Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Academic Freedom and SLOs

"Course objectives in course outlines of record have been required outcomes for all instructors for some time. By extension, SLOs should also be considered “minimum conditions” for a course. Academic freedom protects free expression in the classroom, allowing instructors to present material in the manner they see fit. The outcomes of the learning process, however, remain a responsibility of the institution as a whole."
( from: Scroggins, Bill.  "Student Learning Outcomes Institute" Modesto Junior College August 2003.)

How do SLOs differ from course goals and course objectives

Student learning outcomes build upon, but are different from, course or program objectives and goals because they represent a new perspective. 

"Outcomes demonstrate an understanding and application of a subject beyond the nuts and bolts which hold it together; objectives represent the nuts and bolts.”  (Bakersfield College Chemistry Prof).

Objectives	Outcomes
Objectives represent valuable skills, tools, or content (nuts and bolts) that enable a student to engage a particular subject.	SLOs represent overarching products of the course.
Objectives focus on content and skills important within the classroom or program: what the staff and faculty will do. Often termed the input in the course.	Outcomes express higher level thinking skills that integrate the content and activities and can be observed as a behavior, skill, or discrete useable knowledge upon completing the class.
Objectives can often be numerous,  specific, and detailed. Assessing and reporting on each objective for each student may be impossible.	An assessable outcome is an end product that can be displayed or observed and evaluated against criteria.

Excerpt from: Section 3 "Objectives and SLOs" in "Assessing Student Learning in Community Colleges" by Janet Fulks.

What is assessment?

"Assessment Explained" is a good overview of the purpose and process of assessing student learning. 
From Long Beach City College Assessment of Student Learning Committee

Types of assessment:

Central Michigan University's Assessment Toolkit identifes and describes various methods and techniquest for assessment of student learning. http://www.provost.cmich.edu/assessment/toolkit/toolkit.htm

See PCC Guidelines for Student Learning Outcomes (in process Fall 2006)

How is assessment related to SLO?

Assessment is more than just the a measurement.  In Learniner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: Shifting the Focus from Teaching to Learning (Allyn and Bacon: 2000), Huba and Freed describe:

Four fundamental elements of learner-centered assessment:

• formulating statements of intended student learning outcomes
• developing or selecting appropriate assessment measures
• creating experiences leading students to the intended outcomes
• discuss and use assessment results to improve learning.

Defining Assessment:
Assessment is an ongoing process aimed at helping teachers and students understand and improve student learning. 
It involves:

• making our expectations explicit and public
• setting appropriate criteria and high standards for learning quality
• systematically gathering, analyzig and interpreting evidence to determine how well performance maches those expectations and standards
• Using the resulting information to document, explain, and improve performance

(adaped from Angelo (1995) Defining (and Re-assessing) Assessment: a Second Try. AAHE Bulletin no. 48, p.7.)

Updated 10/06 K. Goguen