week five outcomes and objectives, comparison chart

What are learning outcomes?

What experiences have you had working with or writing learning outcomes?

What is the difference between learning outcomes and learning objectives?

Learning outcomes are statements of what the learner should be able to do after completion of the course.
My experience with learning outcomes comes from working with course outlines in the college that I work at as a professor. Each course has outcomes and objectives that meet back to Ministry Standards. All objectives must meet back to the outcomes and all objectives must be met in the course. Ususally there are between eight and twelve outcomes. There are many more objectives as the course content is narrowed down. So, the outcomes are more broad. The objectives are more specific.
I sit on the curriculum committee for my program. We review the course outlines to make sure that the content is still relevant and that the outcomes and objectives are in line with each other and the Ministry Standards. I will write outcomes or objectives using the Blooms Taxonomy.

• Compare and contrast the views of Morrison et al. (2013) and Cranton (2012) regarding the purpose of learning outcomes.
• How are your ideas similar or different from those of Cranton (2012) and Morrison et al. (2013)?

THE PURPOSE OF LEARNING OUTCOMES: A COMPARISON

CRANTON (2000)	MORRISON ET AL (2013)
Cranton defines objectives as a statement of what participants are expected to learn or be able to do after instruction	Morrison et al describe learning objectives as a clear statement of intent of what the learner is to accomplish.
What they can do for students:   -Clarify expectations. -Act as a guide for focussing attention. Increase motivation -Help students determine how well they are prepared for tests.	-Morrison et al describe instructional objectives as essential for selecting the optimal instructional strategies to facilitate the learner's achievement of the objectives. -The benefit of instructional design are indicated in the facilitation of the learners accomplishment
What they can do for instructors:   -Help to organize instruction. -Selection of teaching materials is facilitated by clear statements of expected learning. -Feedback and evaluation is clearer when everyone knows where they are going. -Objectives enhance communication with other colleagues. -Instruction can be coordinated within and across programs.	-Without objectives, the instructional designer will not know what to include in the instruction. -Objectives offer a means to create highly focussed units of instruction. -Objectives provide a framework for devising ways to evaluate student learning. -Without a clear statement of intent, the desinder will have difficulty measuring the specific learning achieved.
What they can do for the community and professional groups:   -Groups can get a clear picture of what our students are doing in our programs. -Objectives can be shared with other teachers in other institutions.	-Understanding how to develop objectives will help you to assisting subject matter experts in writing instructional objectives.
Concerns:   -Students may feel overwhelmed by the objectives. -Students may worry that objectives will stifle their creativity. -Students need to see that the objectives are followed in the instructional plan. -Teachers may be concerned that objectives stifle creativity, independent thinking and critical questioning and lead to a rigid instructional approach.	-Some designers may think that objectives must be defined immediately after formulating the goals or statement of purposes for a topic. This is not always feasible and a task analysis should precede the instructional design. -Instructional objectives should focus on outcomes rather than process.
Other points: -Objectives may be written for high level, creative and critical thinking skills. -Potential employers should be consulted to reflect the hiring expectations for graduates. -Good communication must exist between those writing the objectives and those doing the teaching.	-Objectives are typically grouped into three domains: cognitive, psychomotor and affective. -Objectives are based on the results of the task analysis.

 My own experience with outcomes and objectives are based on my experiences working with them at the college where I teach. We call our objectives "outcomes" and then create objectives based on these outcomes. In my course outlines, the outcomes are the outcomes and the objectives are the process. Confusing. I have been a little confused by this as I worked through the readings. However, I do understand the concepts and the process behind creating solid objectives so that designing materials for the courses can be facilitated and the objectives for learning are clear. Both Cranton and Morrison et al are on point with this. As well, they refer to the development of relevant assessment stratgeies based on the objectives. This is also very pertinent. It is very important to test to the level of expectation which is laid out tin the wording of the objectives. Lower level competencies should not be assessed at higher levels of expectation. Understanding Blooms taxonomy has been a very useful tool for me as I design instruction and evaluations..
In my experience, students (and learners in general) respond best to a well laid out curriculum with relevant resources and assessments. It is so easy to lose credibility without a well developed plan.
:)
C.

needs assessment with comments / feedback

"The instructional design process begins with the identification of a problem or need"

"A need assessment can help us avoid providing too much instruction when it is not necessary.

"For the instructional designer, the needs assessment process serves four functions:

1. It identifies the needs relevant to a particular job or task, that is, what problems are affecting performance.

2. It identifies critical needs. Critical needs include those that have a significant financial impact, affect safety, or disrupt the work or educational environment.

