Developing goals and learning outcomes

Week 2 RESOURCES 2 General Resources The information in the following document provides an overview of techniques for engaging students in their learning to increase student participation in your classroom.

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Increasing Student Participation in the Classroom

As discussed last week, it is important to encourage deep learning with your students. In order to do that, it is helpful to understand how learning levels can be categorized. These levels then indicate what kind of learning is occurring, and they are often referred to as taxonomies. The following reading provides more information on taxonomies of learning and how they relate to writing goals, learning outcomes, and assessing student learning.

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Taxonomies of Learning Objectives

Presentation Once you have determined your teaching goals and methods for assessing those goals, it is imperative to state the learning goals clearly for you to properly evaluate your students. To assist you in completing the Assignment for this week, the following presentation provides information on how to write clear learning outcomes that can be measured. http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/LIU/LCTL/0001/05/mm/learningoutcomes_english/index.html Blackboard Manual This week, you will post your assignment to the Discussion board so that next week you and your colleagues can learn from one another’s work. Review the section in the manual on how to attach a document to a Discussion posting.

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Blackboard User Manual

Teaching Tip This week’s Teaching Tips are dynamic activities that have been used by many professors. Each Tip can be used in the traditional classroom, a blended classroom, and in a completely online course. The only change will be in how you choose to present the information. Naturally, the online classroom will require that you hold virtual discussions and create an online quiz. Both activities present a way in which to support student learning and to keep your courses fresh and engaging.

Syllabus Quiz This week, you are discussing the importance of having clear goals and learning outcomes and communicating these to students. Even if you list key goals and learning outcomes on your syllabus, do not assume that students clearly understand them. Your syllabus is a contract with the students. Thus, it is critical to present information in a clear, organized, and logical manner. As teachers, we often assume that students understand what is expected of them in college or that our expectations are basically the same as those of other instructors. Help students understand your expectations by treating the syllabus

as a learning tool.

In the first week of class, give students a syllabus quiz. If you do not want to use class time to do this, make it a homework problem, send students the questions via e-mail, or post them in your online course Discussion. Ask them a few short questions on topics such as, "What will you learn in this course?"

"Where can you find resources to help you study?" "What are the policies concerning late work?" "When is the first assignment due?" and "When is the first quiz or exam?"

You do not have to grade these quizzes (though you can assign a small number of points to provide motivation), but do go over the answers with students. Have a discussion about the course expectations and the rewards they can expect if they apply themselves, keep up, and stay focused.

In the News Additionally, you are investigating ways of increasing student participation and engagement in your courses. One simple way to do this is to introduce new topics by sharing current news articles that highlight the importance, relevance, or application of the topic. Online searching and news feeds make this process simple—just search for items that have a connection to your topic. Then, begin any presentation or discussion of the new topic with a couple of news articles. This sets up your presentation as a story; something is happening out there in the world, and you have the rest of the story.

As the class progresses, ask students to search for relevant news articles themselves and share them with the rest of the class. Many instructors who use this strategy find that students will spontaneously start sharing current articles, without even being asked to do so. This can also be a valuable informal assessment strategy—if students are finding articles that are indeed relevant, they are likely to have a good understanding of the concepts you are trying to teach.

Please proceed to Discussion 2A.

Week 2 DISCUSSION 2A: GOALS FOR LEARNING Consider the following scenario: Maria is teaching a course in first-year sociology. It is the first time she has taught the course, having stepped in for a colleague who became ill very near the start of the term. Her colleague was able to send her a copy of his syllabus, which provided the chapter readings for each class, and some lecture notes. Since she had less than a week before the start of the term, and several other classes to prepare for, she decided to use her colleague’s syllabus without modifying it. He is a well-respected faculty member in the department, and she could not imagine that there would be anything she would need to do differently.

The syllabus called for a quiz at the end of the first three weeks of class. As she was preparing the quiz, she thought back to some of the discussions she had had in class, and some of the questions students had asked. She often felt like they were missing the point of the class—they seemed too focused on terms and facts, and did not appear to appreciate the contribution that sociology could make to understanding everyday human behavior. She decided to include some questions about this on the quiz, since she thought it was a very important part of a first-year sociology course.

