COURSE SYLLABI PROPOSAL

At the heart of the IDEA instrument is the ability to evaluate student learning based on objectives that the instructor determines ahead of time. The IDEA instrument lists twelve "possible learning objectives." Students are asked to "describe the amount of progress you [the student] made on each (even those not pursued in this class)" on a scale of 1 ("no apparent progress") to 5 ("exceptional progress"). In order to be applicable to any of course, these course objectives are by necessity generic in nature.

We already have objectives listed in all of our syllabi. In order for the IDEA instrument to be truly meaningful, we will have to "align" the two sets of objectives. The IDEA Center recommends that we chose a maximum of five objectives, based on the following criteria:

  1. Is this a significant part of the course?
  2. Do I do something specific to help the students accomplish this objective?
  3. Does the student’s progress on this objective affect his or her grade?

IDEA's 12 OBJECTIVES

Gaining factual knowledge (terminology, classifications, methods, trends)

  1. Learning fundamental principles, generalizations, or theories
  2. Learning to apply course material (to improve thinking, problem solving, and decisions)
  3. Developing specific skills, competencies, and points of view needed by professionals in the field most closely related to this course
  4. Acquiring skills in working with others as a member of a team
  5. Developing creative capacities (writing, inventing, designing, performing in art, music, drama, etc.)
  6. Gaining a broader understanding and appreciation of intellectual/cultural activity (music, science, literature, etc.)
  7. Developing skill in expressing oneself orally or in writing
  8. Learning how to find and use resources for answering questions or solving problems
  9. Developing a clearer understanding of, and commitment to, personal values
  10. Learning to analyze and critically evaluate ideas, arguments, and points of view
  11. Acquiring an interest in learning more by asking questions and seeking answers

The KU IDEA Task Force has developed a procedure for accomplishing aligning our course syllabi objectives with the 12 IDEA objectives:

  • The department goes through each course objective, identifying which one of the twelve IDEA objectives that course objective aligns with most closely. Note that several course objectives may align with the same IDEA objective.
  • Having completed the alignment described in (1) above, the department then selects at least one IDEA objective that is essential and up to an additional three objectives that are either essential or important. The remaining objectives, if any, are then assumed to be minor.
  • The figure below presents an "Objectives Alignment Grid" that may be used to expedite this process.

  • The department will then revise the course syllabus to indicate which course objectives align with which IDEA objectives and which ones are essential, important, or minor.
  • When an instructor teaches the course, he/she is required to mark the department-identified essential and/or important objectives on the Faculty Information Form. If there are fewer than five such identified objectives, the instructor may mark additional ones as being essential or important, but the total of essential and important IDEA objectives should not exceed five. The remaining IDEA objectives are to be marked as minor or no importance.

To complete the grid,

  • For each course objective, place an X in the appropriate column to indicate with which one IDEA objective that course objective most closely aligns. Note that when the grid is completed, there may be more than one X in a single column and that some columns may be entirely blank, but that each row should have one and only one X. If a course objective does not align with any of the IDEA objectives, then a thirteen column “(Other”) may be added, with the understanding that any such “other” objectives will not be rated by the IDEA instrument.

  • For each cell in the last row, place an E if the course objective(s) in the column above are essential, an I if they are important, or an M if they are minor. Note that if the column above is blank for a particular cell in the last row, then that particular cell is also left blank.

Below is a completed grid for the course MAT 224 Foundations of Higher Mathematics.

To assist in the alignment process, The IDEA Center has prepared two documents: (1) "Some Thoughts on Selecting IDEA Objectives" which contains ideas to consider in selecting objectives to target on Student Ratings of Instruction and (2) "Disciplinary Selection of Learning Objectives" which contains the percentages of classes that identified each of the 12 learning objectives used in Student Ratings of Assessment as important to their particular discipline.

Please see the complete report for more details about the Course Syllabi Proposal.