QCC Course Objectives Form (Long)

Note that a Glossary and Selected Bibliography are available at the end of this form.

QCC COURSE OBJECTIVES FORM

With Explanations and Examples

Rev. for Fall 2007

Date:
Department:
Course:
Curriculum or Curricula:

1.  Educational Context of THE Course

To establish a context for writing course objectives, first describe briefly how this course fits into the whole set of courses students will be taking for their degree or certificate program. What does the course contribute to the students’ overall education, either as part of the major requirements for the particular curriculum or as part of the general education core?

·  Is it an entry–level, mid–level, or upper–level course?

·  Is it required? If so, how does it serve the curriculum as a whole?

·  If the course is not required for a particular curriculum, how does it contribute to the general education of the students?

Table 1: EXAMPLE

Educational Context: EXAMPLE:
Course: SP–211 – Fundamentals of Speech Communication
Curriculum: Associate in Science (A.S.) Degree in Fine and Performing Arts
A foundation (entry–level) course required for both this and other curricula, SP–211 produces students who speak clearly and effectively while demonstrating research and analytical skills. Group discussions promote an understanding and application of collaborative problem–solving skills in the classroom and within the wider communities.

Table 1

Educational Context:

2.  Curricular Objectives

If this course is required for a particular curriculum or for several curricula, review the statement(s) of student learning objectives for the curriculum or curricula. List the major curricular objectives (no more than four) that are addressed by this course, and describe how the course helps the students meet each of these objectives.

NOTE: If the curricular objectives are in the drop-down menu, select the objectives from the menu. If the course is not required for any curriculum, skip to 3. If the course serves several curricula, identify at least one relevant objective for each curriculum.

Table 2 ExampleS

Curricular objectives addressed by this course / Briefly describe activities in this course which help students meet each of these curricular objectives
EXAMPLE from MECHANICAL Engineering Technology:
Students will demonstrate the ability to generate and interpret engineering drawings. / EXAMPLE from MECHANICAL Engineering Technology:
In MT-111 students use T-square, triangles, scales, compass to draw lines, arcs and other graphic elements comprising engineering drawings. They also execute tasks as a result of reading and interpreting drawings.
EXAMPLE from Nursing:
Role as provider of care- the graduate of an A D N nursing program utilizes the nursing process to provide competent care to patients across the life cycle. / EXAMPLE from Nursing:
The student will develop a nursing care plan for an individual patient using Orems’s theory of nursing to guide the nursing process.
The student will give nursing care to selected patient (s) in a safe, accurate manner.

Table 2

Curricular objectives addressed by this course / Briefly describe activities in this course which help students meet each of these curricular objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.

3.  General Education Objectives

At its May 2007 meeting, the QCC Academic Senate approved the following revised statement of Educational Goals and Objectives for QCC students pursuing associate degrees. Drawn from the College’s Mission Statement, these are the general education objectives for student learning for all the College’s degree programs. These objectives include a foundation in the liberal arts and sciences and competence in skills that are valued and/or required by employers, baccalaureate college programs, and the community at large.

Educational Goals

Students graduating with an Associate’s degree will:

·  for transfer programs: meet requirements for successful transfer into upper division of baccalaureate programs

·  for career programs: demonstrate mastery of discipline-specific knowledge, skills, and tools required for entry into or advancement in the job market in their field

Educational Objectives

To achieve these goals, students graduating with an Associate’s degree will:

1. communicate effectively through reading, writing, listening and speaking

2. use analytical reasoning to identify issues or problems and evaluate evidence in order to make informed decisions

3. reason quantitatively and mathematically as required in their fields of interest and in everyday life

4. use information management and technology skills effectively for academic research and lifelong learning

5. integrate knowledge and skills in their program of study

6. differentiate and make informed decisions about issues based on multiple value systems

7. work collaboratively in diverse groups directed at accomplishing learning objectives

8. use historical or social sciences perspectives to examine formation of ideas, human behavior, social institutions, or social processes

9. employ concepts and methods of the natural and physical sciences to make informed judgments

10. apply aesthetic and intellectual criteria in the evaluation or creation of works in the humanities or the arts

The Special Committee of the Academic Senate on General Education offered the following suggestions for learning outcomes by which faculty members may assess student achievement of the College’s Educational Objectives:

