SLOs in Action: Tracking Competency and Mastery Learning

In "The Battle Over AI in Higher Education Classrooms Is Being Fought in the Field of Student Agency," Jarek Janio explores the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education through the philosophical lens of Heidegger, emphasizing AI as a technology that reveals human values and priorities. Rather than viewing AI as a threat to traditional teaching methods and academic integrity,...

"Nothing But Skill" by Jarek Janio argues that education should emphasize skill demonstration and competency rather than traditional metrics like grades and test scores. Janio asserts that all human interactions, particularly in classrooms, rely on observable behaviors which demonstrate underlying skills and competencies. Despite historical skepticism towards behaviorism due to its association wit...

"Rethinking Metrics in Higher Ed: Moving Beyond Persistence and Retention": by Jarek Janio This article highlights a growing crisis of confidence in higher education, driven by an over-reliance on procedural metrics like retention, persistence, and graduation rates, which fail to address the fundamental question: "What do students actually learn?" While these metrics are easily quantifiable, they...

Challenging Linguistic Gatekeeping and Embracing Diverse Voices Briefing Document: Key Takeaways from "Although I Speak ESL, I Still Have Something to Say" by Jarek Janio, ESL Faculty This document summarizes the main themes and insights from Jarek Janio's article, which advocates for shifting the focus from rigid grammar rules to fostering inclusive communication that values diverse perspectives....

Rethinking AI and Inquiry in Higher Education: A Briefing This briefing analyzes a blog post by Jarek Janio titled "Do Submarines Swim? Rethinking AI and Inquiry in Higher Education," published on the COACHES website. The post explores the role of AI in education, arguing that its strength lies in data processing, not human-like thinking. Janio emphasizes the crucial role of faculty in guiding stu...

Making Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) Assessment Meaningful and Actionable This briefing document summarizes key takeaways and advice from Friday SLO Talks, hosted by California Outcomes Assessment Coordinators’ Hub (COACHES), focused on making SLO assessment meaningful and actionable. Main Themes: Collaboration and Support: Engaging with colleagues and networks like COACHES is crucial for sharin...

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) in Higher Education Main Themes: Collaboration is key: Effective SLO implementation requires collaboration between faculty, staff, administrators, accreditors, community partners, employers, and students. SLOs should be student-centered: The current approach to SLOs often prioritizes accreditation requirements over student learning experiences. A shift towards a st...

Main Themes: The AI Revolution in Education AI is rapidly transforming education, particularly generative AI. Students are adopting AI faster than faculty, using it as a tool for learning efficiency and understanding. Students as Early Adopters Students utilize AI for research, summarization, paraphrasing, drafting, and feedback generation. This positions AI as a partner for deepening understandin...

Language of Precision in Education Main Themes: Clarity and Precision in Teaching: Utilizing Bloom's Taxonomy verbs to transform ambiguous learning objectives into clear, measurable, and actionable goals. Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Designing instruction and assessments that are inherently accessible and inclusive to learners with diverse needs, backgrounds, and learning styles. Equity in...

Making Thinking Visible in Education Main Themes: The need for measurable learning outcomes: Educational objectives must be specific and observable to be effectively taught and assessed. Translating thinking into action: Cognitive processes like "critical thinking" must be broken down into concrete skills and demonstrated through observable actions or outputs. The power of Bloom's Taxonomy: Utiliz...

"Grades as the Goal vs. Mastery of Learning: Lessons from Friday SLO Talks" The integration of AI tools like ChatGPT into education is spotlighting the limitations of grade-centric learning. While AI offers significant benefits, it exacerbates the existing problem of prioritizing grades over genuine mastery, necessitating a shift toward competency-based assessment. Key Themes 1. Grades as a Flawed...

Rethinking Grading in the AI Era: Prioritizing Learning Over Metrics The growing use of AI tools in education, such as ChatGPT, is revealing fundamental flaws in traditional grading systems that emphasize quantifiable metrics over genuine learning. This shift calls for a systemic realignment of assessment practices to better reflect meaningful student learning outcomes (SLOs). Key Insights 1. The...

