GE Outcomes

Step-by-Step Guide to Outcomes-Based General Education Course Assessment For Area C

Step I. Develop Criteria

Criteria = broad, umbrella descriptions of the ends toward which student learning efforts are directed.

GE Criteria were developed by the faculty senate in 1992 and are listed at http://www.csus.edu/acaf/Portfolios/GE/geareacriteria.stm

C1 World Civilizations

1. Deals with one or more of the major Western and/or Non-Western civilizations which have had a significant direct influence on the modern world.

2. Covers a historical period of at least 500 years.

3. Is broad in scope, emphasizing the distinguishing characteristics of the civilization(s) studied. [Courses shall not be restricted to a single aspect of a civilization's culture.]

4. Develops an understanding of and appreciation for the diversity of the human community.

5. Presents the contributions and perspectives of women; persons from various ethnic, socio-economic, and religious groups, gays and lesbians; and persons with disabilities. [At least two of these groups should be included in the course.]

C2 Introduction to the Arts

1. Is introductory and has no prerequisites.

2. Is broad in scope or survey in nature.

3. Develops a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of the heritage being studied and transmits a knowledge of Western and Non-Western cultural heritage in the arts.

4. Introduces the history or analysis of the art in order 1) to increase understanding and appreciation of the art forms being studied or 2) to study the principles on which aesthetic judgments are made.

5. Develops an understanding of and appreciation for the diversity of the human community.

C3 Introduction to the Humanities

1. Is introductory and has no prerequisites.

2. Is broad in scope or survey in nature.

3. Develops a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of the heritage being studied and transmits a knowledge of the Western and Non-Western cultural heritage in the humanities.

4. Focuses on ideas and values of various cultures and traditions as expressed in their literatures, philosophies or religions.

5. Develops an understanding of and appreciation for the diversity of the human community.

6. Presents the contributions and perspectives of women; persons from various ethnic, socio-economic, and religious groups, gays and lesbians; and persons with disabilities. [At least two of these groups should be included in the course.]

C4 Further Studies in the Arts and Humanities

1. Courses in this category need not be introductory and need not be as broad in scope as courses included in C2 or C3.

2. Courses may have as prerequisites courses listed in C2 and C3 or similar courses.

3. Courses in this category shall comply generally with the criteria for courses in categories C2 and C3.

   1. Develops a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of the heritage being studied and transmits a knowledge of Western and Non-Western cultural heritage in the arts and humanities.

   2. Introduces history or a method of analysis in order

   3. to increase understanding and appreciation of the art forms being studied or

   4. to study the principles on which aesthetic judgments are made or focuses on ideas and values of various cultures and traditions as expressed in their literatures, philosophies or religions.

4. If the courses have for primary goal the development or application of skills to develop aesthetic sensitivity, it must be done through active participation in one of the arts or through inclusion of a significant cultural component.

5. Develops an understanding of and appreciation for the diversity of the human community.

6. Presents the contributions and perspectives of women; persons from various ethnic, socio-economic, and religious groups, gays and lesbians; and persons with disabilities. [At least two of these groups should be included in the course.]

Step II. Develop Student Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes = the qualitative or quantitative measurable expectations of the actual skills, understandings, behaviors, attitudes, and values students should be able to demonstrate when they have completed a given educational program. Learning outcomes are expectations derived from the goals. Learning outcomes answer the question “What do we expect our students to learn?” Learning outcomes should be stated in observable behavioral terms [Bloom's taxonomy is a well-known typology of levels of educational outcomes that can be helpful in developing the wording of learning outcomes.]

GE Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes for each GE Area were developed by faculty committees in 1998-2000 and approved by the GEP/CRC and the Academic Senate.

Area C Learning Outcomes:

C1

1. Explain the historical and cultural significance of the major phenomena within the period(s) and region(s) studies.

2. Compare and contrast the basic values of the people/cultures studied.

C2

1. Explain the importance of one area of performance art in the wider field of all arts

2. Explain the contributions of one area of performance art to the cultural heritage of the United States.

C3

1. Identify and explain the principal values and/or traditions reflected in one area of emphasis within this category.

C4

1. Apply processes of critical analysis to the text-based courses within this category.

2. Demonstrate basic skills in the performance courses within this category.

3. Demonstrate a comprehension of the aesthetic/cultural values and historical developments within the content of the course.

Step III. Develop Course-Specific Learning Outcomes--one for each of the GE Learning Outcomes for that Area

Step IV. Decide on Evidence (i.e., Assessment Strategies)

Evidence = student work that demonstrates students' achievement of the learning outcomes (e.g., course assignments, projects, presentations, papers, responses to examination questions, etc.).

Decide what you will accept as evidence of student achievement of each of these course-specific versions of the GE Learning Outcomes; or, worded another way, decide what tools you will use to assess student achievement of these course-specific versions of the GE Learning Outcomes.

Some examples of assessment strategies you could use include these:

• course-embedded essay examination questions
  
• clusters of multiple-choice questions given in course exams
  
• a paper
  
• a poster presentation
  
• a project
  
• a debate, performance, or dramatization
  

Course assignments and tests can be used for assessment (as well as course grading) if they are clearly linked to course-specific versions of GE learning outcomes and if the assessment is based on established criteria and standards.

Step V. Develop Criteria

Criteria are performance descriptors of the qualities desired in student work that demonstrates the student has achieved the learning outcome(s). Criteria represent powerful professional judgments of faculty; they enable faculty to make consistent, fair evaluations of student learning.

Examples of Criteria for an Issues Analysis Paper

• Content
  
• Narrative
  
• Organization
  
• Sentence Structure
  
• Mechanics/Usage
  
• APA or MLA format

Step VI. Develop Standards

(Often put into a rubric which can be used as a scoring guide)
Standards describe the different levels of the assessment criteria (e.g., what exemplary clarity looks like, what satisfactory clarity looks like, etc.). Standards describe specific indicators of the criteria and enable consistent assessment of student performance.

Examples of Standards for Organization for the Issues Analysis Paper described above:

Step VII. Having developed course-specific learning outcomes, selected what will count for evidence (i.e., the Assessment Strategies), developed criteria and standards, you are ready to insert these into the GE course Assessment Plan (see attached list of eight elements that must be in a complete GE course assessment plan).

After your plan is approved by the GE Policies and Course Review Committee (GEP/CRC), you can use it to assess the levels of student achievement of the course-specific learning outcomes for your GE Area C course.

You may want to use a grid, like the sample below, to succinctly represent the connections among the learning outcomes and assessment strategies and mechanisms.  PLEASE NOTE: examples are for illustrative purposes only.

Step VIII.  Using Assessment Results