3. It sets priorities for selecting an intervention.

4. It provides baseline data to assess the effectiveness of the instruction.

Morrison et al (2007 p.29-30)

this is a really interesting topic and challenge. you might consider revisiting it in your next course! you might want to look at the non-training changes you’ll need to put in place to support this organizational change. and have a look at “Why change efforts fail? by John Kotter in HBR… ~2000 - this is his preliiminary report on change efforts… eventually produced a book… title escapes me right now!

also, are there external agencies that can help you establish goals and outcomes for your program… I know health profession programs have to follow standards established by their professions… nice to have an external agent be your ‘bad cop’

Consider a scenario in which you could develop a plan for a needs assessment. If you were to implement your plan in this scenario, what might you learn about the need for instruction?

Scenario: For a variety of reasons, (see http://www.mathopenref.com/site/techreasons.html and http://teacherswithapps.com/top-10-reasons-technology-is-important-for-education/)

an educational institution wishes to introduce technology into its instructional methods. A needs assessment could include a questionnaire to see what kind of experience the educators within the institution have and how the technology might be integrated in to the classrooms and curriculae. Personal characteristics such as motivation to learn ,expectations, prior experience and learning style can be integrated into the questionnaire to help the instructional designer create meaningful lessons.

consider that this is also about change management… asking people to work in a different way… what information do you need to share with them about why they can’t continue to work/teach in the same fashion… and help them reimagine themselves without losing the essence of teaching...

Session 2

1. Identify the Need for Instruction (see above)

2 Plan for Needs Assessment

Audience	adult educators
Data	general characteristics, specific entry characteristics and learning styles
Data Collection Method	poll questionnaire
Data Analysis Method	quantitive analysis based on qualitative data :)

3. Course Title: Technology for the Educator Program: _________________________

Goal	Educate the educator on the relevance in the classroom.
Topic

week four, online search for scholarly articles

Search the Brock University library or the Internet (e.g., Google Scholar) for one article on each of the topics below.

• The pros and cons of using learning outcomes.
• Benefits and/or challenges of Prior Learning Assessment (PLAR).

week four activity sheet learner characterisitcs

Session 4 Activity Sheet: Learner Characteristics

Compile information about the learners who are likely to be in your audience. If you are not sure, then take into account the subject matter and organizational context.

Learner Characteristics	Implications for Curriculum
General e.g. Gender	This course is not gender specific. This course will be attended by adults. However, ages can range widely. Educators should have post secondary education...presume that education level is high. Learning styles may vary. Consider inventory at beginning of course. Develop curriculum and instructional design to meet the various needs of diverse learning styles.
Diversity e.g. Culture	This course may have diverse cultural needs. Cultures may include geographic culture as well as workplace cultures. English presumed. However, there may be learners with some language barriers.  Learners will have diverse backgrounds and personal issues. Diverse needs regarding EI (Goleman, 1998) including handling relationships (especially important in group work) and ability to self-motivate. Learners will have diverse personal styles which may get in the way of developing to the "norming" stage (Bens, 2005) Create norms with learners to avoid conflict.
Human Rights e.g. Religion The course could be attended by learners with diverse religious cultures. Accommodating for these could include considerations such as extensions or modifications of deadlines (ie: religious holiday falls on due date) Learners could also require accommodations for disabilities.

week four, learners and diversity

Learners who are new to the country have special needs. Their cultural backgrounds may be completely different than the domestic students and often are major barriers to learning. Accommodating these learners is important and understanding them is crucial.

I have a couple examples to share. The first is one that happened this past year in a course I was learning in. The prof used an example of Jack and Jill in an analogy. He said "everyone knows Jack and Jill" and quickly continued with his lesson. The fact was that everyone did not know Jack and Jill. There was one student that was new to our country and had no clue. Jack and |Jill made absolutely no sense to him. He identified himself, which has actually helped me to always remember to use examples that will be relevant to my learners. I felt poorly for him as he was blown off by the prof and left no better off at the end of it.

The second example is that of the Chinese student and cultural differences that can be of great importance. One of my colleagues teaches in a program that attracts many foreign student and her class is filled with many Chinese students. She found out that these students prefer to have their information shared with them before class so that they can figure it out beforehand and not be caught losing face if they are called upon to answer a question that they might not know the answer to. They will not raise their hand unless they are sure of the answer. Once she started to load the info into the learning management system for them to preview the participation in class was increased dramatically. Losing face is a major avoidance for the Chinese. This would be something that we would not think of in our culture. We encourage learning from our mistakes.

