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Resources for Online Teaching & Learning

Student Learning Objective (SLO) Writing

When writing learning objectives, you want to use your goals to articulate exactly what you want your students to achieve or be able to demonstrate.

Overall Learning Objectives:

  • Identify what the students should learn
    • Example: learning objectives
  • Use Bloom's taxonomy and action verbs to identify the level of knowledge you want your students to demonstrate
    • Example: Create measurable learning objectives (Bloom’s synthesis level- create is the action verb)
  • Add criteria on how the outcome will be observed or measured
    • Example: Create measurable learning objectives for a course module to align content, activities, and assessment with learning outcomes.

lightRemember: Objectives are statements of student behavior, not descriptions of what or how the student will be taught. 

-from FIU CAT's Writing Objectives

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Write Learning Objectives

  1. Once you know the expected cognitive skill level for learners to achieve and the specific knowledge or skills the course covers, you’re ready to write your learning objective.
  2. How? Simply combine the subject (the learner), the verb (what learners must know how to do), and the object (the knowledge they need to acquire).
  3. For example, “At the end of this course, learners will recognize the five cognitive skill levels in Bloom’s Taxonomy.”

To create significant learning experiences for our students, we must begin with clear goals in mind.  -Fink, 2003

We often adopt the course goals and learning objective written by someone else or craft course goals and learning objectives to satisfy regulatory demands for learning goals that echo accrediting standards, we urge you to also think about what you want students to learn in your course. Significant learning involves long-term change.

Review Fink’s “Taxonomy of Significant Learning,” below, and consider the various types of significant learning that can occur in your course.

Fink’s “Taxonomy of Significant Learning”

Think beyond a list of content topics to identify the most important pieces you want your students to know or know how to do as a result of taking your course. How do you hope your students will be changed because they took your course? In addition to a list of what students will know and know how to do by the end of the course, we encourage you to also include shifted perspectives, priorities, and values. These are your big-picture course goals, the high-level goals that you have for the overall course.

The next step is thinking about how you will collect evidence of students' progress toward your course goals and establishing course learning objectives. Successfully written learning objectives are observable, measurable, and clearly defined. Objectives should be written in language that students can easily understand in order to provide students with guided learning, motivation, and the basis for assessment throughout different sections of the course.

When writing learning objectives, you want to use your goals to articulate exactly what you want your students to achieve or be able to demonstrate.

Remember: Objectives are statements of student behavior, not descriptions of what or how the student will be taught. Arizona State University has an excellent objective builder that may be helpful in creating your course and module objectives. Although this isn’t the philosophy of all pedagogical institutions, Susan Ko and Steve Rossen, authors of Teaching Online: A Practical Guide (2010) have some great, practical advice:

“Don't drive yourself crazy trying to write ever more precise learning objectives- the main point is to express as clearly and plainly as possible what it is you want your students to learn and how they can best demonstrate that they have learned it” (p.57).

From Growth Engineering: Bloom's Taxonomy: Master your Learning Objectives

Bloom's Taxonomy and its six levels

Knowledge Domain Verbs

Before we have a look at the six levels in more depth, let’s explore the verbs associated with each knowledge domain in the revised taxonomy:

Remember Understand Apply Analyse Evaluate Create
Recall specific information. Grasp the meaning of materials. Use the information in new situations. Identify links among ideas. Use knowledge to make judgments. Develop something new.
define
describe
examine
identify
label
list
locate
match
memorize
recall
recite
recognize
record
reproduce
retell
select
state
tabulate
tell
visualize

 		 associate
classify
compare
contrast
convert
describe
discuss
distinguish
explain
illustrate
interpret
order
predict
relate
report
represent
restate
select
summarise
trace
transform
translate		 apply
articulate
calculate
change
chart
compute
construct
develop
employ
examine
experiment
explain
illustrate
interpret
manipulate
modify
operate
predict
produce
relate
solve
transfer		 analyze
categorize
compare
connect
contrast
criticize
deduce
diagram
differentiate
discriminate
dissect
estimate
evaluate
experiment
infer
organize
plan
prioritize
question
separate
survey
test		 appraise
argue
assess
choose
convince
critique
debate
defend
editorialize
estimate
evaluate
grade
judge
justify
measure
persuade
predict
rank
rate
reframe
summarise
support		 adapt
assemble
compose
construct
create
design
develop
facilitate
hypothesize
integrate
invent
modify
negotiate
plan
propose
revise
role-play
schematise
simulate
speculate
support
validate

