Learning Outcomes

Guttman Learning Outcomes (GLOs) encourage students to aim high and provide them with a framework for their entire educational experience, connecting learning inside and outside of the classroom. The GLOs support the college’s mission and represent its core learning values.

From the time they enter Guttman Community College, students will have the opportunity to demonstrate progress in achieving these GLOs in their courses and in co-curricular activities. The GLOs will be addressed across the educational experience from the First-Year Experience to the Programs of Study. They will also be assessed in students’ coursework and co-curricular activities throughout the educational experience, and these assessment findings will be used to continually improve the educational experience for students.

Reports and Overview

GLOs Overview

GLO Rubrics

Written, Oral, and Digital Communication

These skills address your ability to effectively argue and communicate ideas through written, oral, and digital mediums. Expert practitioners of these skills will take into consideration their audience and use appropriate grammatical, organizational, presentation, and stylistic conventions to convey meaning in a persuasive way. They cite relevant information from appropriate sources consistently within each assignment.

Skill	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Effective Communication	Communicates meaning but mostly ineffectively.	Communicates meaning with limited awareness of audience and purpose and with errors related to grammatical, organizational, and/or stylistic conventions.	Communicates meaning by applying grammatical, organizational, and/or stylistic conventions in mostly accurate ways in relation to the purpose and audience of the task.	Communicates clear and specific meanings by accurately applying grammatical, organizational, and/or stylistic conventions appropriate to the purpose and audience of the task.
Argumentation	States a claim in general terms.	States a claim and describes it in specific terms.	States a claim; describes it in specific terms, and provides some evidence to support this claim.	States a claim; describes it in specific terms, and logically organizes substantial evidence to support this claim.
Evaluation and Use of Sources	Makes some limited use of information sources, but the sources are not cited.	Presents and cites information from one or more source(s) that are at least somewhat relevant, but does so inconsistently and inaccurately.	Consistently presents and cites information from one or more mostly relevant sources.	Consistently presents and accurately cites information from multiple relevant sources.

Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving

These skills address your ability to use information, research, and data to effectively identify and solve problems. Expert practitioners of these skills will develop thoughtful hypotheses and detailed plans to research these hypotheses. They will decipher relationships between complex ideas, and propose novel solutions to real-world problems. By real-world problems, we mean problems that arise from actual events or situations in society at large as opposed to problems contrived for a specific classroom setting.

Skill	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Developing a Research Plan	Suggests a research question/hypothesis.	Suggests a research question/hypothesis and an approach to answering it, but the proposed approach lacks detail and consideration.	Suggests a research question/hypothesis and describes in detail an approach to answering it, but does not fully justify why they should use this approach.	Suggests a research question/hypothesis and describes in detail an approach to answering it, including a justification for using this approach.
Analysis of Ideas	Presents ideas, theories, or issues, but provides limited insights about their component parts.	Describes the component parts of ideas, theories, or issues, but provides limited insights about their relationships.	Explains relationships among the component parts of ideas, theories, or issues.	Analyzes ideas, theories, or issues by offering substantial insight about relationships among their component parts.
Real-World Problem-Solving	Identifies a problem that arises from actual events or situations in society at large.	Describes a problem that arises from actual events or situations in society at large and summarizes at least one existing solution.	Describes a problem that arises from actual events or situations in society at large and describes a range of possible solutions.	Describes a problem that arises from actual events or situations in society at large and describes a range of possible solutions; uses research and/or analysis to justify pursuing one solution over others.

Quantitative Reasoning and the Use of Digital Technologies

These skills address your ability to use numbers and technology to analyze and solve problems. Here, the word “problem” does not refer to a source of distress or social tension; it refers to a question with a solution as the word “problem” is often used in STEM disciplines. Expert practitioners of these skills will make effective use of quantitative data (including categorical variables) and quantitative methods to analyze an issue or address a problem. They will use the unique and specific features of current digital technologies such as Excel, PowerPoint, and multimedia web sites to complete tasks effectively.

These skills are not exclusively practiced in STEM courses.

