Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Developed at Coastline College. Jerry Rudmann and Pat Arlington.

While engaging faculty in the process of defining and assessing student learning outcomes, we’ve found it helpful to begin with “robust” learning outcomes. Robust outcomes, also known as critically important competencies, stimulate faculty dialogue and focus.  Faculty take more interest in robust outcomes because they represent high priority skills or behaviors that faculty seek to instill in their students. Finally, because of their saliency, instructors within a discipline more readily come to agree on these outcomes and the methods to assess them.

To add clarity as to what constitutes a robust learning outcome, we have developed a rubric. The rubric lists nine characteristics of a robust outcome. Each characteristic can be assigned a zero for “no or unsure,” point for “somewhat vague,” to 2 points for an obvious “yes.” The rubric could  just as easily be used with a “yes” or “no” check for each characteristic.

Here are the 9 characteristics of a robust SLO. The robust learning outcome statement…

1. Describes a behavior or skill that is beyond recognition or recitation of content knowledge. While many GE survey courses may include a significant amount of memory for new terms and concepts, robust SLOs require much more than rote memory and recall.

2. Uses action verbs indicative of Bloom’s Taxonomy:

• level 3 (Application – apply, choose, employ, interpret, solve, use),
• level 4 (Analysis – analyze, appraise, compare, contrast, distinguish),
• level 5 (Synthesis – arrange, assemble create, design, formulate, organize),
• level 6 (Evaluation – argue, assess, defend, judge, predict).
• Non-robust statements use verbs drawn from Bloom’s taxonomy
  • level 1 (Recall – define, describe, identify, recall, reproduce)
  • or level 2 (Comprehension – explain, paraphrase, give examples, rewrite, summarize).

3. Specifies the materials, situation, or context in which the student will be expected to display the newly learned skill or behavior. For example, in an electronics class: Given a piece of equipment that doesn’t work, the student will troubleshoot the equipment using logical deduction. Another example, in a psychology class: Given an explanation of behavior taken from the popular media, students will critically evaluate the explanation using criteria taught in the course (e.g., representative sampling, experimenter bias, peer review, confirmatory bias, and correlation versus causation).

4. Describes a life skill that students will use beyond the end of the course.

5. Would be considered a high priority learning outcome by most experts in the discipline.

6. Has an explicit or implied standard of performance (i.e., a benchmark of excellence).

7. Is amenable to assessment using a scoring rubric.

8. Is an overarching outcome (whether at the course, program, or college level) rather than smaller in scope (e.g., lesson or unit level).

9. Represents thinking or behaving like a discipline expert (e.g., biologist, economist, historian, psychologist, or writer). It is interesting to note that the most effective college teachers are noted for their ability to get students to think like discipline experts (Light, 2001; Bain, 2004).

During our workshops, we explain the robust outcome rubric. Then we have faculty apply the rubric to outcome statements of varying quality. Finally, instructors are encouraged to write and share their own robust outcomes. Because the focus is on high priority learning indicative of deep learning, the robust outcome approach has helped faculty begin to embrace student learning outcomes as important work.

References

Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA.

Light, R. L. (2001). Making the most of college – students speak their minds. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA.

From the Learning Assessment Listerv*, posted June 1 2005 by Moderator Robert Gabriner. For more information contact Jerry Rudmann (jrudmann@coastline.edu)