Assigning Resources

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Assessment, Assignments, & Artifacts

Artifacts:

Level 1 Activities: Remembering
Level 2 activities: Understanding
Level 3 activities: Applying
Level 4 activities: Analyzing
Level 5 activities: Evaluating

The content below is copied from Iowa State University's College of Human Sciences Online and Distance Learning LibGuide

Bloom’s Taxonomy as a guide for online materials

To assist you in your efforts to create course materials and activities to support learning objectives, we have compiled a list of ideas based on Bloom’s Taxonomy. The original model focused on a hierarchical structure: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. These categories were later re-imagined, as seen below. Examples of these categories may assist you in creating content for your online courses.

Modern Bloom's Taxonomy chart

 https://teachonline.asu.edu/2016/05/integrating-technology-blooms-taxonomy/

Level 1 Activities: Remembering

  • Search for information on the web related to the topic (e.g., find information about benefits of weight training)
  • Read articles and identify concepts in the text related to the topic
  • Listen to lectures given by the instructor, online via TED talks, Khan Academy, or websites of professional organizations
  • Participate in discussion boards about the topic
    • Where did you find your sources?
    • What can you cite in the sources that reinforces the ideas of the topic?
  • Tools: Zoom (live or recorded), discussion boards

Level 2 activities: Understanding

  • Start a journal of experiences that relate to the topic, (e.g., what personal benefits of weight training have you experienced?)
  • Identify the different categories (e.g., interval training, men vs. women)
  • Discuss techniques/ideas via discussion board
    • Create groups and rotate team discussion leader
    • Each person must post first before responding to another
  • Short quizzes to measure comprehension
  • Tools: Discussion boards, assignments, quizzes

Level 3 activities: Applying

  • Use pre-determined formulae, calculations, or procedures to create assignments (e.g., measure body fat over the course of a semester and apply calculations to assess change)
  • Chart the progress of a specific activity (e.g., number of times per week, number of reps)
  • Review an article and identify potential new topics or raise questions (e.g., Does diet affect muscle mass?)
  • Create a presentation with another classmate
  • Create survey questions
  • Tools: Zoom (live or recorded), discussion boards, assignments, quizzes, rubrics

Level 4 activities: Analyzing

  • Based on information gathered by the student or pre-loaded by the instructor, make recommendations or analyze the information
  • Find information from other fields that could be related and describe how they might be supportive (e.g., effects of sleep on muscle mass)
    • Create a short survey
    • Write a comparative analysis and/or hypothesis
    • Find sources to support a hypothesis
  • Analyze surveys and studies created by others
    • Identify themes/categories
    • Sort the data based on the categories and identify trends
    • Run statistical test for validity and significance
  • Tools: Zoom (live or recorded), discussion boards, assignments, quizzes, rubrics, statistical software, Excel

Level 5 activities: Evaluating

  • Create a rubric that can be used for peer assessments—what information is needed and how can they be ranked?
  • Review studies written by others with a critical eye
  • Create a survey, distribute it, categorize the data, analyze the data, make recommendations
  • Tools: Zoom (live or recorded), discussion boards, assignments, quizzes, rubrics, statistical software, Excel, Qualtrics

FIU CAT: FIU's Vision for Teaching Excellence

FIU's Vision for Teaching Excellence

  • Inclusive Teaching

  • Evidence-based

  • Learning-Centered Teaching

From FIU CAT: FIU's Vision for Teaching Excellence

Inclusive Teaching

Why do we care about inclusive Teaching?

At FIU, we strive to ensure that every student feels welcomed and valued as a member of the Panther community. It is our belief that through inclusive and culturally responsive teaching, our faculty can create learning environments that leverage diversity, student backgrounds, and lived experiences, as resources for learning and success (Ginsberg & Wlodkowski, 1995; 2009; Hammond, 2015).

