Aligning Learning Outcomes, Learning Activities, and Assessment (1).pptx

Aligning Learning
Outcomes, Learning
Activities and Assessment.
NORRIS A. BREGENTE
MASTER TEACHER I - OIC

Working Definition
3
Learning outcomes are statements of what a
student should know, understand and/or be able to
demonstrate after completion of a process of
learning
• Learning outcomes must not simply be a “wish list”
of what a student is capable of doing on completion
of the learning activity.
• Learning outcomes must be simply and clearly
described.
• Learning outcomes must be capable of being
validly assessed.

Bloom (1956) proposed that knowing is
composed of six successive levels arranged
in a hierarchy.
4

From the definition of Learning Outcome we see:
• Emphasis on the learner.
• Emphasis on the learner’s ability to do something.
5

• Important to ensure that there is alignment between teaching methods,
learning outcomes and assessment criteria.
• Clear expectations on the part of students of what is required of them are a
vitally important part of students’ effective learning (Ramsden, 2003)
• This correlation between teaching, learning outcomes and assessment helps
to make the overall learning experience more transparent and meaningful
for students.
Teaching for
understanding
Learning outcomes
There is a dynamic equilibrium between teaching strategies and learning outcomes.

Learning Teaching
Teacher
Perspectives: Objectives Outcomes Activities Assessment
Student
Perspectives: Assessment Learning Activities Outcomes
It is important that the assessment tasks mirror the Learning Outcomes
since, as far as the students are concerned, the assessment is the
curriculum: “From our students’ point of view, assessment always defined
the actual curriculum” (Ramsden, 1992).
Biggs (2003) represents this graphically as follows:
7

Aligning Learning Outcomes, Learning Activities, and Assessment (1).pptx

“Constructive Alignment” (Biggs, 2005)
Constructive
• The students construct understanding for themselves
through learning activities. “Teaching is simply a
catalyst for learning” (Biggs).
• “If students are to learn desired outcomes in a
reasonably effective manner, then the teacher’s
fundamental task is to get students to engage in
learning activities that are likely to result in their
achieving those outcomes…. It is helpful to remember
that what the student does is actually more important in
determining what is learned than what the
teacher does” (Shuell, 1986)

“Constructive Alignment” (Biggs, 2005)
Alignment
• Alignment refers to what the teacher does in
helping to support the learning activities to
achieve the learning outcomes.
• The teaching methods and the assessment are
aligned to the learning activities designed to
achieve the learning outcomes.
• Aligning the assessment with the learning
outcomes means that students know how their
achievements will be measured.

Assessment of Learning Outcomes
• How will I know if my students
have achieved the desired
learning outcomes? How will I
measure the extent to which
they have achieved these
learning outcomes?
• We must consider how to match
the method of assessment to the
different kinds of learning
outcomes
e.g. a Learning Outcome such as
“Demonstrate good presentation
skills” could be assessed by the
requirement that each student
makes a presentation to their
peers.

Assessment of Learning Outcomes
• When writing learning
outcomes the verb is
often a good clue to the
assessment technique.
• How can we design our
examination system so
that it tests if learning
outcomes have been
achieved?

Misconceptions about Assessment
• “A view of teaching as the transmission of
authoritative knowledge has little space to
accommodate the idea that different methods
of assessment may be appropriate for the
evaluation of different parts of the subject
matter or that assessment techniques
themselves should be the subject of serious
study and reflection. In such a conception,
lecturers see teaching, learning and
assessment as tenuously related
in a simple linear sequence”.
(Ramsden, 2005)

Misconceptions about Assessment
• “Assessment is something that follows
learning, so there is no need to consider its
function as a means of helping students to
learn through diagnosing their errors and
misconceptions and reinforcing their correct
understanding”.
• “Assessment, like teaching, is something done
to students
….Assessment classifies the students on the
criterion of how well they have absorbed the
data thus transmitted. What could be simpler?”
(Ramsden, 2005)

Formative Assessment
 Assessment FOR learning – gives
feedback to students and teachers to
help modify teaching and learning
activities, i.e. helps inform teachers
and students on progress being made.
 Assessment is integrated into the
teaching and learning process.
 Clear and rich feedback helps improve
performance of students (Black and
Williams, 1998).
 Usually carried out at beginning or
during a programme, e.g. coursework
which gives feedback to students.
 Can be used as part of continuous
assessment, but some argue that it
should not be part of grading process
(Donnelly and Fitzmaurice, 2005)
19