Rethinking Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence AI Enables Students to Shortcut the Learning Process discussion from Friday SLO Talks. Main Themes: The Erosion of Authentic Learning: AI tools like ChatGPT allow students to circumvent the traditional learning process, completing assignments without genuine engagement or understanding. This "shortcut" mentality prioritizes grades over int...

Friday SLO Talks: AI and the Future of Education The recent Friday SLO Talks explored the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, focusing on its opportunities and challenges. Central to the discussions was the need for pedagogical and systemic changes that prioritize student learning over traditional metrics. Key Themes & Insights 1. AI's Dual Potential: AI tools like ChatGP...

Rethinking Student Success: Moving Beyond Superficial Metrics in Higher Education This podcast analyzes the equity implications of using proxies like course completion rates, GPAs, and graduation rates as the primary measures of student success in higher education. The podcast argues that these metrics perpetuate inequities by failing to account for the structural barriers faced by students from u...

Rethinking Higher Education Funding: A Focus on Observable Outcomes This podcast reviews arguments for shifting higher education funding models to prioritize observable student learning outcomes (SLOs) over traditional metrics like attendance and degree attainment. The Problem: A System Misaligned with Learning Current higher education funding and evaluation rely on metrics that fail to answer the...

The Danger of Equating Proxies with Student Success in Higher Education This podcast critiques the use of proxy metrics like course completion rates and GPAs as the primary indicators of student success in higher education. Main Theme: The current funding models in higher education, which rely heavily on proxy metrics, are detrimental to the true purpose of education and fail to prepare students f...

Performance-Based Funding in Higher Education: A Critical Review This podcast examines the concept of Performance-Based Funding (PBF) in higher education, The podcast argues that while PBF aims to improve accountability and efficiency, it ultimately fails to promote authentic student learning. Key Themes & Issues: 1. Misalignment of Funding Metrics with Learning Outcomes: PBF relies heavily on...

Performance-Based Funding: A Misguided Approach to Student Learning This briefing document analyzes the flaws of performance-based funding (PBF) in higher education based on the provided excerpt from "Performance Based Funding PBF.pdf". Main Theme: PBF, despite its aim of improving higher education, fails to genuinely support student learning by focusing on superficial metrics rather than actual c...

Takeaways from Friday SLO Talks: The fundamental purpose of higher education should be to ensure students learn and develop the skills, competencies, and mastery necessary to thrive in their personal and professional lives. While course completion is often used as a proxy for progress, it is not synonymous with meaningful learning. Here’s why focusing on learning over mere completion is essential:...

Rethinking Higher Education Funding - Centering Student Learning Core Issue: The current higher education funding model in the United States, which prioritizes metrics like completion rates and attendance, is fundamentally misaligned with the true purpose of education: fostering student learning and preparing them for real-world challenges. Key Arguments: Disconnect Between Funding and Learning: T...

The concepts of growth mindset , habits of mind , and grit have gained traction as tools to help students navigate the challenges of higher education. These ideas emphasize teachable skills such as time management, perseverance, and self-regulation, which are important student learning outcomes. However, at many institutions, the focus remains disproportionately on metrics like student attendance,...

Importance of Measuring Learning : The podcast advocates shifting from evaluating knowledge acquisition to assessing the development of skills and competencies. Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) assessment is portrayed as essential for ensuring students can apply their learning in real-world scenarios, thus fostering skills that extend beyond the classroom. Benefits for Stakeholders : SLO assessment...

In this episode, we introduce the essential concept of Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs), unpacking their purpose, significance, and how they stand apart from traditional grading methods. We’ll discuss how SLOs focus not on what students can memorize but on what they can actually accomplish, representing a shift from assessing abstract knowledge to evaluating real, observable skills and competencie...