Are Our Students Learning? How Do We Know? Measuring Student Learning Outcomes

Abstract

The ALISE Academy focuses on what our students are learning and how we as faculty measure the outcomes of that learning to be in compliance with the proposed 2022 Update to Standards for Accreditation of Master’s Programs in Library & Information Studies, https://www.ala.org/aboutala/2022-update-ala-standards-accreditation-master%E2%80%99s-programs-library-and-information-studies , which is currently being reviewed by the profession.  These proposed Standards forefront student learning outcomes (i.e., what students should know and be able to do by the time of graduation) in Standard II Student Learning Outcomes and Curriculum and require that evidence of “the evaluation of attainment of outcomes collectively across the program” be provided as part of the accreditation/re-accreditation process.  Standard II also emphasizes “ethics and values” in II.1, including “the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion, and relevant professional codes of ethics.”  It should be noted that the Standards state that student learning outcomes should be consistent regardless of mode of delivery.

These Student Learning Outcomes and a program’s curriculum should be “designed to incorporate the philosophy, principles, and ethics of the field,” and are informed by the 2021 Update to ALA's Core Competences of Librarianship (https://www.ala.org/educationcareers/2021-update-alas-core-competences-librarianship), which include Gateway Knowledge, Information Resources, Lifelong Learning and Continuing Education, Management and Administration, Organization of Recorded Knowledge and Information, Reference and User Services, Research and Evidence-Based Practice, Social Justice, and Technological Knowledge and Skills.

Participants will engage with colleagues in small groups to unpack the draft Standards and Core Competencies, describe what these Standards and competencies look like in practice, and analyze what student learning outcomes align with these core competencies, and how these can be expressed to meet the draft Standards.  Mary K. Biagini, University of Pittsburgh, Fatih Oguz, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and Sue Alman, San Jose State University will provide overviews of how their programs assess student learning.  Participants from a range of online, hybrid, and on-campus programs will overview and critique a range of methods to measure how effectively students are learning and share their “best practices” experiences in measuring their program’s student learning outcomes. In small groups and in a summary large group session, facilitators and attendees will share their assessment methods, offer lessons learned, and prompt attention to emphasizing the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the assessment process.  

This workshop is designed for those who are responsible for assessing student learning outcomes and who are just beginning a more focused assessment process or are well underway, or have an established process to share because assessment of student learning is a responsibility we all share in common.  The learning outcomes for attendees who participate in the ALISE Academy are that each will leave (1) knowing a variety of assessment methods for student learning and the advantages and disadvantages of each (e.g., portfolio, capstone); and (2) having a preliminary or revised plan for assessing their Student Learning Outcomes based on the proposed 2022 Update to Standards and the draft 2021 ALA Core Competencies.