Summative Assessment
• Assessment that summarises student learning at end
of module or programme – Assessment OF Learning.
• Sums up achievement – no other use.
• Generates a grade or mark.
• Usually involves assessment using the traditional
examination.
• Only a sample of the Learning Outcomes are
assessed – cannot assess all the Learning
Outcomes.
20

Continuous Assessment
• A combination of summative and formative
assessment.
• Usually involves repeated summative
assessments.
• Marks recorded.
• Little or no feedback given.
21

Assessment as Assidere
• “Assessment is the process of gathering and
discussing information from multiple and
diverse sources in order to develop a deep
understanding of what students know,
understand and can do with their knowledge as
a result of their educational experiences” (Huba
and Freed, 2000)
• “A way of finding out what our
students know, understand and can
do”

Seminario Internacional SCT, Pucón, Chile
31 Aug 2011
Some questions re Assessment
• Why is assessment such a big issue in higher education at the
moment?
• How best can we balance assessment FOR learning with
assessment OF learning (formative and summative purposes)
• How do we make sure our method of assessment is doing the job
we want it to do?
• What assessment techniques can we use to measure different
types of learning outcomes?
• How can we improve exams so that they test higher order skills?
• Why have we been so traditional in assessment and not willing
to make imaginative moves in area of assessment?
• Are we afraid to move into new areas of assessment in case we
are accused of “dumming down” the standards?

Trends in assessment
Traditional
• Examinations
• Lecturer-led
• Product assessment
• Vague criteria
• Content
• Individual
Changing approaches
• Course work
• Student-led
• Explicit criteria
• Skills
• Group

Purposes of assessment
• Educational : feedback, diagnosis, motivation,
guidance, learning support
• Managerial : selection, grading, certification,
progression, professional recognition,
maintaining standards.

“Techniques” of assessment
• Written: tests, examinations, assignments
• Practical: skills testing; lab/workshop practice
• Oral: interviews, various formats
• Aural: listening tests
• Project work: individual/group; research/design
• Field work: data collection and reporting
• Competence testing: threshold standards
• Portfolio : combination of techniques

Common assessment techniques in Higher
Education
• Paper/thesis
• Project
• Product development
• Performance
• Exhibition
• Case study.
• Clinical evaluation
• Oral exam
• Interview
• Research assignment
• Portfolio
• Others??

31 Aug 2011
Assessing your assessment – is it doing the job
you want it to do? Is it comprehensive?
Assessment
Task 1
e.g. Written
Exam
Assessment
Task 2
e.g. Project
Assessment
Task 3
e.g.
Presentation
Assessment
Task 4
e.g. Lab work
Learning
Outcome 1
Describe…
Learning
Outcome 2
Investigate..
Learning
Outcome 3
Demonstrate..

To what extent has each Learning Outcome
been achieved?
• Not a question of “yes” or “no” to achievement of
Learning Outcomes.
• Rubric: A grading tool used to describe the criteria
which are used in grading the performance of
students.
• Rubric provides a clear guide as to how students’
work will be assessed.
• A rubric consists of a set of criteria and marks or
grade associated with these criteria.

Linking learning outcomes and assessment criteria.
Learnin
g
outcom
e
Assessment criteria
Grade 1 Grade 2 : 1 Grade 2 :2 Pass Fail
On successful Outstanding Very good Good use Limited Poor use of
completion of use of use of of literature use of literature
this module, literature literature showing literature showing lack
students should showing showing high good ability showing of ability to
be able to: excellent ability to to fair ability synthesise
Summarise ability to synthesise synthesise to evidence to
evidence from synthesise evidence in evidence in synthesis formulate
the science
education
evidence in
analytical
analytical
way to
analytical
way to
e
evidence
conclusions
literature to way to formulate formulate to
support formulate clear clear formulate
development of
a line of
argument.
clear
conclusions.
conclusions. conclusions conclusio
ns.
31 Aug 2011

Linking Learning Outcomes, Teaching and Learning
Activities and Assessment
Learning Outcomes Teaching and Learning
Activities
Assessment
Cognitive
(Demonstrate:
Knowledge, Comprehension,
Application, Analysis,
Synthesis, Evaluation)
Affective
(Integration of beliefs, ideas and
attitudes)
Psychomotor
(Acquisition of physical skills)
Semi
Lectures
Tutorials
Discussions
Laboratory work
Clinical work
Group work
Seminar
Peer group presentation
nario Internacional SCT, P
e
uc
tó
cn
., Chile
31 Aug 2011
•End of module exam.
•Multiple choice tests.
•Essays.
•Reports on lab work
and research project.
•Interviews/viva.
•Practical assessment.
•Poster display.
•Fieldwork.
•Clinical examination.
•Presentation.
•Portfolio.
•Performance.
•Project work.
•Production of artefact
etc. 29

