Increasingly, SLOs are a part of the reaccreditation process for colleges and universities in the United States ( Pritts and Park, 2013 ). Students are expected to master a minimum amount of learning based on instruction with measurable outcomes
, and provides evidence of improvement based on analysis of the results in each of the following areas,” the first of which is 3.3.1.1 “educational programs, to include student learning outcomes.” There is also a danger in imposing a model of assessment
Learning outcomes are an expected component of most academic majors at U.S. universities [ Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), 2009 ; U.S. Department of Education, 2006 ]. Students are expected to learn as a result of
needs to establish an assessment plan. This plan defines the program mission and goals as well as program student learning outcomes and how these outcomes are addressed in individual courses. In addition, the plan identifies the assessment techniques
to complete three credits of International Perspectives, in which the learning outcomes include furthering students’ understanding of cultural diversity and interdependence on a global scale. Immersion in a foreign culture is often an effective way of
throughout the fall and spring semesters. As I learned more about assessment of student learning and student learning outcomes, I decided to use student learning outcomes (SLOs) as the framework for the design of HORT 201. Student learning outcomes state what
provide examples of student learning that took place as an outcome of the 10-week-long summer program in 2018 and highlight successes and challenges experienced by youth. Growing north Minneapolis Founded in 2017, the GNM partnership emerged from a
The term Ethnobotany describes the study of people's relationships to plants as foods, fibers, medicines, dyes, and tools throughout the ages. Using the student active technique of experiential learning, undergraduate students enrolled in landscape design and implementation classes at Clemson University planned and installed an Ethnobotany garden in partnership with the South Carolina Botanical Garden (SCBG) staff, volunteers, and Sprouting Wings children. Sprouting Wings is an after-school gardening and nature exploration program for under-served elementary school students. College students and faculty working on this service-learning project contributed over 1,000 hours to their community while learning more about both the art and the science of landscape design and implementation. Students enrolled in the landscape Implementation class were surveyed to evaluate their perceptions on a variety of possible learning outcomes for this class. Students indicated that their service learning experience with the Ethnobotany project allowed them to acquire and practice new skills, broadened their understanding of the surrounding community, increased their ability to work in real world situations, introduced new career possibilities, gave students a better understanding of their course work, increased their ability to work on a team, increased their knowledge of environmental sustainability, and allowed them to discover or develop leadership capabilities. In a survey question regarding preference for service learning rather than traditional classes, the majority of students prefer the service learning pedagogy. In addition, most students reported a high degree of initiative for this project in their reflections.
Enabling citizens to have meaningful participation in public discussions of issues interfacing science/technology and society (STS) has long been a goal of science education. Involving students in investigating issues may be the most effective way of insuring continued involvement as adults. Global, national, and local horticultural issues can provide concepts for learning relevant science concepts, process skills, and other outcomes. Selecting and designing investigations of horticulture issues include input from both students and teacher. Questions that get at scientific concepts, technological implications, and societal concerns related to the issue give direction and scope to the study. The questions and responses can be student initiated with teacher guidance. Students gain experience in examining and discussing societal issues, recognizing interdependence of STS, and learning relevant science as well. As a result, students perceive horticulture as having relevance to their concerns rather than as an isolated discipline,
ePortfolios are gaining popularity in academic communities worldwide. Purposes of ePortfolios include: converting student work from paper to digital format, thereby allowing it to be centrally organized, searchable, and transportable throughout their academic lives and careers; promoting student centered learning and reflection; improving advising; and career planning and resume building. Pennsylvania State University is investing in the use of ePortfolios in course work throughout the university system. To facilitate these efforts, the university provides all students and faculty with 500 MB of hosted web space to create and share their portfolios. One of the courses using ePortfolios is Horticulture 120, Computer Applications for Landscape Contracting, in the Landscape Contracting program. Outcomes of implementing ePortfolios include increased availability of student work to potential employers, enhanced recruiting through displays of student work, and enabled reflection on completed work. Students showed improved quality in project work because their projects would be publicly available through the Internet to potential employers, faculty, family, and other students.