HowtoDevelopLearningGoalsforanEstablishedCourse:TheComputerScienceModel 1

DevelopedbyBethSimon:May2008,UBC Overview:Thegoalofthisprocessistodevelopasetoflearninggoals(alsocalledlearningoutcomes)for existingcomputersciencecourses.Thesegoalsshoulddescribe,indetail,whatstudentscanbeexpected todobythetimetheyfinishacourse.Thegoalswouldbeusefulto: Instructorsoftheclasstopreparethecourse,focuslectures,developexams,andhaveasolid, coherentstoryofthecourse. Studentsoftheclasstounderstandmorepreciselytheexpectationsofinstructors,toseethe biggerpicturevalueofthematerialspresented,andtohaveasetofspecificexpectationsthatcan beusedtofocusattentioninclassandstudyingoutsideofclass. Instructorsofcourseswhichfollowthisonetohaveanexplicitdescriptionoftheskillsandabilities studentsenteringthecourseareexpectedtohave,toidentifyareasofexpectedknowledgethatare notsupportedthroughprerequisitecoursework. Theresultsoftheprocessareencapsulatedinaspreadsheetwith2worksheets.Thefirstisasetoftopic levelgoals(35100orso)thatdescribedetailedmaterialsatthelectureortopiclevel.Thesecondisa courselevelgoalgridwith37higher,courselevelgoals.Undereachgoal,alistoftopiclevelgoalswhich contributetothatcoursegoalarelisted. GeneralProcessOutline:Themodelemployedtodevelopthesegoalshasbeentohave2(thoughwe suspect34worksaswell)instructorswhohaverecentlytaughtthecourse(orareotherwiseengaged withit)meetwithafacilitator(STLF)foraperiodof812hoursineither1houraweekor1.5hoursevery otherweekformat.Verylittleoutsideworkisneededfromtheinstructorseachweek(occasionally520 minutesofbrainstormingorfindingmaterials(lectureslides,exams).Thefacilitatorspendsapproximately 1houroutsideofthemeetingeachweek(onreminderstoinstructors,rewordingmaterials,cleaningup LGwording,reviewingmaterials(exams,homeworks,etc.)).Thefacilitatororganizesandleadsthe meetings,andtakesallnotes(documentingthebrainstormingandresultsoftheLGcreation).Instructors talkandbrainstorm,butdonothavetotakenotes. Step1:AssessmentDrivenTopicGoals:Beginbyasking(beforethefirstmeeting)forrecentexamsgiven inthecourse.Atameeting,allfacultywillsitandworkthroughthequestionsontheexamdeveloping topiclevelgoalswhicharereflectedbyacorrectansweronthatexamquestion.Thisgoessomething likeifastudentgetsthisquestioncorrectontheexam,thenitshowsthatthestudentcanThrough thisprocessweidentifyatleastwhatisexpectedonthefinal.Thisthenbringsupthingsthatareassessed onpossibleexamsthroughouttheterm,onhomeworks,etc.Italsoallowsforthebeginningsof discussions(oftenabouthighlevelthings)thatwewantstudentstogetbutwedontaskontheexam. ThisisOK,butthefacilitatorshouldfeelfree,tosay,butifwedontaskexamquestionsonthis,howdo weknowiftheygotthathighlevelabilityornot? Step2:LectureDrivenTopicGoals:Sincewecovermanythingsinclassthatwedontnecessarilyassess onthefinalexam,wenextwalkthrough(mentallyorbyactualreviewoflectureslides)thematerials coveredinthecourse,topicbytopic.Eachtopicisnamed(discussionhappensaboutordering,etc.)anda listofthingsthatstudentsshouldbeabletodoafterthatmaterial/sectioniscoveredisnamed. Instructorswillstartbysayingwetalkaboutthis,wedothatontheboard,andneedtobeprompted withstatementslikeso,afterwardsyouwouldexpectastudenttobeabletodowhat?Orpropose somethingasapossiblethingstudentswouldbeabletodoandtheinstructorswillsayno,morethan that,likethisorno,notthatindepth,likethis.Instructorsmayfindoutthattheyeachhavedifferent expectationsofdepthofunderstandingincertainareas.
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This documents the process used in Computer Science, but it is certainly not the only process that can be used.

