Student Learning Outcomes & Assessment Cycles for the Department of Psychology
Prepared 3/20/2006, updated 3/17/2008

The Department of Psychology developed its plan for using SLOs around a synthesis of two models: Bloom's (1956) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives and Wiggins and McTighe's (1998) Six Facets for Understanding. Both paradigms characterize learning across multiple domains, and each domain demarcates learning as moving from simple to complex. Both suit the Dept. of Psychology well because they provide a framework for thinking about the relationship between teaching and learning content that is both objective and subjective. Across courses, the Dept. of Psychology has the ultimate goal of providing education that increases each student's ability to think, behave, and feel in increasingly complex ways so that each student can better the relationships with the self, their families, their communities, and the world.

To accommodate the broad diversity among students as well as to honor the unique pedagogical philosophy of each faculty member, the Dept. of Psychology has elected to share best practices of assignments given and assessments collected to evaluate learning among all students in the department. These best practices will also serve to evoke discussions within the department to refine and adapt curricula and assessments to meet both faculty and student needs. Ultimately, revisions made will be in keeping with the following nine exit standards and core competencies:

Upon successful completion of the required course work in General Psychology, the student will be able to:
  1. explain the scientific methods used in psychology;
  2. discuss current theories of emotion and motivation;
  3. explain types of consciousness and altered states of consciousness;
  4. evaluate the factors in emotion and motivation;
  5. define the basis of sensation and perception;
  6. define methods of personality assessment and theories of personality;
  7. define individual differences in intelligence and discuss cultural biases in assessing intelligence;
  8. identify and define the classifications of abnormal behavior;
  9. apply the neurobiological, psychoanalytical, behavioral, cognitive, and humanistic perspectives to modifying and explaining behaviors.

Exit Standards for:

GCC CORE COMPETENCIES (Institutional Learning Outcomes)

1) Communication: Learners express themselves clearly and concisely to others in logical, well-organized papers and/or verbal presentations using documentation and quantitative tools when appropriate. Learners listen, understand, debate, and use information communicated by others.

2) Mathematical Competency/Quantitative Reasoning: Learners understand, interpret, and manipulate numeric or symbolic information; solve problems by selecting and applying appropriate quantitative methods such as arithmetic, quantitative reasoning, estimation, measurement, probability, statistics, algebra, geometry and trigonometry; and present information and construct arguments with the use of numerical and/or statistical support.

3) Information Competency: Learners recognize the need for information and define a research topic; select, access, and use appropriate sources to obtain relevant data; evaluate sources for reliability and accuracy; and use information in an ethical and legal manner.

4) Critical Thinking: Learners evaluate the credibility and significance of information, effectively interpret, analyze, synthesize explain, and infer concepts and ideas; solve problems and make decisions; and construct and deconstruct arguments.

5) Global Awareness and Appreciation: Learners recognize and analyze the interconnectedness of global, national, and local concerns, analyzing cultural, political, social and environmental issues from multiple perspectives; they recognize the interdependence of the global environment and humanity.

6) Personal Responsibility: Learners demonstrate an understanding of the consequences, both positive and negative, of their own actions; set personal, academic and career goals; and seek and utilize the appropriate resources to reach such goals.

7) Application of Knowledge: Learners maintain, improve and transfer academic and technical skills to the workplace; demonstrate life-long learning skills by having the ability to acquire and employ new knowledge; and set goals and devise strategies for personal and professional development.

 

 

Cognitive Domain
Level (simple to complex) Illustrative Verbs Exemplars of Instructional Prompts
I. Knowledge: Remembering information define, describe, identify, label, list, match, name, outline, recall, recite, relate, reproduce, select, state
  • Identify the 3 parts of Freud's "psyche"
  • Label the structuresof the limbic system
  • Identify the the psychologicalcorrelates of the the major neurotransmitters
II. Comprehension: Explaining the meaning of information

describe, generalize, paraphrase, summarize, estimate, change, construct, convert, decode, defend, define, distinguish, discriminate, estimate, explain, extend, give example, illustrate, infer, predict, restate, rewrite, solve
  • Summarize the main idea of Civilization and its Discontents
  • In one sentence explain the main idea of a written passage
  • Describe in prose what is shown in graph form
III. Application: Using abstractions in concrete situations

determine, chart, implement, prepare, solve, use, develop, apply, change, compute, demonstrate, discover, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, manipulate, modify, operate, organize, predict, produce, relate, transfer
  • Using principles of operant conditioning, train a rat to press a bar
  • Prepare a research proposal using multiplemethodologies
  • Use the work of John Watson to analyze the development of phobia
IV. Analysis: Breaking down a whole into component parts

points out, differentiate, distinguish, discriminate, compare, analyze, breakdown, classify, contrast, determine, deduce, diagram, identify, illustrate, infer, outline, relate, select, separate, subdivide
  • Compare and contrast the major assumptions underlying psychoanalytic and humanistic approaches to psychology
  • Identify supporting evidence to support theories developed in a self-help book
V. Synthesis: Putting parts together to form a new and integrated whole

