Consultation Services
At present, our consultation services include the following:
1. Faculty Work Sessions on Outcomes and Assessment
Work sessions for faculty in-service days to reduce the confusion around outcomes and assessment, and begin to prepare the culture for the transition to outcomes-based learning and assessment. The work sessions are not presentations. No matter the size of the group, faculty are engaged in active learning experiences.
2. Conversations with Deans and Directors
Conversation with instructional leaders; exploration of change strategies that engage faculty across the institution.
3. Facilitator Development
The development of a team of faculty leaders and curriculum facilitators—building the college capacity for internal change.
4. Tool Demonstrations
Demonstration of the three tools for change: Mapping Outcomes; Mapping Content and Assessment Tasks; and Mapping Programs.
5. E-Review and Feedback
Reviewing outcome statements and curriculum planning documents; assistance in all aspects of the change effort.
6. Online Curriculum Transition and Leadership
Application of the principles, practices and strategies outlined in the Primer Series to facilitate transition from traditional teaching practices to a dynamic online presence, establishing faculty as leaders in outcomes development, assessment systems, and implementation and use of digital learning environments.
Background
The OUTCOMES Primer originated out of work with community colleges in the Northwest and western Canada in the early 1990s. Institutions like Portland Community College in Portland, Oregon were looking for effective strategies to move the whole college toward the identification of learning outcomes and effective assessment strategies. We certainly didn't have all the answers. But our role as staff developers was to help them build the capacity with their own staff to initiate and sustain a curriculum change process that would make a difference for students. At first we didn't know what would work, but through much dialogue, broad participation and rigorous documentation, the processes outlined in The OUTCOMES Primer emerged.
With the publication of The Primer Series, our work with colleges has expanded to all parts of the country. But the Primers are not a template. Believing that nothing really transfers, that every faculty must discover what is truly new and unique to their curriculum, the work is quite different on every campus. Some faculty begin the process by working on institutional outcomes and assessment. Others want to talk about whether or not "outcomes" are just another fad. More colleges find it best to work exclusively on individual program outcomes and assessment for their initial exposure. On still other campuses, the faculty want to begin by redesigning one or two courses—just to see what difference it might make—before investing too heavily in the concept. And sometimes, things are further complicated by the ubiquitous evolution of the non-traditional and digital world, requiring a more comprehensive approach to creating effective learning strategies.
Our work as facilitators is to listen carefully enough to hear what the faculty are saying, and to find a place where the work can begin. Where the work has been most successful, we find it crucial to listen some more, move the process along a little further and help sustain commitment. While the Primers and we can help, the process of defining learning outcomes and appropriate assessment strategies must be owned by the faculty. There is no other way real curriculum change can happen.