FIU's Model of Inclusive Teaching

Although there are several theoretical models from which to draw from in this area, FIU primarily relies on Ginsberg & Wlodkowski's (1995) framework for culturally responsive teaching to guide our philosophy and programming on inclusive teaching. Ginsberg & Wlodkowski's framework—which is heavily influenced by psychological theories in motivation and engagement—is characterized by four individual but connected components: establishing inclusion; developing attitude; enhancing meaning; and engendering competence.

The following are characterizations of each element of the framework—including examples of how each component might look like in the classroom:

Establishing Inclusion: Creating a learning environment in which learners feel capable, respected, accepted, and connected to one another.

  • Guidelines for respectful learning and interactions
  • All students feel comfortable asking questions like their ideas are valued, and like they are treated with respect
  • Students’ lives and cultures are represented
  • Emphasis on awareness and feeling of connection

Developing Attitude: Creating a favorable disposition toward the learning experience through personal relevance and choice. It's important that teachers first acquire some understanding of students' existing knowledge of subject matter, interests, and cultural background.

  • Classes are taught with students’ experiences, concerns, or interests in mind
  • Students make choices related to learning that include experiences, values, needs, and strengths
  • Students are able to voice their opinions

Enhancing Meaning: Creating challenging learning experiences that include learners' values and perspectives, past experiences, emotions, goals, and an awareness that their state of mind influences the learning process.

  • Student participation is active; they are challenged
  • Questions go beyond facts and encourage different points of view
  • The teacher builds on what students already know
  • The teacher respectfully encourages high-quality responses

Engendering Competence: Recognizing the varied ways in which students can perceive meaning and authenticity, then developing assessments that account for these differences.

  • There are clear criteria for success
  • Grading policies are fair to all
  • Assessments take into account students’ perspectives
  • There are multiple ways to reach standards/demonstrate learning

Inclusive Teaching in the Classroom

Incorporating inclusive/culturally responsive teaching does not require a comprehensive change to course design or content. In fact, inclusive/culturally responsive teaching practices can be easily embedded into existing course structures.

Below is a list of common course structures and pedagogical elements and provides specific examples of inclusive/culturally responsive teaching practices for each:

Class Discussions:
  • Ask students to take turns speaking
  • Consistently invite every member of the class to participate
  • Attempt to activate students’ relevant background knowledge
  • Make corrections by mirroring correct form
Lecturing:
  • Start lecture with a brief overview of main points covered in the previous class session
  • Give your students tips on effective note taking
  • Encourage native English speaking students to provide their notes to ESL students
  • Collect notes occasionally and provide students with feedback
  • Allow students to compare notes in small groups
Cooperative Learning (i.e., group work):
  • Start lecture with a brief overview of main points covered in the previous class session
  • Give your students tips on effective note taking
  • Encourage native English speaking students to provide their notes to ESL students
  • Collect notes occasionally and provide students with feedback
  • Allow students to compare notes in small groups
Course Goals & Objectives:
  • Develop clearly defined learning goals and provide a rationale for each goal
  • Identify resources that might help your students as they work towards those goals
Assessment:
  • Provide students with some degree of choice in assessment methods
  • Develop clear instructions and questions
  • Ask students for feedback on the clarity of assessment tools

From FIU CAT: FIU's Vision for Teaching Excellence

Evidenced-Based 

Why is evidenced-based teaching important?

As a research-focused institution and because of the importance of our students' success at FIU, it is imperative that the teaching that takes place at our institution aligns with best practices in the educational literature. As a result, here at CAT, all of our workshops focus on encouraging teaching strategies that are not only inclusive and learning-centered, but that have also been found to be effective practices based on research findings.

FIU's Conceptualization of Evidenced-Based Teaching

Evidence-based teaching 

Thinking about courses as scholarly projects by using teaching practices that are grounded in evidence of their effectiveness to maximize student learning.

