Step 1: Write an SLO
Before writing an SLO, ask yourself the following questions:
- What are the major themes that run through your course?
- What are the big "takeaways"?
- What do you want your students to remember about your class 10 or 20 years from now?
- What must you communicate to your students in order to walk away at the end of the semester feeling like you did your job?
- The "core" question may well be, how does your class change a person's life? You might find that the answer points a straight line to one or more of the Core Competencies as LPC has defined them.
Now, to write an SLO, start with what you're already doing. Choose a paper, essay, exam, project or presentation that you already require students to do. Ask yourself exactly what skills or knowledge the assignment requires students to demonstrate; i.e. what is the purpose of the assignment?
Put that purpose into a statement that begins with the following phrase:
"By the end of the course, students should be able to. . ." do what?
Remember to use specific verbs from Bloom's Taxonomy (PDF).
View actual SLOs written by LPC faculty.
This part is optional: Download and save the Assessment Plan and Report document, then input your SLO under Intended Outcomes.
Enter your SLO into eLumen.
- Log into eLumen. Select Las Positas College as your institution.
- On the left , click My Catalog Courses and, under that, Course Definition. Under the My Courses heading on the right, you will see a list of all of the courses you teach. To enter an SLO, click Details.
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Click Add New. Type, or better yet, paste in from your Assessment Plan and Report document, the text for the SLO, and click Save.
View a digital movie of the above eLumen process.