It is really important to design our courses for the learners who will take them. making the effort to design well means making the effort of knowing our audience. The general characteristics of domestic learners may not hold for international students.

C.

week four duty to accommodate

My own experience with accommodations is fairly limited although I have had some students who required accommodating. I currently have a student with learning disabilities who comes to class with a personal support worker and who will receive a modified credit for her work in my manicure and pedicure classes. Her worker will work with me to modify her assessments. This is the third student in seven years of running our program. I have also received instruction to accommodate students myself for a number of reasons, including obesity and mobility issues, inability to concentrate, difficulties with reading and writing and health issues.

I did do a course on teaching adults with disabilities through Humber College a few years back. It was extremely helpful in understanding my role. I am a college professor in my areas of expertise and not a psychologist who can determine disabilities nor am I a learning specialist for students with disabilities. Students must identify themselves to the college as they are adults and their learning plans from when they were in grade school does not follow them to the college level. Once they have identified themselves with the college, the learning specialists will make a plan and then let me know what the students need. I do not know what their diagnoses is and students do not need to divulge that to me as it is a matter of privacy.

We are required to accommodate to the best of our ability. The college has everything in place to help the students who need it. I have never had a semester without a student with an accommodation. Some write their tests outside of the classroom environment. Some need extra time to write. Some need extra time to get to class. They are all different. Once I am advised to accommodate, I do. 

We have had to make all written documents that are on the College Website accessible. We have devices available for note taking, Some students need to record the lectures. The list of potential accommodations could be lengthy.

As I develop my instruction, I do my best to appeal to the many learning styles and needs. I may use visual aids, written materials, videos, lectures, demonstrations and discussions all in one class as I did this morning. I figure that if I can mix it up them I will catch more attention from more learners. :)

The trick is not to be scattered and disjointed. The material should run smoothly and make sense.

I have not had a student with a visual impairment. It would be very difficult to teach them how to do the practical skills they need to succeed as an esthetician. However, I have had students with some hearing loss and I have made accommodations for them. Where they sit in the class, speaking directly to them, providing written materials and videos for them to review have all helped. 

C.

Week four learning styles inventory check in and anticipating the learners

Letter to Erin:

hey there! Just checking in to see how you are doing. I have been busy the last couple of days and just getting back at it. We are in the middle of session four now and I have noticed that you have not been in the forums. As your learning partner I am checking in :)

Hope everything is okay.

The first thing for this session is to discuss the learning inventory we were to find and do last week. My home computer is crashing...so I am working from my iPad for a few days until I can get a replacement. Bear with me :)

I did two inventories and had some differences in results. The Vark questionnaire scored me highest in kinesthetic learning with visual just behind it. The questionnaire from University of NC scored me highest in visual. So overall, I was placed as a visual learner. I would say that I learn best with multiple methods of instruction and study.

As far as how this will affect my curriculum design...I would say that I would make sure that there are a variety of pedagogical approaches within the design and that I, as a visual learner, do not get caught up in creating a lot  of visual aids and forget about the learners with other learner characteristics. 

Of course, knowing our learners is a key but while designing we can only presume and develop for the material more than the individuals who will actually be in the course. My feeling is that it is important to always leave room for tweaking to the individuals after designing. It. Is crucial to understand our learners. I do my best to achieve this by taking inventory and completing critical incident questionnaires in the early weeks of a course to help me to know if I am on track. (See Stephen Brookfield CIQ http://www.stephenbrookfield.com/Dr._Stephen_D._Brookfield/Critical_Incident_Questionnaire.html

So, I hope all is well and you are enjoying your evening. Keep in touch!

C.

Anticipating the learners

I figure that because my course is Technology for the Educator, my classroom will be filled with other educators from different areas of expertise and context of setting. In other classes I have taken I have educators from many areas including paramedics, banking, the OPP, different levels of academia etc...
Of course, educators have their own styles of learning and teaching. However, I think that educating educators would have it's own challenges. I believe that the level of critical thinking would be high and the willingness to learn as they explore new perspectives would be high as well. Using a tool such as the Critical Incident Questionnaire would be helpful. Asking the learners to weigh in on what they hope to achieve and how you are doing so far would facilitate knowing them and knowing if I am on track. Having the learners complete a learning styles inventory would also be helpful. Reflecting upon their styles will help them to identify what they need or how they will best learn. Potentially this will be a tool that they can use as they move forward with their own learners in their individual environments using their new online tools.
C.