Fresno State's Student Outcomes Assessment Program, SOAPS and deciding how to create, revise and match learning outcomes to SOAPS and assignments to learning outcomes for Summer Teaching Innovation Academy.

1. CLEANING UP THE LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT: SOAPS,
GOALS, AND LEARNING
OUTCOMES
Summer Innovations Academy
June 2012
by
Ida M. Jones
Verna Mae & Wayne D. Brooks Professor of
Business Law
Director, CSALT

2. Session Learning Outcomes
• Identify your department SOAP and summarize the relationship
of your course to your department and/or program
• Identify your course goals
• Create or revise one learning outcome and apply Bloom’s
Taxonomy
• Create or match an assignment to the learning outcome
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

3. Find Your Syllabus
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

4. How does your course relate to the
department and/or program?
FIND YOUR SOAP
Hint: Use your laptop, access the internet and use Google
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

5. Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson presentation t
Syllabus Redesign Conference, CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

6. What are your course goals?
Ask yourself:
What do I want students to achieve in this course?
Workplace/professional
Educated, informed citizen
Personal
In other words, why do students need this course?
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

7. Write your Course Goals
Think-Pair-Share (5-7 minutes)
Concept
Modify Think
Share Pair
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

8. Debrief/Discuss
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

9. Writing Appropriate Learning Outcomes
This next step is to write learning
outcomes. This defines the type and
depth of learning students are expected
to achieve.
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

10. Learning Outcomes are “do-able”
•Describe what students should be able to
do when they complete the course.
Writing and Using Learning Outcomes: a Practical
Guide, Kennedy, Hyland, Ryan (2006)
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

11. Learning outcomes are specific
•Competency-based and measurable, in that
they describe exactly what the student
must do to demonstrate mastery of course
material.
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

12. Learning outcomes are based on
knowledge, skills and/or values
• Outcomes may be separated by
knowledge, skills and values (attitudes)
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

13. Learning outcomes are manageable
• Should be an appropriate number of
outcomes (5-12) and should be written at
appropriate level
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

14. Learning Outcomes use appropriate level
language
•Use specific language (Bloom’s)
Bloom, B.S. (1975) Taxonomy of Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
Educational Objectives, Book 1 presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
Cognitive Domain. Longman CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
Publishing. permission.

15. BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
• Remembering: can the student recall or remember the
information? define, duplicate, list, memorize, recall,
repeat, reproduce state
• Understanding: can the student explain ideas or
concepts? classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify,
locate, recognize, report, select, translate, paraphrase
• Applying: can the student use the information in a new
way? choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ,
illustrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch, solve,
use, write
• Analyzing: can the student distinguish between the different parts? appraise,
compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine,
experiment, question, test
• Evaluating: can the student justify a stand or decision? appraise, argue, defend, judge,
select, support, value, evaluate
• Creating: can the student create new product or point of view? assemble, construct,
create, design, develop, formulate, write
Choose outcomes verbs that relate to the appropriate cognitive
domain
Source: http://www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm

16. Write/Revise/Review Course
Learning Outcomes
Think-Pair-Share (5-7 minutes)
Concept
Modify Think
Share Pair
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

17. Communicate outcomes
• Your syllabus and assignments should communicate
the linkage between assignments and learning
outcomes
Students should know why they are doing particular
assignments
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

18. Aren’t grades enough?
• Grades may be imprecise and idiosyncratic.
• Class grades may be affected by (appropriate)
factors such as attendance, class participation, late
assignments.
• Grades provide very minimal feedback about
specific aspects of student performance.
• Grades do have a place in assessment when they
are based on specific, direct evidence of student
learning outcomes and linked to standards ( e.g.
rubrics).
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

19. Review Activities and Bloom’s
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

20. Questions to ask about your
assessment activities:
• Alignment of outcome verb with assessment instrument? (what
kind of learning are you measuring)
• How authentic is the task?
(Where students are asked to perform real-
world tasks that demonstrate meaningful
application of essential knowledge and skills)
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

21. Assignments that address
multiple outcomes:
• Eg – midterm - Consider “bundling” groups of questions that
address a particular outcome
• Eg – paper, presentation or project– a rubric can be structured
to give a subscore(s) that relates to a particular outcome(s) or
sub-outcome
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

22. Activity: Take your learning
outcomes and identify activities
that accomplish those
Course Learning
Activities and
Assignments
Course Learning
Outcomes
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

23. Examining the matrix:
• Activities done without associated outcomes?
• Outcomes without associated activities?
• How does the weighting of grades align?
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

24. Final Step: Close the loop!
• Remember – the goal of outcomes assessment is to advance
student learning through improved curricula and instruction
• Use data on student performance an particular outcomes to drive what
you do in your course.
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

25. Session Learning Outcomes-
Accomplished?
• Identify your department SOAP and summarize the
relationship of your course to your department
and/or program
• Identify your course goals
• Create or revise one learning outcome and apply
Bloom’s Taxonomy
• Create or match an assignment to the learning
outcome
Some slides copied or adapted from A Lawson
presentation t Syllabus Redesign Conference,
CSU Fresno Aug 12, 2010. Used with
permission.

26. BREAK TIME!
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