Learning outcomes
Module ED2100
Teaching and Learning
Activities
Assessment
10 credit module
Mark = 200
Cognitive
•Recognise and apply the basic
principles of classroom
management and discipline.
•Identify the key characteristics of
high quality science teaching.
•Develop a comprehensive
portfolio of lesson plans
Lectures (12)
Tutorials (6)
Observation of classes (6) of
experienced science teacher
(mentor)
End of module exam.
Portfolio of lesson plans
(100 marks)
Affective
•Display a willingness to co-
operate with members of
teaching staff in their assigned
school.
•Participate successfully in Peer
Assisted Learning project
Participation in mentoring
feedback sessions in school (4)
Participation in 3 sessions of
UCC Peer Assisted Learning
(PAL) Programme.
Peer group presentation
Report from school mentor
End of project report.
(50 marks)
Psychomotor
•Demonstrate good classroom
presentation skills
•Perform laboratory practical
work in a safe and efficient
manner. Semi
Teaching practice
6 weeks at 2 hours per week.
Laboratory work
nario Internacional SCT, Pucón, Chile
31 Aug 2011
Supervision of Teaching Practice
Assessment of teaching skills
(50 marks)
30

Steps involved in linking Learning Outcomes, Teaching and
Learning Activities and Assessment
1. Clearly define the learning
outcomes.
2. Select teaching and learning
methods that are likely to
ensure that the learning
outcomes are achieved.
3. Choose a technique or
techniques to assess the
achievement of the learning
outcomes.
4. Assess the learning outcomes
and check to see how well
they match with what was
intended
If the learning
outcomes are
clearly written,
the assessment is
quite easy to
plan!
39

1. Identify aims and objectives of module
2. Write learning outcomes using
standard guidelines
3. Develop a teaching and learning
strategy to enable students to achieve
learning outcomes
4. Design assessment to check if learning
outcomes have been achieved
5. If necessary modify module content and
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31 Aug 2011

31 Aug 2011
Does every learning outcome have to be
assessed?
• In theory “yes” but in practice “no”.
• In some cases they have to be assessed, e.g.
licence to practice (e.g. medicine) or to perform
essential tasks (e.g. aircraft pilot).
• When assessment is limited purely to an examination
paper, it may not be possible to assess all the
Learning Outcomes in such a short space of time –
sampling of Learning Outcomes.
• Even if all the Learning Outcomes are assessed on an
examination paper, due to choice of questions, a
student may not be assessed on all of them.

Multiple Intelligences
31 Aug 2011

31 Aug 2011

31 Aug 2011
Teaching for Understanding and
Learning Outcomes
• The TfU model, developed at the Project Zero Classroom, at
the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the mid
1990’s, through the work of Howard Garner, David Perkins
and their research teams, provides a powerful way to think
about Learning Outcomes holistically, in terms of
• Generative Topics: central to the discipline, accessible,
exciting, making multiple connections across courses
• Understanding Goals: public, interrogative, holistic and
specific (at module level)– they give us the big picture
• Performances of Understanding –what the students do to
demonstrate and develop understanding
• Ongoing assessment: continuous feedback to students
about their performances

31 Aug 2011
Defining understanding (Chapter 2, Perkins, in Wiske
(1998), TfU: Linking Research with Practice)
• Understanding is defined here as the “ ability to think and
act flexibly with what one knows”.
• Learning for understanding, then, is about “learning how
to learn”: like learning to hold a good conversation- you
have to be part of it - or to improvise jazz- you must play
along- rather than about rote learning. It’s active learning.
• This is the kind of learning needed to assess the higher
order thinking of good Learning Outcomes:
• What can the students do to demonstrate their
understanding?
• The doing of understanding and of Learning Outcomes is a
process of learning how to learn and of assessing this.

The Dimensions of Disciplinary Understanding
embedded in each Discipline
Knowledge: ( What ?)
What questions do experts
ask?
What do they need to know
about?
31 Aug 2011
Methods:
(How?)
How do
experts find
out?
Purposes (Why?)
Why do experts do what
they do? What is the goal?
How do experts use what
they know?
Forms (How
Expressed?)
How do
experts
communicate
?
What are the
tools of the
discipline?

31 Aug 2011
A Disciplinary Framework as a context for
thinking about Learning Outcomes
• Knowledge – the conceptual frameworks of the
discipline
• Methods – how experts think in the discipline
• Purposes – why this topic is worth studying? –
how the expert gains ownership of it
• Forms – how is understanding represented in the
various genres of the discipline? : reports,
articles, tables, theses, symbols, artistic forms
• These dimensions of understanding should be
represented in the range of Learning Outcomes
we use.