create, design, plan, organize, generate, write, categorize, combine, compile, compose, conceive, construct, devise, establish, explain, formulate, invent, make manage, modify, originate, propose, rearrange, reconstruct, relate, reorganize, revise, rewrite, set up, summarize, tell
  • Propose and conduct an experiment
  • Develop an individualized nutrition program using the principles of behavior modification
  • Use research to develop a unique theory about human behaviorand mental processes
VI. Evaluation: Making judgments about the merits of ideas, materials, or phenomena

appraise, critique, judge, weigh, evaluate, select, ascertain, choose, compare, conclude, contrast, decide, defend, describe, discriminate, explain, interpret, justify, relate, resolve, summarize, support, validate
  • Evaluate the accuracy of an essay about various aspects of psychology
  • Assess the appropriateness of an author's conclusions based on the evidence given
  • Select the best model for dealing with stress

Best practices for developing and assessing cognitive complexity

 

 

Behavioral Domain / Application
Level (simple to complex) Illustrative Verbs
I. Novice: Relies on highly scripted, singular "plug-in" (algorithmic and mechanical) skills, procedures, or approaches repeat, copy, assemble, carry out, dissect, duplicate, follow, mimic, move, practice, proceed, reproduce

II. Apprentice: Relies on a limited repertoire of routines; able to perform well in familiar or simple contexts, with perhaps some needed coaching; limited use of personal judgment and responsiveness

begin, start, try, organize, sketch, make , construct, use, operate
III. Able: Able to perform well with knowledge & skill in a few key contexts, with a limited repertoire, flexibility, or adaptability to diverse contexts. conduct, automatize, reorganize

IV. Skilled: Competent in using knowledge and skill and adapting understandings in a variety of appropriate and demanding contexts. 

 adapt refine, revise, alter, rearrange
V. Masterful: Fluent, flexible, and efficient; able to use knowledge and skill and adjust understandings well in novel, diverse, and difficult contexts. create, design, compose, arrange, transcend

Best practices for developing psychomotor/behavioral complexity

 

 

Affective Domain
Level (simple to complex) Illustrative Verbs Exemplars of Affective Responses

I. Receiving: Willingness to receive or to attend to particular phenomena or stimuli. Includes awareness, willingness to hear, & selective attention.

 asks, chooses, describes, follows, gives, holds, identifies, locates, names, points to, selects, sits, erects, replies, uses.
  • Listen to others with respect.
  • Listen for and remember the name of newly introduced people.
II. Responding: Active participation on the part of the learner. Attends and reacts to a particular phenomenon.  Learning outcomes may emphasize compliance in responding, willingness to respond, or satisfaction in responding (motivation).  answers, assists, aids, complies, conforms, discusses, greets, helps, labels, performs, practices, presents, reads, recites, reports, selects, tells, writes
  • Participates in class discussions. 
  • Questions new ideals, concepts, models, etc. in order to fully understand them.
III. Valuing: Attaching worth to a particular object, phenomenon, or behavior (ranging from simple acceptance to the more complex state of commitment). Marks the beginning of value internalization completes, demonstrates, differentiates, explains, follows, forms, initiates, invites, joins, justifies, proposes, reads, reports, selects, shares, studies, works.
  • Demonstrates belief in the democratic process. 
  • Is sensitive towards individual and cultural differences (value diversity).
  • Proposes a plan for social improvement and follows through with commitment.
  • Shares concerns with authority figures .
IV. Organization: Organizes values into priorities by contrasting different values, resolving conflicts between them, and creating an unique value system.    adheres, alters, arranges, combines, compares, completes, defends, explains, formulates, generalizes, identifies, integrates, modifies, orders, organizes, prepares, relates, synthesizes.
  • Recognizes the need for balance between freedom and responsible behavior. 
  • Accepts responsibility for one's behavior.
  • Accepts professional ethical standards. 
  • Creates a life plan in harmony with abilities, interests, and beliefs.
  • Prioritizes time effectively to meet the needs of the organization, family, and self.
V. Characterization: Values clearly control behavior so that it is pervasive, consistent, predictable, and most importantly, characteristic of the learner.  acts, discriminates, displays, influences, listens, modifies, performs, practices, proposes, qualifies, questions, revises, serves, solves, verifies
  • Shows self-reliance when working independently. 
  • Cooperates in group activities(displays teamwork).
  • Uses an objective approach in problem solving. 
  • Revises judgments and changes behavior in light of new evidence.
  • Values people for what they are, not how they look.

Best practices for developing affective complexity

 

References:

Bloom, B. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Classification of Educational Goals, by a Committee of College and Iniversity Examiners. Handbook I: Cognitive Domain. Longman; New York.

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; Alexandria, VA.

 


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