The results of the first quiz were not good—not only did students do poorly on the questions about the nature of sociology and its role in understanding human behavior, but they also did not score well on the factual questions.

Some students even complained that she hadn’t covered what was on the quiz and that they had no idea how to study for it.

To complete this Discussion activity: Before you post to the Discussion, complete the following activities:

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Reflect on the scenario presented above. What, if anything, could the instructor have done

differently to help students prepare for the quiz? What, if anything, should the instructor do differently the next time she teaches this course?

Taken from http://www.dividendmantra.com/2014/06/mid-year-goals-review/

Goals for Learning A Pre-Reflective Activity

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña-Solano School of English Faculty of Social Sciences Universidad Latina de Costa Rica Monday, March 7, 2016 Post 231

Let’s take a look at the following case happening in a sociology class. And after reflecting upon the situation in which this teacher is involved, what would you –as a teaching professional- have done differently? I did post my own way of seeing the problem right here, but would you come up with a different reflection?

Maria is teaching a course in first-year sociology. It is the first time she has taught the course, having stepped in for a colleague who became ill very near the start of the term. Her colleague was able to send her a copy of his syllabus, which provided the chapter readings for each class, and some lecture notes. Since she had less than a week before the start of the term, and several other classes to prepare for, she decided to use her colleague’s syllabus without modifying it. He is a well-respected faculty member in the department, and she could not imagine that there would be anything she would need to do differently.

The syllabus called for a quiz at the end of the first three weeks of class. As she was

preparing the quiz, she thought back to some of the discussions she had had in class, and some of the questions students had asked. She often felt like they were missing the point of the class—they seemed too focused on terms and facts, and did not appear to appreciate the contribution that sociology could make to understanding everyday human behavior. She decided to include some questions about this on the quiz, since she thought it was a very important part of a first-year sociology course.

The results of the first quiz were not good—not only did students do poorly on the questions about the nature of sociology and its role in understanding human behavior, but they also did not score well on the factual questions. Some students even complained that she hadn’t covered what was on the quiz and that they had no idea how to study for it.

Taken from Laureate Education Inc. (2014)

How should an instructor approach a course whose syllabus has already been planned by a colleague that cannot teach that class anymore? This is the situation of the sociology teacher presented in the case provided above. Though his/her colleague can be a well-known professor with ample experience in their field, it does not mean that both of them approach teaching in the very same way. In other words, one cannot take for granted that two individuals (faculty members, in this case) will plan and structure student learning alike.

Though a course syllabus had been prepared, would one plan instructional goals and instruments likewise if compared to a colleague teaching the same course? A not very elaborate answer can be stated over here since no single instructor would plan the very same identically. Assuming that one can use a colleague’s syllabus does not guarantee success in teaching and in students’ learning. Had the sociology professor considered this simple issue at the beginning, the instructor would have made necessary modifications to suit his/her teaching and planning style to benefit deep learning among the class members. Bearing in mind that the teaching process is indeed a complex one and that no instructor will probably plan instructional goals similarly can guarantee that we can have all learners work on the same learning objectives and learn the same concepts to be applied in meaningful contexts.

Another important issue to consider in this case sample, which is also applicable to one’s teaching, is the use of schema in teaching. All students come into one’s classrooms with lots of prior knowledge and former experiences, and all of this information background that humans have can be real benefits for student learning.

Had our sociology professor activated learners’ prior knowledge, the teacher would have been able to create new connections in the students’ experiences and would have assisted them in building more knowledge meaningful for the contexts she was dealing with in the course. Some sort of previewing technique at the beginning of the sessions could have yielded some more positive results when summative assessments were applied and checked. From my teaching experience in and out of college education, this link between individuals’ prior knowledge and what they need to learn is vital to produce deep learning.