A rubric should reflect the four dimensions of
understanding, thereby showing students not just what
they should know, but why they need to know it and how
they can show understanding.
31 Aug 2011

31 Aug 2011
Learning Outcomes and the Higher
Order thinking of the Disciplines
• My research indicates that our learning outcomes can focus
overly on the Knowledge dimension and on narrow types
of the Form dimension (the exam question, the essay, the
template)– we need to create assessments that also test
the learning outcomes of the methodologies and purposes
at the heart of the discipline – revealed in the higher order
thinking of Bloom’s taxonomy- through Learning Outcomes
that test analysis, synthesis and evaluation and that reveal
a variety of Forms for the students to work in-such as
reflective portfolios, scenarios, work-based learning.
• We need a variety of active learning approaches and
assessment methods to make the most of our outcomes.

31 Aug 2011
• Norm referenced standardised tests are generally used to
assess students in relation to a class norm. Limitations?
• Criterion referenced assessment tends to focus on either
behavioural or subject-centred approaches or both. This
should include clear learning intentions, and through the use
of self evaluation and peer evaluation, seek to empower the
student to realise his/her own learning needs. Making
Criteria public?
• Ipsative assessment is linked with qualitative and authentic
assessment, as its primary focus is on the development and
progression of the student in relation to his/her earlier levels
of attainment rather than class norms. This form of
assessment has the added benefit of being done in a
meaningful way for the student, in the natural setting of the
student’s classroom, where the student is an active
participant in the assessment process. Cultural shift for all?
Summary: Assessment

Feedback Pyramid
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31 Aug 2011
Valid: gives useful information to guide learning
(aligned with learning outcomes)
Reliable: should test what it sets out to test
Fair and Authentic: credible, addresses
enduring issues in a real life manner – fair in
our culture
Engaging: provokes interest, persistence,
satisfaction – is motivational
Challenging: promotes as well as measures
learning
Respectful: reveals uniqueness of learners; free
of bias
Assessment – Assidere - should be:

31 Aug 2011
Responsive: provides feedback to learners and promotes
improvement
Formative: Ongoing – informs teaching
Normative: Setting and achieving a class norm
Summative: End of term/year
Criterion referenced: Setting out in a public manner the
criteria to be used for assessment
Peer Assessment: Student to Student – must build up a culture
of positive peer assessment over time
Self (ipsative) Assessment: Giving students the opportunity to
show how they see their own work – needs lots of support to
make everyone confident enough to do this
Grades – sometimes seen as the only type of assessment

31 Aug 2011
• What do we wish our graduates to be capable of when they
leave university?
• Gardner (1999) talks of school graduates who will need to be
highly literate, flexible, capable of troubleshooting/ problem-
finding, adaptable to changing roles
• Are they capable of this when they leave school and come to
University? Are they capable of this when they leave
University?If not – why not?
• Black et al (2003) state that establishing good formative
assessment practices requires that most teachers made
significant changes. This involves extra work and risk taking
• Using a variety of assessment methods to test flexible
module and programme Learning Outcomes is one way to
ensure that we put the focus on what students can do after
their degree.
Our students as graduates

31 Aug 2011
• If assessment is seen to be a fundamental part of the
learning process, it will not suffice to confine our
comments on a student’s work to a superficial level.
Students must receive authentic and rich feedback if
they are to learn from the process of their work, and
must become more reflective as they seek to
evaluate their own work.
• The process of reflection is vital if they are to develop
the ability to problematise and to be adaptable.
• Our Learning Outcomes needs to reflect the in-depth
nature of learning and to reflect the complexity of
the discipline and of the real world. Do our course
work assignments reflect this ??
Making the most of Learning
Outcomes in the Assessment process

31 Aug 2011
Assessment should be:
•Learner centred: inclusive, acknowledging diversity
•Linked to learning outcomes
• Linked to performances of understanding or active learning methods
•Multiplicity of modes, techniques, formats to suit different learners
•Transparent, fair and equitable to all users
•Valid, authentic and reliable
Use classroom assessment techniques for
Classroom Assessment Techniques
1. Formative purposes: quick feedback to learners and teacher
about how well the learning outcomes are being achieved
2. Summative purposes: test lower order skills (recall of
information, basic concepts); use terminal exams for higher
order thinking skills (application, evaluation)
3. Coursework – where we can be creative.

