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2015 Instruction Workshop

Student Learning Outcomes

Student learning outcomes defined - SLOs are a statement of what you want your students to learn. Rather than focusing on objectives (what we want to teach), the focus is on outcomes (what we want students to learn.)

SLOs must be:

  • Learner centered - focused on the students in the class not on what you have always taught in the past
  • Ability focused - transferable to other assignments or situations
  • Measurable - you can determine if the student has met the outcome either through formal or informal assessment

SLOs follow a standard format:

"Learners will be able to" + Verb Phrase + "in order to" + Descriptive Phrase.

ACRL Standards:

In general SLOs for information literacy instruction should be informed by the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.

Bloom's Taxonomy

Using Bloom's Taxonomy reminds us that we should teach to and assess higher order thinking. Use these verb examples to create your SLOs. Focus on creating, evaluating, analyzing, and applying as much as possible.

 

Bloom's Taxonomy Revised

BI vs. IL

Activities

Activity 1:  With a partner create an SLO using the standard formula to teach the frame "Research as Inquiry" for a Composition II or other low-level general ed course.

Example: Students will identify keywords, synonyms and related terms for their information need in order to perform searches in databases.

Activity 2: Create an assessment component for the SLO you made during activity 1.

Example: keyword mindmap

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