Clear goals, learning outcomes, and teacher and students’ expectations need to be set at the very start of a course. A course outline is not just a set of goals that need to be met by the end of a term, it is a contract that we faculty members must comply with to produce deep and long-lasting learning among learners. A course outline is not written on stone and can be modified to suit one’s teaching style and pupils’ learning preferences. Modifying outline content and expectations by means of a learning outcomes classification such as Bloom’s or Fink’s Taxonomy is a must since we want students to replicate certain behaviors and use knowledge in other different contexts to produce a certain effect to prompt learners to think critically and –why not- out of the box.

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Now reflect on your own teaching practice. To what extent do you believe that you provide your

students with clear goals, outcomes, and expectations? Through what means do you supply these, such as a syllabus or assignment sheets?

Post your responses to the following any time up to mid-week in the Goals for Learning Discussion forum (linked at the bottom of this page):

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Post a few paragraphs in which you recommend ways the faculty member in the scenario could

clarify objectives and expectations the next time she is asked to teach this class. Base your recommendations on ideas from the readings and media.

By the end of the week:

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Respond individually to two or more of your colleagues’ postings.

Please see the Discussion Rubric for the guidelines that will be used to evaluate and provide feedback on your Discussion participation.

Please complete the Discussion by clicking the link below. Then proceed to Discussion 2B.

Week 2 DISCUSSION 2B: STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGING STUDENTS For this Discussion, you will work in small groups. Your Instructor will place you into groups and post the group assignments as an Announcement by Day 1 of this week.

Your Instructor may place you into a specific group’s Discussion area for you to collaborate privately with your group members.

To complete this Discussion activity: Before you post to the Discussion, complete the following activities:

Taken from http://learni.st/users/deidre.hughes.94/boards/14809-why-should-a-community-college-instructor-consider-using-facebook

Strategies for Engaging Students

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña-Solano School of English Faculty of Social Sciences Universidad Latina de Costa Rica Thursday, March 10, 2016 Post 233

I am an ELT instructor mostly working with students who are majoring in English Language Teaching (ELT). I currently teach various types of courses, mostly on literature and technology for education, on a hybrid modality. For the nature of these courses, I work with different teaching focuses to deal with diverse instructional objectives and outcomes in which I take into account student learning preferences.

As a very simple teaching strategy, at the beginning of each course I tell my students –based on the course outline- what I expect of them in our hybrid modality of learning always linked to Bloom’s taxonomy, which allows me to see a measurable behavior. At the beginning of the course, as if it were some sort of previewing exercise for me, I try to find out how much students know to foresee which areas need to be strengthened or developed more to achieve learning outcomes. And to guarantee

success, I like to spend some 20 minutes of each class making sure what the class needs to have accomplished by the time online assignments are submitted.

My pupils will always find a sketch of every single piece of a project they must develop in my class, which somehow synthetize what needs to be learned, mastered, and graded. I have created my own instructional tools to comply with course outline requisites. However, it is interesting when I have my learners work hand-on on something right there in the classroom, whether that is in situ or perhaps prepared in advanced. In any case, when they are made responsible for their own learning, it is when I get to realize what my students are made of and ready to perform to demonstrate that my explanations have not been delivered only to the classroom’s walls.

In terms of formative and summative assessment, my exercises –I guess I should call them learning tasks- are broken into different segments to see the evolution of the process and how students handle it. I am not into partial or final examinations any more, and for that reason I break down those percentages to have more fulfilling learning tasks to verify that students are understanding and that there is a change in their behavior as future teaching professionals. I would rather see my students perform badly once than to see them failing because of an exam. Learning projects are much more rewarding for my students, who get a sense of accomplishment, and for me the instructor, who can see their development throughout the process.

At certain key moments of the course, especially after certain big tasks, I like to have a feedback session with the whole class. I like to give my feedback to my students as well as to listen to what they have to say. If there is something that can be improved, I will try to take care of it to maximize student learning. If it cannot be done during the term, I keep that information to make a different kind of planning the next time I teach the course. Reflective teaching with student feedback is a great way to achieve one’s professional development.

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Consider the video segment in the weekly Introduction area. What do you see in the video that

seems to be helping students learn?

