In light of the WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) mandate that student learning outcomes assessment be a part of the accreditation process, the objective of this classroom research proposal is to determine whether posting student learning objectives at the start of each class session will increase student mastery of Student Learning Outcomes. Specifically, WASC 2002, Standard H: Section A 1c requires community colleges to “assess progress toward achievement of the identified student learning outcomes.”  My hypothesis is that posting student learning objectives at the start of each class will more effectively focus my instruction on the achievement of student learning outcomes. In addition, it will facilitate student achievement of each objective toward the goal of mastering the course’s Student Learning Outcomes.

This Instructional Classroom Research proposal will be implemented in two sections of English 91, approximately sixty students, during the spring semester, 2005. It will begin at week six of the semester and continue for the remaining twelve weeks. For the first five weeks of the semester, although I will tell students the agenda for the class session, I will not post the student learning objectives. At week six, I will begin posting 1-2 learning objectives for each class session on the front white board. I will review these aloud with the class, and they will remain posted for the entire class session. I will use the course goals and objectives indicated on the current course outline as the basis for each posted learning objective.

•    To what degree did posting the student learning objectives help you to understand each daily objective? 
•    To what degree did posting daily objectives assist you in mastering each objective?
•    How often, if ever, did you refer to these posted objectives during the class session?
•    To what degree did posting each daily objective help you to see a connection to previous objectives?
•    To what degree did posting the daily student objectives help you to achieve the long-term goals of the class?
•    How important is it to you that instructors post daily student learning objectives?

My evaluation methodology is an application of skills I am learning in the IT&L course I am currently taking—EDU 088: Introduction to Educational Technology.  We are learning to create surveys that are electronically tabulated. My students will take the survey online at the end of the semester. The data can be easily posted or disseminated to appropriate offices or individuals.

The catalyst for this project is the Microteaching course, EDU 084, in which I was enrolled during fall, 2003. During the course, we reviewed instructional methodology and designed lessons that included the lesson basics. One of the basic principles of designing an effective lesson is to identify and post the student learning objectives each day. The principle is a sound one, and although I often posted student learning objectives in my classes while I was enrolled in EDU 084, I did not formally assess the benefit of this practice. The Instructional Research Project provides me the opportunity to assess the value of this practice for student learning and for my teaching effectiveness.

What I hope to gain from this project is skill and facility in writing student learning objectives that are clearly linked to Student Learning Outcomes. Daily practice using “active verbs” that convey critical thinking will result in my mastery of writing objectives. I hope to use the results from the project to assess whether the objectives I designed are effective steps in achieving the outcomes for the course. In this way, the objectives can be used as an assessment tool for subsequent course planning. I hope to more effectively meet the needs of my students by providing them both a visual and auditory means of accessing the daily objectives. I hope to learn that this reinforcement helps students see the big picture as well as the small steps needed to master Student Learning Outcomes. Finally I hope to learn that this principle works, that posting daily student learning objectives is efficacious in increasing student learning.