FACD-2001 - ASSESSING STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES USING

DESIRE2LEARN

Instructor Information
Davina Y. Smalley
dsmalley@gru.edu
706-446-1415

Purpose
To explore how the Desire2Learn (D2L) Learning Environment tools can be used to assess student
learning outcomes and promote student learning based on the seven principles of good teaching. This
course is delivered entirely online and is self-paced.


Course Objectives
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
Describe the Quality Matters (QM) Program and QM Rubric general standards for Higher
Education
Explain Instructional Alignment using a five-step process that illustrates the connection between
objectives, assessments, and student learning experience
Apply the seven principles for good teaching to an online environment using appropriate D2L
course tools
Choose D2L course tools that can be used to effectively assess and improve student learning
outcomes in an online course
Use Bloom's taxonomy to create learning objectives, assessments, and activities for student
interaction in an online course
Standards
The following ISTE Standards for Teachers will be addressed in this course:

1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and
resources

2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to
promote student learning and creativity
b. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with
content and technology standards, and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching

3. Model digital age work and learning
a. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new
technologies and situations
d. Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate,
and use information resources to support research and learning

4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
b. Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable
access to appropriate digital tools and resources.


Expectations
This online course is designed to be engaging and to foster active learning. If you attempt this course you
will be expected to follow through to completion. In this way, you will capture the entire breadth and depth
of the course material for a much richer learning experience.

The course lessons should take no longer than three hours to complete. The estimated course duration
factors in the time you will take to reflect at the end of each lesson. The entire course including the
assessment should be completed in two weeks. This will give you time to reference the course material
and work the assessment while you tend to other teaching and life obligations.

Please contact the instructor if you have any questions about the course. Access to the instructors
contact information is available from the Support page (scroll to the very top of the page) and also on
every lesson page in this course.


Course Structure
This course contains ten lessons. Each lesson has a section of relevant material along with supporting
media and resources. Featured at the end of each lesson is a reflection question related to the lesson
topic. The reflection question will not need to be submitted to the Instructor, however, it is HIGHLY
recommended that you take a few minutes to think about the question and write your reflections in a
personal journal.

Once all the lessons have been completed, you will be directed to the assessment. Instructions for how to
complete the assessment along with all materials needed to complete it will be available on the
Assessment page.
The Home link will direct you back to the start of the course
The Course Info link will direct you to the course syllabus (you are currently on the Course Info
page)
The Resources link will direct you to a list of references that were used in the creation of this
course (they are also listed below)
The Support link will direct you to the Instructor's contact information in case you have a
question or need assistance with the course

Lesson Outline
Lesson 1 - Instructional Alignment
Lesson 2 - Quality Matters (QM)
Lesson 3 - Bloom's Taxonomy
Lesson 4 - Encouraging contact between students and faculty
Lesson 5 - Developing reciprocity and cooperation among students
Lesson 6 - Encouraging active learning
Lesson 7 - Giving prompt feedback
Lesson 8 - Emphasizing time on task
Lesson 9 - Communicating high expectations
Lesson 10 - Respecting diverse talents and ways of learning

Assessment

At the end of the lessons, you will have to complete the following assessment:
1. Choose a learning objective (or outcomes) from a course you previously taught or will teach soon.
Use the Blooms Taxonomy Interactive Tool embedded below to help you design an activity and
an assessment that could be used to ensure students achieve the objective.
2. Explain how assessment and activity aligns to ensure students achieve desired learning
objective.
3. Choose the D2L Learning Environment tools that you would use to develop the assessment and
activity you designed in number 1.
4. Describe how you would apply each of the seven principles of good teaching to the assessment
and activity.
You may go back to the lessons to review if needed. Use the 'Previous' and 'Next' buttons at the bottom
of each page to select the desired lesson page.

Once you have finished, email your creations to the Instructor. Your email response can be in narrative
form typed in the body of the email or you can submit a typed document (e.g. PDF, Microsoft Word,
Pages for Mac, etc) as an email attachment. Please contact the instructor if you have a question or need
assistance.


System and Software Requirements
You will need Adobe Flash to view some of the lesson materials. Download Adobe Flash
Computer speakers to hear audio
Document creation program (Microsoft Word, Pages for Mac, etc.)

Materials Needed
An actual course syllabus with course objectives.



Accessibility
This course was designed using Weebly, a website creation tool. Every attempt was made to produce
course content that would be accessible across a number of diverse audiences. If you experience any
issues accessing content in this course, please contact the instructor.


Resources
Desire2Learn v10.0 Instructor Guide
Interactive Bloom's Taxonomy, West Virginia University, 2010
Quality Matters Higher Ed Program
Stavredes, T., & Herder, T. (2014). A Guide to Online Course Design: Strategies for Student
Success. San Francisco, CA, USA: Jossey-Bass
Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching, Blooms Taxonomy, http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-
pages/blooms-taxonomy/
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (expanded 2nd ed ed.). Alexandria, VA,
USA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
Wikipedia, Bloom's taxonomy, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom's_taxonomy