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In your group, select one participant’s class on which to base this activity.

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As a group, identify a new strategy or activity that the participant could implement to engage

students, along with some recommendations for implementing the change, based on ideas from the reading and faculty videos.

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Discuss your ideas in your small-group Discussion area.

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Select one person to post the group’s response to the main classroom Discussion board.

Post your responses to the following any time up to mid-week in the Strategies for Engaging Students Discussion forum (linked at the bottom of this page):

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On the main class Discussion board, each group representative posts the participant’s situation

(subject, topic of lesson, and current teaching strategy) and a new strategy or activity the participant could implement to engage students, along with some recommendations for implementing the change, based on ideas from the reading and faculty video.

By the end of the week:

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Respond individually to two or more of your colleagues’ postings.

Please see the Discussion Rubric for the guidelines that will be used to evaluate and provide feedback on your Discussion participation.

Please complete the Discussion by clicking the link below. Then proceed to Assignment 2.

Week 2 ASSIGNMENT 2: OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT For the assignment this week, you will need to select a lesson you currently teach.

Before you begin this assignment, be sure to complete the reading and multimedia activity on this week’s Resources 2 page. Consider what makes a learning outcome measurable and why that is important.

To complete this assignment:

Taken from http://blog.carneysandoe.com/6-questions-to-ask-yourself-about-learning-outcome-assessment/

Outcomes and Assessment A Sample from Higher Education

By Prof. Jonathan AcuĂąa-Solano School of English Faculty of Social Sciences Universidad Latina de Costa Rica Friday, March 11, 2016 Post 234

When dealing with outcomes and assessment in higher education, it is quite relevant to consider various aspects to make student learning meaningful, deep, and applicable to their future working environment. Bearing in mind the outcomes and assessment stated for a given course, it is a good idea to take into account the time available to achieve the learning goals in course outlines. Likewise, the time required by students to learn must also be considered to ensure the learning process. Similarly, the instructor had better estimate the time required by a learner to demonstrate what they have been learning in one’s class based on the course objectives and exit profile for that course.

Now, let me share how I take into consideration the variables mentioned above: time available in a course, time required by learners, and time needed by them to demonstrate they have learned:

Let us take a look at a learning task that was

given

Universidad

to

drama

Latina

students

and

how

at a

measurable outcome was developed. To start with, as part of the introductory part to classical Greek theater, learners were provided with a Prezi presentation and an explanation on how ancient Greek drama evolved from the Dionysian rites into a sophisticated staging of tragedies and comedies. Secondly, a learning research task was designed and developed to trigger student understanding on how classical Greek dramatists encoded themes and topics into their plays. Finally, students were told what the learning objective for this writing task was all about, so they could produce a quality essay:

At the end of this segment of the course on classical Greek theater and after reading Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, drama students will write a short research essay identifying, exploring, and analyzing the play’s main themes across the play.

This learning task on Ancient Greek Theater took place between September 15 and 29 (2014), being the 29 the due date to provide formative and summative feedback to students. And when asked what kind of technique was used for assessing the outcome that can be summarized as follows: 1) An online research project was created for learners aligned with learning objectives and the course outcomes.

2) In class they were instructed what to do to guarantee that pupils will get into deep learning. Each step of the assignment was explained to avoid misunderstandings.

3) An essay rubric was also given to students so they could guide themselves while developing their writing and critical thinking.

4) They were given back their online assignments with formative and summative feedback which reflected the critical thinking or deep learning projected by students into their writings.

After the instructional design behind this activity was polished, the literary task has been used at least four more times, with slight variations. Every time learners have been confronted with this task, they have responded successfully since every step of the process, along with the rubric, is carefully planned. Students writing reports have yielded very alluring essays in which learners discuss the play’s suggested themes. At least for this course, pupils find the task more appealing, and deep, meaningful learning is fostered and consolidated especially because of the learner autonomy placed upon students’ shoulders.

In a word-processing document, briefly explain the lesson on which you are basing the activity.

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Create a measurable outcome for the lesson that includes all necessary elements so that the

learning outcome is correct.