Blumberg (2011) defines evidence in two ways:

  • Internal evidence based on the faculty's exploration of teaching practices from their own courses
  • External evidence from pedagogical research

FIU's conceptualization of Evidence-Based Teaching (EBT)

evidenced-based teaching diagram

Collecting & Using Internal Evidence

We often teach without knowing which aspects of our teaching are most effective and/or how to identify and improve those aspects that could use refinement. However, by collecting data on student learning and performance in our classroom, we can inform course enhancement and allow for more targeted refinements. We can also draw from existing research to identify instructional strategies that can help address specific challenges in our classroom, then collect data from students to examine the effectiveness of those strategies.

Curating and Using External Evidence

Informed by the scholarship of teaching and learning, faculty can make better decisions about their instructional design and practices. To begin the process of using external evidence for decision-making in teaching, Blumberg (2011) suggests reading pedagogical literature in your own discipline or broadly across other disciplines and consulting with teaching and learning experts. At CAT, we take a consultative approach where we can help you interpret your data and identify appropriate EBT practices. We can also direct you to DBER faculty at FIU who have expert knowledge of and/or experience using research-validated strategies.

Examples of evidence-based practices and how they benefit students 

State clear learning goals repeatedly: 
  • Encourages students to set their own goals
  • Created transparency in the classroom
  • Helps students understand the rationale for course content and tasks 
Provide high-quality feedback on low-stakes assignments often:
  • Allows students to incorporate feedback for subsequent higher-stakes assignments (e.g., final exams, capstone papers)
  • Facilitates the development of students metacognitive skills
  • It can be used to provide a model for students to learn to evaluate their own work 
Provide opportunities for repeated and spaced practice:
  • Repeated practice facilitates the incorporation of information from working memory to long term memory
  • Spaced practice facilitates the transfer of knowledge 
Encourage and facilitate peer-to-peer learning:
  • Well-designed group work can help students become effective collaborators
  • Group work can promote a sense of belonging and community in the classroom
  • Helps students develop a sense of accountability and learn how to hold others accountable
Promote effective self-regulated learning skills:
  • SRL skills are associated with higher course grades 
  • Students with better SRL skills are more engaged and more likely to seek out challenging learning opportunities
  • Becoming effective learners will benefit students both in and outside of your classroom

From FIU CAT: FIU's Vision for Teaching Excellence

Learning-Centered Teaching

Why do we care about learning-centered teaching?

A general consensus across findings from research on cognition and learning is that the one who does the work, does the learning. Thus in an effective learning environment, students do the bulk of the cognitive work while the instructor functions as facilitator. Learning-Centered Teaching (LCT) practices refer to instructional techniques that seek to enhance student learning by encouraging greater cognitive engagement and participation during the learning process.

The Research on Teaching and Learning

Findings from decades of research on memory and cognition have uncovered valuable insights with important and direct implications for teaching and learning. Becoming familiar with some of these findings can help instructors design their course(s) in a way that facilitates and maximizes student learning and motivation.

Brief summaries of important findings from research on learning and their implications for LCT.

LCT Findings

What does LCT look like in the classroom?

LCT relies on instructional methods that are based on documented cognitive research on how learning takes place, including (but not limited to):

  1. Active learning, in which students solve problems, answer questions, formulate questions of their own, discuss, explain, debate, or brainstorm during class with faculty serving as expert when the need arises.
  2. Collaborative learning, in which students engage in group work with peers on assignments and projects that include structures and scaffolds to ensure both positive interdependence and individual accountability.
  3. Inquiry-based learning, in which students are first presented with challenges or questions to which they are expected to solve or seek answers.

These instructional methods provide a framework for pedagogical design and can be tailored to specific domains/topics. Examples of active learning, collaborative learning, and inquiry-based learning.

learning centered teaching pedagogy and sample activities

Microcredential Badges

Student Learning Outcomes

The Assessment Form includes the breakdown of each Student Learning Outcome (SLO), artifact, method of assessment, and criteria for success.

Each Micro-Credential must have at least:

  • 4 SLOs per credential. When possible, please use direct measures of assessment.
  • At least one of your SLOs must be related to a culminating reflection that addresses how each of the competencies earned connect to each other and how earning the Micro-Credential impacted the learner’s academic and career trajectory.
  • Assessments are recommended to be scaffolded and varied in nature to ensure outcomes are fully measured, based on the ultimate goals of the Micro-Credential.

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