Instructors(andfacilitators)willalsofinditcommontostartbysayingstudentswillunderstandthisand that.ThisisOKinthebrainstormingphase.Butthegroupshouldimmediately(inthenextfewminutes ofdiscussion)movetotrytoconcretizeunderstandbyexplainingexactlywhatwoulddemonstrate understanding.Wouldthatbe:rankthesealgorithmsincomplexityorder,compareandcontrastthe performanceissuesfromdiskaccessmodels,describerealworldscenariosthatreflectstacksversus queues,etc.Sometimesagoallistedasunderstandmaygetstuckthereandhavetoberevisitedatthe nextmeeting.Theseareusuallykeystogoalsthatarenotparticularlyclearorcleanintheclass. Thisprocesstakesthemajorityofthemeetingtimes(57weeks).Progressisslowinthebeginning,but movesmuchmorequicklyafteraboutthewaypointasinstructorsgetpracticedinmentallyconverting whattheydoinclasscontentintostatementsaboutwhattheycanexpectstudentstodoafterthat materialiscovered.Instructorswillgetderailedwhentheydifferinviewpointonatopicorwhenatopic isdifficultorperhapsdoesntfitwellinacourse.Instructorsshouldbegivensometimetodiscussissues thatariseinteachingthistopic(andthefacilitatorshoulddocumentthis).Butafter57minutes,the instructorsshouldbereminded,OKIvedocumentedourconcernshereletsgobacktofocusingon whatweactuallydorightnow,notwhatwewishwedidinthiscase. Dependingonthelevelofdetailandthecourse,weveseen30100topiclevelgoalsdevelopedusually spanning515topics.Thesearelistedina2columnspreadsheet(landscape),withthetopicnameinthe leftcolumnandthegoalsthemselvesintherightcolumn.ThegoalscompleteacommonstubofAfter thisclassstudentscan.EachgoalshouldbenamedsomethinglikeA1,B3,...wheretheletter correspondstoatopicandthenumbertothenumberofgoalsunderthattopic. Step3:CourseLevelLearningGoals:Afterthetopiclevelgoalsaredone,in12meetingscourselevel goalsaredeveloped.Often,instructorscanbeaskedtoindependentlybrainstormtheseoutsideofa meetingandsendtheminemailtothefacilitator.Thenonemeetingcanbeusedtoreviewthese mergingsimilarones,gettingbetterwordings,etc.Occasionally,thesestartouttoolowlevelbasically subgroupsofthetopics.Throughdiscussion,andfocusingonhowthiscoursecontributestothegeneral developmentofastudentinthemajor,thesecanbemademorehighlevel.Afteridentifying(anot perfectlist,thatmaystillhavesomeduplication)of512coursegoals,instructorscanbeassigned (outsideofameeting)toplaceeachtopicgoalunderthecolumnofanycoursegoalitappliesto.Thiscan alsobedoneinameeting,butitcanbemoreefficientsimplytohaveeveryonebringtheirgridandto discusswherepeopledifferedandifacoursegoalwashardtofindthingstofitunder,oriftwocourse goalsreallyseemedtobeinterpretedasthesamething.Eventually,coursegoalsshouldbepareddown toapproximately47.Lookforcoursegoalsthathavefewtopicgoalssupportingthem,ortopicareasthat fitunderonlyonecoursegoal. Advice/CommonExpectations:Thefirstfewweeksaremarkedbyalotofdiscussion,whichmaynotlead directlytocompletedLGs.Thisisespeciallythecaseforproblematiccourses,recentlydesignedcourses, orcourseswheresignificantdifferencesexistincoveragedependingontheinstructor.ThisisOK. Discussionamongthefacultyshouldbeallowedtooccur,withthefacilitatorbringingpeoplebackontask occasionally.Thefocusshouldremainprimarilyondocumentingwhatisdonecurrentlyratherthan bemoaningwhatwewouldlikethecoursetoaccomplish. Instructors(andeveryone)willtendtowardshighlevel,grandiosestatementsthatareverymetalevel. Theseneedtobedeconstructed(especiallyinthebeginning). Affectivegoals(goalsaboutstudentsdevelopingappreciation,etc.)maycomeupinthediscussionof courselevelgoalsthoughtheymaynotbeassessedonexams,homeworks,etc.Affectivegoalsmaybe animportantpartofacoursemostnotablyincoursesfornonmajors.