Using Guidelines 3.0 to support program and course learning outcome alignment

• Published in: Scholarship of teaching and learning in psychology 2024-09
• Main Authors: Schwegler, Andria F., Shell, Madelynn D., Clark, Daniel A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: College Teachers; Curriculum; Educational Personnel; Educational Programs; Human; Program Evaluation; Scaffolding; School Learning; Undergraduate Psychology Education
• ISSN: 2332-2101; 2332-211X
• DOI: 10.1037/stl0000414

The APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major 3.0 (2023) provides a solid foundation to support program-level discussions of curricular planning and assessment. At an upper level comprehensive regional university, psychology faculty followed a stages-of-change model to form an intradisciplinary team to review program-level learning outcomes (PLOs) and their alignment with Guidelines 3.0, to develop sequenced and scaffolded course-level learning outcomes (CLOs) across the program, and to align CLOs to PLOs. During the precontemplation stage, we worked to develop an informal department-wide culture of faculty collaboration. During contemplation, we gathered current learning outcomes and established the learning outcome alignment committee, who articulated foundational beliefs to guide program revisions including intradisciplinary collaboration, effective curricula informed by research, and nonprescriptive learning outcomes to acknowledge faculty academic freedom. During the determination phase, the committee reviewed previous syllabi, discussed how they aligned with PLOs, and developed CLOs for all program courses. The CLOs were stated broadly enough to provide course instructors the academic freedom to choose the specific content, activities, assignments, and modality for their courses. The committee sought faculty feedback on changes and revised the program assessment plan. Finally, during the action and maintenance stages, the changes were submitted through the university curriculum process and integrated into classes. These revisions facilitated students’ access to equitable opportunities to practice PLOs benchmarked against Guidelines 3.0 and supported the scaffolding of essential skills. Benefits of these revisions are discussed along with step-by-step recommendations to support others who may want to implement them at their own institutions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)