Educational Objective / Sample Suggestions for Learning Outcomes
1. communicate effectively through reading, writing, listening, and speaking / ·  interpret texts critically
·  use writing to create and clarify meaning
·  write in varied rhetorical modes, poetic forms and voices
·  use writing and oral communication to connect prior knowledge to disciplinary discourse
·  apply principles of critical listening to evaluate information
·  speak clearly, accurately, and coherently in several modes of delivery
2. use analytical reasoning to identify issues or problems and evaluate evidence in order to make informed decisions / ·  distinguish the problem or question from a proposed solution or answer
·  differentiate between facts, assumptions, and conclusions in the formulation of a proposed solution or answer
·  evaluate the quality of evidence
·  describe and compare the way questions, issues, or problems are formulated within various fields of study
3. reason quantitatively and mathematically as required in their fields of interest and in everyday life / ·  identify problems that need a mathematical solution, and use computational methods in the mathematics applicable in everyday life
·  use the language, notation, and inductive and deductive methods of mathematics to formulate quantitative ideas and patterns
·  use mathematics appropriate to specific fields of study
·  estimate when doing mathematical calculations
·  employ technology to collect, process, and present mathematical information
·  describe mathematical, statistical and probabilistic models and methods, and identify how they are used to obtain knowledge
·  organize and interpret data and use the data to draw conclusions
4. use information management and technology skills effectively for academic research and lifelong learning / ·  determine the extent of information needed for a research question, problem or issue
·  access needed information effectively and efficiently
·  evaluate information and its sources critically and assimilate selected information
·  use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
·  demonstrate an understanding of the economic, legal, social, and ethical issues surrounding the use of information and information technology
·  employ technology in research and fields of interest
·  identify the role of technology and its impact on the individual, society and the environment
5. integrate knowledge and skills in their program of study / ·  create coherent, documented essays, presentations, or solutions to problems based on gathering, analyzing, and comparing evidence from more than one perspective
·  demonstrate critical and creative thought by producing new arguments, art or solutions to complex problems
·  analyze and compare evidence to support/refute different points of view on a particular topic
·  complete sequential courses that use knowledge and skills from a previous course to master the higher level course
·  complete a culminating assignment in a capstone course
6. differentiate and make informed decisions about issues based on multiple value systems / ·  identify the key elements of issues and analyze them from the perspectives of multiple value systems
·  identify values and their origins in culture, religion, philosophy, political, social or economic theory
·  differentiate ethical and non-ethical elements in arguments and/or behavior
·  distinguish facts from values in issues
·  apply varying values or ethical principles and approaches to respond to questions, dilemmas, or problems and describe alternate outcomes
7. work collaboratively in diverse groups directed at accomplishing learning objectives / ·  work in groups to accomplish learning tasks and reach common goals
·  demonstrate interpersonal skills and accountability in working in diverse groups
·  design and complete a group project
·  write or make a presentation based on group work
· 
8. use historical or social sciences perspectives to examine formation of ideas, human behavior, social institutions, or social processes / ·  use historical facts to provide context for understanding information
·  apply discipline-specific methods to retrieve information
·  apply discipline-specific methods to reconstruct the historical past
·  interpret information to analyze historical events
·  use social sciences concepts to analyze human behavior
·  discuss social institutions from a historical or social sciences perspective
·  identify social processes in everyday life
9. employ concepts and methods of the natural and physical sciences to make informed judgments / ·  describe fundamental concepts in a field of science
·  explain and demonstrate the process of scientific inquiry
·  discuss the role of science and its impact on the individual, society and the environment
10. apply aesthetic and intellectual criteria in the evaluation or creation of works in the humanities or the arts / ·  analyze and evaluate literary works
·  analyze and evaluate works of art
·  perform or create artistic works

While many of these general education objectives are addressed by specific required courses in the curricula, there is no strict course- by-objective correspondence for any curriculum. Some of the learning objectives (such as communication and problem solving skills) are addressed repeatedly in a number of courses. Some of the learning objectives (such as collaborative skills) are addressed not as subject matter of a particular course but through the learning activities of courses. Some of the skills are reinforced through students’ participation in activities outside the classroom, such as academic advisement and club activity.

The College’s Assessment Program will be measuring student achievement in each of these general education areas and will incorporate relevant results from the Course Assessment Project. Results from assessment of student success in meeting specific curricular objectives will also provide evidence for academic program reviews.

List the general education objectives (no more than four) that this course addresses and describe how this course helps students meet the objectives.

When using ACCESS, select the General Education Objectives from the drop-down menu.