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Identify an appropriate technique for assessing the outcome.

Save your assignment as a ".doc", ".docx" or ".rtf" file with the filename lastname_firstinitial_weeknumber_assignment. For example, Chris Smith's filename for this assignment would be Acuña_J_w02_Outcomes.doc.

Submit your assignment by Day 7 for feedback from the Instructor.

Please see the Assignment Rubric for the guidelines that will be used to evaluate and provide feedback on your work.

Please submit your Assignment by clicking the link below. Then proceed to Reflection 2.

Week 2 REFLECTION 2 This week you were introduced to developing goals and learning outcomes and selecting assessment techniques to achieve a desired outcome. Also in this week’s assignment, you had an opportunity to work with one of your own lessons to apply what you have learned. Finally, you further explored the online classroom as you worked in small groups in the Discussion. Your group members may have chosen to use additional technology tools, such as chat, to collaborate on the Discussion activity before submitting the group posting to the main classroom Discussion board.

To complete this Reflection activity: Using your preferred method of journaling, reflect on the following topics:

Taken from http://under30ceo.com/goals-vs-outcomes-youre-confusing-matters-lot/

Developing Goals and Learning Outcomes

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña-Solano School of English Faculty of Social Sciences Universidad Latina de Costa Rica Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Post 235

Working on the right development of teaching goals and their corresponding learning outcomes is no easy task for a neophyte in teaching, but it is indeed a skill that is developed through one’s professional teaching life. It requires lots of reflective teaching to find the best way to do it.

To what extent is one stating specific goals and learning outcomes for one’s lessons? Every moment a teacher steps into the teaching ground, s/he is supposed to be prepared with a set of goals and outcomes for that lesson or period of time in which course objectives need to be covered. Lacking this sense of direction can prove to be futile when one realizes that learners are not accomplishing what was planned for them.

For this very reason any teacher must have very specific goals and outcomes for his/her teaching sessions, which need to be communicated to students so they also know what

the lesson is aiming at and what is meant for them to have achieved at the end of it.

Lacking specific goals and learning outcomes mean that though learning can happen, it will rather erratic than deep.

How is one currently assessing one’s students’ learning? This is the kind of question all teachers must ask themselves to be certain than some sort of formative or summative assessment is aligned with one’s teaching goals and learning outcomes. Just because a quiz is designed, developed, and applied, it does not mean that it is the only way of giving learners a grade. There are other ways of doing it in which more practical (hands-on) experiences can help the teacher see student development in terms of expected behaviors s/he is supposed to replicate. Assessment, as stated before, must also be aligned with course content and objectives, but it is the instructor the one who needs to come up with good assessing practices to foster and reinforce deep learning.

How might technology tools be used to increase student participation in class?

Dealing with the Generation Y and the way they learn by means of technological gadgets is one of those factors that faculty members or school teaching staff must keep in mind to guarantee that learners will achieve goals and outcomes. Participation, as well as engagement, can be created and fostered when technology tools such as chats and social media can be incorporated into one’s teaching and planning. Moving from a mere F2F class where most activities take place can have an interesting shift if one moves the class onto the web my means of IBL (Internet-Based Learning). And since the Internet is one of the most common resources for students to work on their learning tasks, why not to take it into account when it comes to assessing students’ learning?

Education has indeed been evolving exponentially in the last few years, and then one thinks, “What is in store for us educators in the near future?” Though it is difficult to provide an answer, what is certain is that more changes are coming our way.

Teaching needs to be adapted to new circumstances, and though student learning can

change, the setting of learning goals and outcomes is something that has to be present in today’s or in the future’s way of teaching.

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Your own teaching practice. To what extent are you stating specific goals and learning outcomes for

your lessons? How are you currently assessing your students’ learning?

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How might technology tools be used to increase student participation in a class? For example, how

can technology tools be used to increase student-teacher contact? How can technology tools be used to engage students?

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If you tried the teaching tip provided in the Resources page, reflect on that experience.

When you have completed this week's activities, please proceed to Week 3.