Developing Effective Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

• Bloom’s Taxonomy Revised (Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, University of Iowa) – This version of Bloom’s Taxonomy favors action – it replaces the original taxonomy’s categories with verbs & gerunds to infuse cognitive processes into the classifications. Use the taxonomy to develop measurable SLOs. 

• Developing Student Learning Outcomes (Champlain College) –  this article explains how to write specific and achievable learning outcomes for any class, working backwards from institutional outcomes. ​​

Designing Rubrics

• Creating Rubrics (Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, Yale University) – A general overview of various types of rubrics and recommendations for how to create them.  

• Sample Discussion Rubrics (Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository, University of Central Florida) – Specifically regarding online discussions, this article offers benefits to using a rubric for discussion boards, how to describe a quality post, and links to samples rubrics.

Informal Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)

• Examples of CATs (Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, Indiana University Bloomington) – Classroom Assessment Techniques are brief, low-stakes ways to gauge what students are thinking. They can help to provide short-term feedback about student progress & understanding. ​

Authentic Assessment

• What is Authentic Assessment? (New Jersey Institute of Technology) – Spoiler Alert: Authentic Assessment helps instructors understand students’ ability to transfer knowledge & skills beyond the classroom. This article offers a summary of the concept as well as a map for implementing authentic assessments. 

• The Authentic Assessment Toolbox (by Jon Mueller, Journal of Online Teaching and Learning) – An article introducing Authentic Assessment and the Authentic Assessment Toolbox. The Toolbox provides sample assessments and “workshops” describing the process for developing “authentic” tasks & rubrics.
  

Program Assessment

• A Simple Model for Learning Improvement (by Keston H. Fulcher, Megan R. Good, Chris M. Coleman, and Kristen L. Smith, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment) – Assessment does not automatically lead to improved programming. This article explores how to use assessment to enhance student learning.