What are Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)?

Student learning outcomes are statements of what students will be able to do after taking a particular class or completing a particular program. Student learning outcomes can be written for individual classes, entire programs, or for the institution as a whole. Student learning outcomes should be general in scope. They should be written using active verbs (Blooms taxonomy) that describe what the student will be able to DO and they should also indicate how the outcome will be measured or assessed (think rubric).

How Do Outcomes Differ From Objectives?

Objectives address the details in a course and are related to the specific course content that will be covered by the instructor. There will be many individual objectives for any class. This objectives list must be exhaustive enough to meet the requirements of equivalent classes at UC and CSU so that the course will articulate. Objectives tell students what supporting skills, knowledge, and attitudes they will learn during a course that lead to mastery of the course SLOs.

Whereas, SLOs (student learning outcomes) indicate what students will be ABLE TO DO after completing the course. Typically, there will be about three student learning outcomes for any particular course or program. An SLO also provides a context for learning and moves toward a means to evaluate the student’s performance. The primary rule to be applied when formulating SLOs is that they must be assessable; there must be some way to measure student success in achieving those goals. Include within the SLO the criteria that must be met in order for students to demonstrate to you that they have achieved the desired outcome.

Below is an example of Course Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes for a Nutrition Course:

Nutrition Course Objectives:

Discuss differences in nutritional requirements associated with sex, age, and activity.
Describe causes and consequences of nutritional problems.
Identify key factors involved in correcting nutritional behaviors.

Nutrition Course Student Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this nutrition course, a student will be able to analyze a documented nutritional problem, determine a strategy to correct the problem, and write a draft nutritional policy addressing the broader scope of the problem.

How do faculty assess SLOs?

You should have defined your SLOs before you begin assessing. Assessment is the process of collecting evidence to see if students are actually learning the outcomes. Part of assessment includes deciding what to assess and when (Assessment Plan), creating an assessment tool/method that measures the identified SLOs and creating a rubric to assist in gathering evidence that will be used to assess and improve courses/programs.

When getting started with assessment:

• • Keep it simple and sustainable. Start small.
  • You don’t have to assess every outcome every year.
  • Accrediting commissions aren’t necessarily interested in the content of our assessment results. They want to know that we have processes in place that insure that assessment and improvement is occurring on our campus.

Assessment is supposed to be faculty-driven. So if we as faculty are supposed to decide how to do it, it would be a good idea for us to figure out what it is and the many things that can be done to assess student learning. The good news is that there are lots of possibilities, and nobody HAS to do it in any particular way. You can choose assessment methods that will work for you and that will give you information you can really use to improve student learning. Examples of assessment method/tools include: Published tests, Locally developed tests, Embedded assignments and course activities, Competence interviews, Portfolios of student work, Collective portfolios, Surveys, Interviews, Focus Groups, Reflective Essays.

Assessment isn’t the same as assigning grades. Grades alone do not give enough information on specific strengths and weaknesses of students. In addition, grading standards might be vague, while assessment information is very specific. How do you know that students are learning the outcomes that have been identified for the course? The assessment method/tool must measure the desired outcomes and the tools rubric must be specific enough to provide evidence regarding identified student learning outcomes. The rubric is an important piece of the assessment.

Rubrics:

A rubric lists the specific parts of the assignment – the types of things the instructor is looking for and evaluating to determine the overall grade. The rubric specifically lists acceptable and unacceptable qualities in the assignment. Rubrics can have many levels (exemplary, good, competent, below standards, unacceptable, etc.) and can be written to accommodate any assignment and any qualities you are looking for.

To make things perfectly clear to your students, rubrics should be handed out to your students when you explain the assignment, so that they can focus their energies on things that you have decided are most important for this assignment.

Benefits of using a rubric include:

• • Expectations are clear to students, so it helps them focus.
  • Rubrics make grading faster. (There’s no need to write the same thing many times – just circle the appropriate statements on the rubric.)
  • Since grading is easier, assignments should be returned more quickly, so students will receive prompt feedback that they can then use for improvement.
  • Strengths and weaknesses are clearly delineated.
  • Completed rubrics can be used evidence of assessment: how did your students do on each aspect of the assignment, (such as those aspects that are identified as course SLOs). You can focus your energies on improving what needs to be improved.
  • Examples and instructions on using rubrics are widely available. Explore the following resources for more info. on rubrics:
    • Rubistar