Reading the Standards and Proficiencies reading for tomorrow, I was struck by the standardized ‘Principles and Performance Indicators’. These indicators, particularly the ‘Institutional Effectiveness’ indicators, strike me as vaguely similar to the sort of outcomes I might present to a class before we begin our session. They are goals which we ideally are striving to meet. Such goals or objectives are important. They keep us on task and pointed in the proper direction. They guide us.
At an institutional level, Standards and Proficiencies are also durable. Employees may come and go, but standards last and help keep organizations consistent. As an information services department, it is also important to show department progress and effectiveness. One important way to do that is by having defined Standards and Proficiencies to measure your department against. Are we achieving these standards? What areas do we need to improve upon?
In a classroom, creating objectives that reflect your broader standards and proficiencies supports your departmental and institutional objectives. They also help you measure your success as an instructor. Using assessment tools, we can measure our success in implementing class objectives.