31 Aug 2011
⦁ Background Knowledge Probe: to determine the most
effective starting point for a new lesson, elicit levels of
prior knowledge (2-3 open ended questions or series of
short-answer questions)
⦁ Misconception/Preconception Check: Surfacing the
misconceptions. Consider the most important
misconceptions/ areas of troublesome knowledge in your
topic. Generate a questionnaire for students focused on
these areas
⦁ Focused Listing: Shows how students can define or describe
the central tenets of a topic. Write a word/brief phrase
about the topic and ask students to write a list of related
words (3 mins – 10 words). This allows you to re-focus your
teaching.
Choosing the Right Technique: Angelo and Cross
1993, Chapter 7.

31 Aug 2011
⦁ Empty Outlines: Create an outline of your
lecture/presentation and ask students to fill it in –
allows you to check what you taught with what was
caught
⦁ Memory Matrix: 2 dimensional diagram
(rows/columns) used to organise information and
illustrate relationships
⦁ Minute Paper: Students must evaluate and generate a
question
⦁ Muddiest Point: provides information on what
students find least clear
⦁ Caveats to use (over-use) of each of the above!
Effective Classroom Assessment
Techniques (continued)

31 Aug 2011
Assessment should help to develop:
⦁ Complex thinking: using a variety of reasoning strategies
⦁ Good Habits of Mind/Thinking Routines: self-regulation and
organisation, critical and creative thinking
How do we go about this?
⦁ What real-life, sometimes ill-defined problems will students
need to solve? Design assessments round these
⦁ What meaningful tasks can I identify?
⦁ How successfully have we formulated learning outcomes for
our programmes and is assessment linked to learning
outcomes?
⦁ What kinds of outcomes are most often/least often
assessed? Why?
⦁ What changes can YOU make in your assessment practice?
How will you do it?
Assessment and LOs

31 Aug 2011
Bibliography: key texts
• Bernstein, D., Burnett, A., Goodburn, A & Savory, P. (2006). Making Teaching and Learning
Visible: Course Portfolios and the Peer Review of Teaching. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Co.
• Blythe, T. (1999) The Teaching for Understanding Guide
• Cross, K. P.(1996). Classroom Research: Implementing the Scholarship of Teaching. San
Francisco: Jossey- Bass.
• Hetland, L. (2002). Introduction to TfU video resources, Harvard: Project Zero Classroom, 1-5.
• Hutchings, P. (ed.), (1998a). The Course Portfolio: How Faculty Can Examine Their Teaching to
Advance Practice and Improve Student Learning, Washington, DC: American Association for
Higher Education (AAHE).
• McKinney, K. (2004). The scholarship of teaching and learning: Past lessons, current
challenges and future visions, in C. Wehlburg & S. Chadwick- Blossey (eds.) To Improve the
Academy: Vol 22. Resources for Faculty, Instructional and Organizational Development (pp.3-
19). Bolton, MA: Anker.
• McKinney, K. & Jarvis, P. (2009) Beyond lines on the CV: Faculty applications of their SoTL
research. IJSoTL, Vol.3. No 1.
• Shulman, L (2004) Teaching as Community Property: Essays on Higher Education
• Wiske, M. (1998) Teaching for Understanding: Linking Research with Practice

•Angelo, T.A., Cross, K.P. 1993. Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. US: Jossey Bass
•Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., and D Wiliam. 2003. Assessment for Learning: Putting it into Practice. UK
Berkshire: Open University Press
•Burke, K. 1999. How to Assess Authentic Learning, 3rd edition. Illinois: Skylight
•Demetriou, A., Valanides, N. (2009). A Three-Level Theory of the Developing Mind: Basic Principles and Implications for
Instruction and Assessment, in Sternberg, R.J., Williams, W.M. (Eds). (2009). Intelligence, Instruction, and Assessment.
US N.J: Routledge
31 Aug 2011
•Gardner, H. 1991. The Unschooled Mind. New York: Basic Books
•Gardner, H. 1999. Intelligence Reframed. New York: Basic Books
•Goodrich Andrade, H. 2000. Instructional Rubric for a Persuasive Essay. Educational Leadership, Vol. 57 No.5.
•Huba, M.E., Freed, J.E. 2000. Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: Shifting the Focus from Teaching to
Learning. New York: Allyn & Bacon
Sternberg, R.J., Williams, W. M. (Eds). (2009). Intelligence, Instruction, and Assessment. US N.J: Routledge
•Wilson, D. 2001 The Dimensions of Understanding. Assessment for Understanding, http://wideworld.pz.harvard.edu
•
Web sites
•http://www.thinkinggear.com/tools/rubrics.cfm
•http://learnweb.harvard.edu/ALPS/thinking/docs/rubricar.htm
•http://opd.mpls.k12.mn.us/Dimensions_of_Understanding2.html

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