MJC, SLOs, and WASC SLO Objectives 06-07 06-07 Pilot SLO Workshops Committee Assistance Glossary Resources
The Big Picture Defining expectations Assessment Tools Analyzing Outcomes Responding Reporting About the Data

The Big Picture
 Nuts and Bolts of the
Learning Inquiry Paradigm.

The Student Learning Outcomes paradigm encapsulates a national shift in how higher education "runs itself."  This shift is affecting accrediting bodies at a national and regional level, as well as the institutions they oversee.  At the heart of the shift is an authentic desire on the part of many to understand the depth to which students are learning the curriculum colleges offer. No longer will completion rates, GPAs, and institutional reputations suffice as evidence. Instead, colleges and accrediting agencies nationwide must demonstrate that they are objectively and directly investigating whether students are adequately gaining the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes that we desire from our curriculum, programs, and services. How do we do this? Take a peek at the Teaching and Learning Cycle and contemplate how this heuristic approach to learning inquiry will work in your area.

The Big Picture (cont'd)

Your SLO Committee believes in the paradigm because:

  1. Faculty, staff, and administrators are empowered to use information gleaned from investigating student learning outcomes to more directly and efficiently improve student learning. The process often yields unexpected and surprising insights about what's happening with your students.

  2. Dialog and decision-making processes are linked directly to the evidence you gather that shows how factors affect learning either favorably, unfavorably, or neutrally.  Ultimately, this results in greater institutional effectiveness by facilitating intelligent and efficient allocation of resources (like workload, facilities, etc.).

  3. Using the expertise in our areas, we define the criteria/standards to which the students are held accountable.

  4. Expectations are made public to encourage greater accountability not just for educators, but students, the community, and the entities that govern us.

 

 

The content of this page is provided by the MJC Student Learning Outcomes Committee
For questions regarding the content of this page contact Letitia Senechal, MJC SLO Facilitator.

 

 

 
Hit Counter