First Steps: Developing and Assessing Student Learning Outcomes for a Credit-Bearing Information Course

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First Steps: Developing and Assessing Student Learning Outcomes for a Credit-Bearing Information Course

Andrea Stanfield, Information Literacy Coordinator, University of West Georgia

GIL Users Group Meeting – May 2012

Carriveau’s Three-Level SLO Model (pp. 5-6)

Student Learning Outcomes

Goal (G)

1.1 General Learning Outcome (GLO)

1.1.1 specific Learning Outcome (sLO*)

1.1.2 sLO

Goal (G)

2.1 General Learning Outcome (GLO)

2.1.1 sLO

2.1.2 sLO

2.2 General Learning Outcome (GLO)

2.2.1 sLO

2.2.2 sLO

2.2.3 sLO

*abbreviated with small “s” to distinguish specific Learning Outcomes from Student Learning Outcome

My First Attempt at Creating SLO’s (2 of 6 Goals)

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Students will identify functional areas of physical and virtual libraries and demonstrate the relationship to the research process.

locate the library’s catalog and explain that it is used for finding books and materials found in the library
recognize that Galileo is not a database
locate databases on the library’s website through Galileo and LibGuides
explain what special collections is and give examples of how they might be used for research

2. Students will analyze the information need and identify appropriate sources of information to meet that need.

use encyclopedias for background information
identify common information sources - books, scholarly articles, government documents, sources from special collections, websites, blogs, social media - and recognize appropriate uses of these sources in research projects
distinguish between primary and secondary sources
evaluate information according to specific criteria

Results from Quiz 1 assessment:

Question #	SLO	Correct	Partial Credit	Incorrect
1.a	1a – locate the library’s catalog and explain that it is used to find books and materials found in the library	42%	32%	26%
1.b	3a – use GIL, GIL Universal and WorldCat to search for books	21%	11%	68%
1.c	4c – explain and demonstrate how to access, evaluate, select OR use needed information	26%	58%	16%
1.d	4c – see above	95%	5%	0%
2	5b – avoid plagiarism by citing sources appropriately	37%	63%	0%
3	3e – recognize that research advances knowledge and understanding of a subject area	63%	16%	21%
4	5b – avoid plagiarism by citing sources appropriately	79%	21%	0%
Bonus	What are 3 ways to get research help?	53%	21%	26%

Quiz date – 2/7/2012

Quiz 1 Questions

Books (10 points each)

How can you find out if Ingram Library has a particular book in its collection?
Where can you look up books found in other libraries in the University System of Georgia?
If you are a Newnan Center student and you never go to the Carrollton campus, how can you get a library book?
At which libraries can you use your UWG ID to check out books?

Describe three ways you might use a source in your work and explain how you would avoid plagiarism for each one. (20 points)

Why are there so many ways to cite sources? (We mentioned 3 in class – Turabian, APA & MLA) (20 points)

What is common knowledge and how can you determine whether a piece of information is considered common knowledge? (20 points)

Bonus – Name 3 ways to get reference help from Ingram Library (1 point each)

Results for other types of assessment:

In-class Assignment 4	Yes	With help	No	Assessment Method	Notes
1a - locate the library’s catalog and explain that it is used to find books and materials found in the library	89%	11%	0%	observation
3a - use GIL, GIL Universal and WorldCat to search for books	100%	0%	0%	turned in assignment	2/21/2012
3b – search for books using keywords, LOC subject headings, or known information	83%	17%	0	turned in assignment
1a – see above	89%	0	11%	turned in assignment
In-class Assignment 6	Yes	With help	No	Assessment Method	Notes
2c – distinguish between primary and secondary sources	53%	38%	12%	turned in assignment	3/27/2012 Lesson learned – I need more than 3 quizzes. 2c only assessed once and needs more work. Also need more time on primary vs. secondary sources
Annotated Bibliography	Yes	Partial	No	Assessment Method	Notes
3d – select appropriate databases for information need	53%		47%	Annotated Bibliography	More instruction needed here

In-class Assignment 4 covered searching GIL, Boolean operators, reading call numbers

In-class Assignment 6 covered primary and secondary sources using 19^th Century British Library Newspapers database to look up articles written during the time of Jack the Ripper.

Lessons Learned:

Need one more “formal” assessment (Quiz)
Concentrate more on selecting databases and primary vs. secondary sources
Re-consider how much weight I am giving to quiz, group project, and in-class assignment grades.
Also consider an individual project in place of one group project to more directly assess individual students

Next Steps:

Create a Three-Level SLO Model based on what I’ve already done. Also adapt this for online classes and use mapping to meet UWG’s online standards
Consider ways to make data more meaningful possibly by seeking assistance or feedback from co-workers, math department (statistics), and education department
Continue working on identifying appropriate SLO’s for LIBR1101 and for various levels of one-shot instruction (freshman level courses vs. upper level courses) with attention paid to avoiding outcomes that are difficult or impossible to measure
Identify assessment tools that will work with one-shots
Get buy-in from department to start identifying SLO’s we want to measure as a department and develop an assessment plan incorporating various forms of assessment to help with planning and improving instruction

Works Cited

Carriveau, Ronald S. Connecting the Dots: Developing Student Learning Outcomes & Outcome Based Assessments. Denton, TX: Fancy Fox Publications, 2010.