Demystifying Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) in Higher Education
Main Themes:
- Defining and differentiating Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) from other outcome measures in higher education.
- Understanding the relationship between SLOs and student achievement.
- Exploring the interconnected levels of learning outcomes: Institutional (ILOs), Program (PLOs), and Student (SLOs).
- Addressing the challenge of aligning outcomes across these levels to ensure meaningful learning and achievement.
Key Ideas and Facts:
1. What are SLOs?
SLOs are "observable and measurable demonstrations of what students can do as a result of instruction." They represent the specific skills, knowledge, abilities, and attitudes students should acquire during a course, program, or activity.
SLOs vs. Student Achievement:
While both relate to student progress, they differ in focus:
- SLOs emphasize the learning process and application of acquired skills. Examples include writing a persuasive essay, solving practical math problems, or demonstrating software proficiency.
- Student achievement focuses on measurable milestones like grades, test scores, and completion rates. These are aggregated at an institutional level and don't always reflect specific skills learned.
Relationship: SLOs are the building blocks of student achievement. Aligning instruction with well-defined SLOs ensures that achievement reflects genuine learning.
2. Levels of Learning Outcomes:
- ILOs (Institutional Learning Outcomes): Broadest level, aligning with the institution's mission and vision. They represent overarching competencies all students should develop, like critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving.
- PLOs (Program Learning Outcomes): Describe what students should achieve by completing a program. They often align with external guidelines and standards relevant to the discipline.
- SLOs (Student Learning Outcomes): Most specific level, tied to individual courses. They specify the knowledge, skills, and competencies students should demonstrate after completing the course.
Alignment: These levels are interconnected, creating a cohesive learning experience:
- SLOs (course-level) build foundational skills.
- PLOs (program-level) apply and synthesize these skills, leading to program-specific competencies.
- ILOs (institutional-level) translate these competencies into broader skills aligned with the institution's goals.
Key Distinction:
- All student learning outcomes are assessed at the course level through observable behavior, not just through surveys or evaluations.
Challenges:
- The term "SLOs" is not widely recognized outside academia, leading to communication challenges.
- The term "outcomes" is often used ambiguously in institutional accountability, encompassing both learning and achievement, which can obscure the focus on genuine learning.