Table 3 ExampleS: (Table revised 6/15/07 for revised Educational Objectives)

Gen ed objective’s identification number from preceding list / General educational objectives addressed by this course: Select from preceding list. / Briefly describe activities in the course which help students meet each of these general education objectives
Educational Objective #2 / EXAMPLE GEN ED # 2:
Students will use analytical reasoning to identify issues or problems and evaluate evidence in order to make informed decisions / EXAMPLE FROM CHEMISTRY:
Students apply the knowledge of laws and theoretical concepts they learned in class in original problems that will enable them to solve for properties such as the vapor pressure of solutions, the physical properties of gases, the concentration of solutions, the composition of mixtures, etc.
EXAMPLE FROM BASIC SKILLS:
Students learn to make inferences, distinguish between fact and opinion, detect bias, and identify propaganda devices by critically examining texts from newspapers, magazines, essays, academic textbooks, and the Internet.
Educational Objective #4 / EXAMPLE GEN ED #4:
Students will use information management and technology skills effectively for academic research and lifelong learning / EXAMPLE FROM ENGLISH:
Students attend a library presentation on finding sources; in class they learn to evaluate and document sources, and they write a research paper, using at least five different sources.
Educational Objective #7 / EXAMPLE GEN ED # 7:
Students will work collaboratively in diverse groups directed at accomplishing learning objectives / EXAMPLE FROM ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY:
In the laboratory, teams of three or four students work together using the same equipment to measure voltage, current and resistance in electric circuits. They learn that success is a matter of how well the team functions.

Table 3

Gen ed objective’s identification number from preceding list / General educational objectives addressed by this course: Select from preceding list. / Briefly describe activities in the course which help students meet each of these general education objectives
(1.)
(2.)
(3.)
(4.)

4.  Course Objectives: Desired Student Learning

Note: Table 4, which follows, is prepared in two stages. Column 1 is prepared first.

These objectives will answer the question: What should students be able to do by the time they finish a course?

Use the material you have generated in Tables 1-3 as the context for writing the course objectives in terms of desired student learning Several of them should derive explicitly from the general education objectives and the curricular objectives that you listed in those tables.

Then list the major learning objectives for students in this course (no more than 10). As you write the objectives, be sure to take into account the kinds of knowledge (knowledge dimension) and the types of thinking (cognitive dimension) students will be expected to demonstrate. See the table below from David Krathwohl.**

Krathwohl Table 2:
Structure of the Knowledge Dimension of the Revised Taxonomy / Krathwohl Table 3:
Structure of the Cognitive Process Dimension of the Revised Taxonomy
A.  Factual Knowledge: The basic elements that students must know to be acquainted with a discipline or solve problems in it.
a.  Knowledge of terminology
b.  Knowledge of specific details and elements
B.  Conceptual Knowledge: The interrelationships among the basic elements within a larger structure that enable them to function together.
a.  Knowledge of classifications and categories
b.  Knowledge of principles and generalizations
c.  Knowledge of theories, models, and structures
C.  Procedural Knowledge: How to do something; methods of inquiry, and criteria for using skills, algorithms, techniques, and methods.
a.  Knowledge of subject-specific skills and algorithms
b.  Knowledge of subject-specific techniques and methods
c.  Knowledge of criteria for determining when to use appropriate procedures
D.  Metacognitive Knowledge: Knowledge of cognition in general as well as awareness and knowledge of one’s own cognition.
a.  Strategic knowledge
b.  Knowledge about cognitive tasks, including appropriate contextual and conditional knowledge
c.  Self-knowledge / E.  Remember: Retrieving relevant knowledge from long-term memory.
a.  Recognizing
b.  Recalling
F.  Understand: Determining the meaning of instructional messages, including oral, written, and graphic communication.
a.  Interpreting
b.  Exemplifying
c.  Classifying
d.  Summarizing
e.  Inferring
f.  Comparing
g.  Explaining
G.  Apply: Carrying out or using a procedure in a given situation.
a.  Executing
b.  Implementing
H.  Analyze: Breaking material into its constituent parts and detecting how the parts relate to one another and to an overall structure or purpose.
a.  Differentiating
b.  Organizing
c.  Attributing
I.  Evaluate: Making judgments based on criteria and standards.
a.  Checking
b.  Critiquing
J.  Create: Putting elements together to form a novel, coherent whole or make an original product.
a.  Generating
b.  Planning
c.  Producing

** From “A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy: An Overview” by David R. Krathwohl, Theory Into Practice, 41(4), pp. 212-218. Copyright 2002 by the College of Education, The Ohio State University. All rights reserved.