Tools and Resources

Writing learning goals and explicit learning objectives will make it easier for students to understand what is expected of them in your course. Goals communicate what students will learn and objectives communicate the kind and quality of work you expect of them. Explicit objectives also make it easier for faculty to make decisions about course content, activities, assignments, and grading.

This document includes example program-level learning objectives for internships. It was created by faculty at Penn State Berks.

This document describes the difference between goals and objectives and provides lists of explicit verbs that can be used to write clear, action- and behavior-oriented objectives for students or faculty (depending on the focus of your proposal) that will demonstrate project success.

Learning Objectives article, 3 pages, published in the _Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal_ by Patricia B Nemec and Evelyn Bussema. They state." The article differentiates between general goals and instructional objectives. The article is copyrighted by the APA.

This worksheet can be used to help instructors develop classroom activities that align learning objectives with assessments and course activities.

This is curriculum matrix was completed by the faculty in the Elementary and Kindergarten Education program at Penn State Berks. It is used to determine which program goals/objectives are addressed in the various courses included in the program. A curriculum map is an important step in the process of learning outcomes assessment (program assessment).

This document provides a brief description of course goals and course objectives or course outcomes for student learning. Learning outcomes (or learning objectives) are useful to develop during course design, as well as when creating an assignment or activity.

This rubric could be used by faculty colleagues to evaluate course objectives.

This template can be used to develop a curriculum map, or matrix, which allows faculty to see which courses address each program level learning objective. Developing a curriculum map is an important step in the learning outcomes assessment (i.e. program assessment) process.

The Midterm/Midsemester Class Interview (or Small Group Instructional Diagnosis, SGID) is a process designed to help instructors learn what their students think about how the course is going. Students identify elements of the class that are helping them learn and offer suggestions to strengthen the course. We recommend using this procedure in the middle of the semester, after students have received at least one grade. The process involves three steps: 1) meeting with an instructional consultant to discuss the instructor's objectives for the process; 2) a class interview with small groups and a whole class discussion; and a post-interview summary and discussion of the results with the consultant.

These PowerPoint slides accompanied a presentation by Linda Suskie delivered via Zoom on Tuesday, Apr. 25, 2017. Multiple-choice tests can have a place in many courses. If they’re well designed, they can yield useful information on student achievement of many important course objectives, including some thinking skills. An item analysis of the results can shed light on how well the questions are working as well as what students have learned. Viewers will be able to use principles of good question construction to develop tests, develop test questions that assess thinking skills as well as conceptual understanding, and use item analysis to understand and improve both test questions and student learning. Be sure to open the handouts file listed below as you view the presentation!

These handouts (minus quizzes for test security) accompanied a presentation by Linda Suskie delivered via Zoom on Tuesday, Apr. 25, 2017. Multiple-choice tests can have a place in many courses. If they’re well designed, they can yield useful information on student achievement of many important course objectives, including some thinking skills. An item analysis of the results can shed light on how well the questions are working as well as what students have learned. Viewers will be able to use principles of good question construction to develop tests, develop test questions that assess thinking skills as well as conceptual understanding, and use item analysis to understand and improve both test questions and student learning.

Bloom's Taxonomy Handout distributed in Schreyer Institute workshops and courses. Contains a list of active verbs for use in crafting learning objectives.

The Midterm/Midsemester Class Interview (or Small Group Instructional Diagnosis, SGID) is a process designed to help instructors learn what their students think about how the course is going. Students identify elements of the class that are helping them learn and offer suggestions to strengthen the course. We recommend using this procedure in the middle of the semester, after students have received at least one grade. The process involves three steps: 1) meeting with an instructional consultant to discuss the instructor's objectives for the process; 2) a class interview with small groups and a whole class discussion; and a post-interview summary and discussion of the results with the consultant.

Course instructors and short course/workshop facilitators sign this form to document participants' successful completion of programming that satisfies one or more learning objectives of the Penn State CIRTL Associate-level teaching certificate.

This document provides an example of a test blueprint, which can be used to help guide test development and ensure that the test questions appropriately reflect the learning objectives of the unit that the test is designed to assess. It can also help students when they study for the test.

IST's 2010 master assessment plan is a great model for similar programs trying to map their objectives, courses, and assessments.

This document is an example of a test blueprint (written for a research methods course), which can be created to help you match your test questions with your learning objectives *and* to help your students study for a test.