Did you know that you have one of the most advanced collaboration suites available to use with your students?
The WCU license of Microsoft Teams allows you to create a collaborative classroom light space that your students can access through their Smartphones or their computers.
Every part of Teams other than synchronous video chat does not rely upon a persistent and strong connection and so can be a part of a low-bandwidth continuity of instruction plan.
Avoid use of verbs such as, “demonstrate”, “know”, “recognize”, “value”, “appreciate”, etc.
Use only a single action verb per Student Learning Outcome (SLO). Use Bloom’s taxonomy for verb selection.
Three to five (3 – 5) outcomes for a normal 3-credit hour course.
Freshman and sophomore classes should have some (not likely mostly) higher order level outcomes.
Junior and Senior level should have mostly higher order level outcomes.
Components of Student Learning Outcomes
C = Conditions – context, setting and/or conditions under which the behavior will occur.
B = Behavior – the performance/what the student will be able to do, use an action verb from Bloom’s Taxonomy.
C = Criterion/criteria – defines the minimum acceptable level of performance.
Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
Use of action verbs from Bloom’s Taxonomy helps to ensure that a student learning outcome is measurable. Bloom’s Taxonomy is a hierarchical way of thinking (action or performance verbs) that classifies learning or cognition into six levels; categorized from less to more complex.
The hierarchical structure indicates that action verbs found at lower levels of the taxonomy are inferred at the higher levels.
The hierarchical structure indicates that action verbs found at lower levels of the taxonomy are inferred at the higher levels.
EXAMPLES:
For more information on Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs), please contact the Coulter Faculty Commons.
Dr. John Williams, of WCU’s Forensic Anthropology programs, will be presenting two Science of Teaching and Learning sessions at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences based on his bone trauma class, Anthropology 401. The first will be a presentation workshop on “Innovative Teaching with Active Learning Methods – Implementation in Forensic Science Education,” and the second will be an oral presentation in a section entitled “Forensic Education Matters.”
Dr. Williams has earned this great opportunity from the research he has gathered in his team-based directed classroom experiments in his bone trauma classes. Several years ago he became interested in active learning through bone trauma, specifically with bone fractures. Originally, these classes followed a straight lecture format, but Dr. Williams then developed an experiment involving deer bones that were used to demonstrate how various events, like fractures, could occur. With this came the want for specialized classes on bone trauma that other universities didn’t offer. From there, he decided to participate in the Coulter Faculty Commons annual Summer Institute of Teaching and Learning to further develop his practices.
Dr. Williams evolved the course from simple activity-based to project-based learning, and refined his experiments, giving the students structure, but also enough flexibility to work on their own. He discussed the great “Ah Ha” moments that students would achieve through the project, and how he wanted all the students to have that moment. Several of the students went on to develop their own projects and attend NCUR as a result of the class.
Dr. John Williams is a board-certified forensic anthropologist and Professor of Anthropology at Western Carolina University. He is in his 38th year as a university professor and has taught a variety of courses in physical and forensic anthropology. This past year Dr. Williams joined the Council of Forensic Science Educators. His forensic research interest is in the interpretation of bone trauma. This led him to explore engaged learning as a method of improving student comprehension and involvement in the learning process. He is also a Diplomate-American Board of Forensic Anthropology, a Fellow of American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
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