    • What did you do to ensure your students met the learning objectives(s)? Were specific activities, or modes of giving feedback particularly effective? Could these activities or methods be used in other areas of the course?
    • Would some of your practices in the course/section being assessed work in other courses/class sections?

  When students do not demonstrate successful learning on an objective:

  • • Did your student have adequate time and opportunity to digest, practice, and receive feedback about this learning outcome? Could you add additional problem solving activities or class time in the future?
    • Do you need to reconsider the learning outcome itself, or the method used to assess it? Redesigning assignments can sometimes help in this situation.

  Responses to the questions above will help you conceptualize potential course modifications. Writing up an assessment report summarizing your findings and recommendations is also good practice. Keep in mind you do not need to work through this process alone! Faculty are always welcome to meet with CELT to discuss modifications to their course design(s) and/or assessment method(s).

The Assessment Cycle:

The assessment process is a cyclical one involving the four steps of goals and objectives, course alignment, data collection & analysis, and course improvements.