This document provides an overview of a training for graduate teaching scholars on developing learning outcomes and assessments. It discusses key concepts like backward design, formative and summative assessments, Bloom's taxonomy, and creating learning outcomes aligned with course goals. Examples are provided of writing learning outcomes and matching assessments for a driver's education course. The training covers aligning topic-level and course-level outcomes, and designing classroom environments that engage students in natural critical learning.

1. Summer GraduateTeaching Scholars
Preparing toTeach 2:
Learning Outcomes
and Assessment
May 19 and 20, 2016
1sgts.ucsd.edu
Name
Course Dept/School
Summer I or II # students
Peter Newbury

2. Scholarly Approach to Teaching
(backward design[1])
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What should
students
learn?
What are
students
learning?
What instructional
approaches
help students
learn?
CarlWieman
Science Education Initiative
cwsei.ubc.ca

3. sgts.ucsd.edu 3
formative &
summative
assessment
instructional
strategy
learning
outcome
today
next week

4. Reminder: How People Learn
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5. How People Learn: Key Findings
1. Students come to the classroom with preconceptions about how
the world works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they
may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are
taught, or they may learn them for purposes of a test but revert
to their preconceptions outside the classroom.
2. To develop competence in an area of inquiry, students must: (a)
have a deep foundation of factual knowledge, (b) understand facts
and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and (c)
organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and
application.
3. A “metacognitive” approach to instruction can help students
learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning
goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them.
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6. Sort your cards into 3 sets of 3:
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Key Finding
2
Implication
forTeaching
Implication
forTeaching
Implication
forTeaching
Designing
Classroom
Environments

7. sgts.ucsd.edu 7

8. More than anything else, the best teachers try to
create a natural critical learning environment:
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(Bain, p. 99)

9. More than anything else, the best teachers try to
create a natural critical learning environment:
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natural because students encounter skills, habits,
attitudes, and information they are trying to learn
embedded in questions and tasks they find
fascinating – authentic tasks that arouse curiosity
and become intrinsically interesting,
(Bain, p. 99)

10. More than anything else, the best teachers try to
create a natural critical learning environment:
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natural because students encounter skills, habits,
attitudes, and information they are trying to learn
embedded in questions and tasks they find
fascinating – authentic tasks that arouse curiosity
and become intrinsically interesting,
critical because students learn to think critically,
to reason from evidence, to examine the quality of
their reasoning using a variety of intellectual
standards, to make improvements while thinking,
and to ask probing and insightful questions about
the thinking of other people. (Bain, p. 99)

11. In natural critical learning environments
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students encounter safe yet challenging conditions
in which they can try, fail, receive feedback, and
try again without facing a summative evaluation.
fail
receive
feedback
(Bain, p. 108)
try

12. sgts.ucsd.edu 12
formative &
summative
assessment
instructional
strategy
learning
outcome
today
next week

13. Learning outcomes are valuable to
 the students
o reveal what the instructor is looking for: no
more guessing what “understand” means or
what will be on the exam
o give preview of the next part of the course
o allow students to monitor their own
progress (metacognition!)
o allow students to check they’ve mastered
the concept (especially when studying later)
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14. Learning outcomes are valuable to
 the instructor
o crystallizes what the instructor cares about
o helps the instructor create assessments
o helps the instructor select instructional
strategies and activities
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15. Bloom’s Taxonomy [2-4]
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transform or combine ideas
to create something new
think critically about and
defend a position
break down concepts
into parts
apply comprehension to
unfamiliar situations
demonstrate understanding
of ideas and concepts
remember and recall factual
information
6 Create
5 Evaluate
4 Analyze
3 Apply
2 Understand
1 Remember

16. Bloom’s Taxonomy [2-4]
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6 Create
5 Evaluate
4 Analyze
3 Apply
2 Understand
1 Remember
higher-order thinking
lower-order thinking

17. Bloom’s Taxonomy [2-4]
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6 Create
5 Evaluate
4 Analyze
3 Apply
2 Understand
1 Remember
develop, create, propose,
formulate, design, invent
judge, appraise, recommend,
justify, defend, criticize, evaluate
compare, contrast, categorize,
distinguish, identify, infer
apply,demonstrate,use,compute,
solve, predict, construct, modify
describe, explain, summarize,
interpret, illustrate
define, list, state, label, name,
describe

18. Driver’s Ed 101:
Learn to Drive in CA
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What should
students
learn?
What are
students
learning?
What instructional
approaches
help students
learn?
CarlWieman
Science Education Initiative
cwsei.ubc.ca
learning
outcomes
assessment
active
learning


19. sgts.ucsd.edu 19
Sample Class CWrittenTest 5
California Department of MotorVehicles
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/interactive/tdrive/clc6written.htm

20. You see a flashing yellow traffic light at an upcoming
intersection.The flashing yellow light means:
○ Stop before entering the intersection as long as you can
do so safely.
○ Stop.Yield to all cross traffic before crossing the
intersection.
○ Slow down and cross the intersection carefully.
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Follow the prompts on the colored worksheets
to work together to write a
higher-order or lower-order learning outcome
and matching
formative or summative assessment.

21. You see a flashing yellow traffic light at an upcoming
intersection.The flashing yellow light means:
○ Stop before entering the intersection as long as you can
do so safely.
○ Stop.Yield to all cross traffic before crossing the
intersection.
○ Slow down and cross the intersection carefully.
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Re-arrange yourselves into groups of 4
with one person of each color worksheet.
Take turns sharing your learning outcomes
and assessments with each other.

22. sgts.ucsd.edu 22
formative &
summative
assessment
instructional
strategy
learning
outcome
Your turn: take ____ minutes to
1. identify a concept or skill you’ll be teaching
2. write a learning outcome
3. write 2 assessments, one formative and one summative

23. Topic-level
LO
Topic-level
LO
Topic-
level LO
Course-level LO #4
Sync’ing Course-level and Topic-level LOs
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Course-level LO #2
Course-level LO #3Course-level
learning outcome #1
Topic-level
LO
Topic-level
LO
Topic-level
LO
Topic-level
LO
Topic-level
LO
Topic-level
LO
Topic-level
LOTopic-level
LO
Topic-
level LO
Topic-
level LO
Topic-
level LO
Topic-
level LO Topic-
level LO
Topic-
level LO
Topic-level
LO
Topic-level
LO
Topic-
level LO

24. Next week: Instructional Strategies
(especially peer instruction with
clickers, and think-pair-share)
Watch the blog
sgts.ucsd.edu
for details about what you should do to
prepare for next week’s meeting.
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25. References
Learning Outcomes -
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1. Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design.
Acsd.
2. Bloom B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I:
The Cognitive Domain. NewYork: David McKay Co Inc.
3. Adapted from
edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+Digital+Taxonomy
4. Revised Bloom’sTaxonomy
www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/RevisedBlooms1.html
5. California DMV Sample Class CWrittenTest 5
www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/interactive/tdrive/clc6written.htm
6. Excerpt fromWieman, C. (2007). Slides from theWieman Learning
GoalsWorkshop. www.cwsei.ubc.ca/resources/learn_goals.htm