Skill	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Quantitative Data Analysis	Presents a relevant data set, table, chart, or graph.	Describes a data set, table, chart, or graph in an effort to analyze an issue.	Determines trends or relationships using a data set, table, chart, or graph in order to analyze an issue.	Determines trends or relationships using a data set, table, chart, or graph to effectively provide evidence- based arguments about an issue.
Quantitative Problem- Solving	Attempts to use quantitative methods to address problem(s) but employs incorrect methods.	Attempts to use quantitative methods to address problem(s) but employs these methods ineffectively and/or makes significant errors.	Uses appropriate quantitative methods to address problem(s) but makes minor errors.	Uses appropriate quantitative methods to address problem(s) and employs those methods correctly.
Application of Digital Technologies	Attempts to complete a task in which technology is a central component, but uses the technology incorrectly.	Attempts to complete a task in which technology is a central component, but demonstrates a limited understanding of this technology’s capabilities.	Completes a task in which technology is a central component, and effectively utilizes some capabilities of the technology effectively.	Leverages unique and specific capabilities of a technology to effectively complete a task.

Integrative Knowledge

Integrative learning is the process of making connections between ideas and experiences from different contexts in order to leverage knowledge in new and more meaningful ways. This rubric, especially skill D1, is informed by Boix-Mansilla’s¹ notion of “integrative leverage”, which suggests that quality work integrates different disciplines/methodologies “to generate a new and preferred understanding”. Expert practitioners of these skills will integrate knowledge and modes of thinking from multiple disciplines or perspectives. They will situate issues in broader contexts, and relate them to their own lived experiences. In particular, integrative knowledge is not exclusive to curricular experiences; it also applies to co-curricular experiences like student leadership, peer mentoring, tutoring, etc In this rubric, we use the word perspectives to refer to perspectives of specific cultures or stakeholders, as opposed to disciplinary perspectives. We use the word methodologies to refer to the approaches that different fields use to ask or answer questions.

Skill	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Synthesize Methodologies	Attempts to ask and answer questions using the general assumptions and approaches of two or more disciplines / methodologies, but does so ineffectively.	Effectively asks and answers questions using the general assumptions and approaches of two or more disciplines / methodologies, but does not integrate these approaches.	Integrates knowledge and approaches from at least two different disciplines / methodologies in planning and conducting research.	Integrates knowledge and approaches from at least two different disciplines / methodologies in planning and conducting research, and critically compares these different approaches.
Connections to Personal Experience	Identifies connections between one’s own life experiences and/or prior knowledge to academic texts/ideas.	Explains connections between one’s own life experiences and/or prior knowledge to academic texts/ideas using basic examples, facts, or theories.	Explains connections between one’s own life experiences and/or prior knowledge to academic texts/ideas using multiple, rich examples, facts or theories.	Connects examples of one’s own life experiences and/or prior knowledge to academic texts/ideas to illustrate concepts from multiple perspectives.
Contextualize an Issue	Explores an issue at the surface level, providing little insight and/or information beyond the basic facts.	Moves beyond basic facts to demonstrate an awareness of multiple perspectives on an issue.	Provides some historical/social context around an issue to explain how different perspectives relate to one another.	Situates an issue in a broader historical/social context to demonstrate an understanding of the issue from multiple perspectives.

¹Mansilla, Veronica Boix. “Assessing student work at disciplinary crossroads.” Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning 37.1 (2005): 14-21.

Global Learning and Civic Engagement

These skills address your ability to evaluate and engage with global and civic issues in a complex, interdependent world. Expert practitioners of these skills demonstrate an awareness of how a variety of dynamic contexts shape global and/or civic issues. They will explore the social impact of ethical dilemmas, and reflect on the impact their experiences make on the world.

Skill	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Evaluating Global and Civic Contexts	Describes the historical/social contexts of global and/or civic issue(s) in general terms.	Explains the historical/social contexts of a global and/or civic issue(s) in detail.	Examines the historical/social contexts of global and/or civic issue(s), and acknowledges that these contexts are interrelated.	Analyzes how interrelated historical/social contexts contribute to the complexity of global and/or civic issue(s).
Ethical Reasoning and Social Responsibility	States a belief about ethical dilemmas in general terms.	Describes a belief about ethical dilemmas in specific terms, but fails to acknowledge the complexities and/or social impact of this dilemma.	Describes multiple positions about an ethical dilemma in specific terms, acknowledging some complexities and/or the social impact of this dilemma.	Describes multiple positions about an ethical dilemma in specific terms, and analyzes the complexities and social impact of this dilemma.
Global and Civic Engagement	Describes one’s own participation in global and/or civic activities.	Explains how one’s own participation in global and/or civic activities impacts one’s self.	Examines how one’s own participation in global and/or civic activities has influenced one’s perspective on global/civic issues.	Analyzes global/civic issues using insights gained through one’s own participation in global/civic activities.