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Friday SLO Talk – Beyond a Checklist: Rethinking Rubrics to Honor the Process of Learning

In this Friday SLO Talk, Melissa Ko, Rachel Weiher, Courtney Gomas, and Tara Mason from the UC Berkeley Center for Teaching and Learning examine how rubrics can move beyond checklist-style grading to better support meaningful learning. Drawing on their work with the AAC&U VALUE rubrics and campus-wide instructional design initiatives, they explore how assessment practices […]

Friday SLO Talk – Connecting Programmatic Learning Objectives with Practice: Insights from an Analysis of Workforce-Based Assessments

In this Friday SLO Talk, John Moore and Phil Reeves from the National Board of Medical Examiners examine how medical schools assess student performance during real clinical work. Drawing on a multi-institutional study of workplace-based assessments, they analyze millions of evaluation records to explore how clinical competencies are measured in practice. Their findings raise important […]

Friday SLO Talk – Buggy Whips, Rocket Ships, or Total Eclipse?

Rethinking Higher Education in the Age of AIPresented by Dr. J.D. Mosley-Matchett In our first Friday SLO Talk of Spring 2026, Dr. J.D. Mosley-Matchett challenged us to move beyond reactionary thinking about artificial intelligence in higher education. Instead of asking whether AI is “good” or “bad,” she framed the moment through three powerful metaphors: Each […]

Revealing Hidden Time Constraints: How Workload Transparency Strengthens SLO Assessment

by Jarek Janio, Ph.D. Inspired by a recent Friday SLO Talk featuring Dr. Leslie Jennings, Missina Minter, Megan Zara, and Dr. Stacy Greathouse from The University of Texas at Arlington. Imagine registering for a course that looks manageable only to find out halfway through that the reading load is crushing, the assignments are endless, and […]

Designing for Discovery: Credentialing as a Tool for Human Connection

by Jarek Janio, Ph.D. What if credentials weren’t just about certifying completion—but about catalyzing connection? At a recent Friday SLO Talk, Noah Geisel delivered a compelling challenge to how we think about digital credentials, student learning outcomes, and the very role of recognition in education. In his words, badges and micro-credentials are not products—they are […]

Designing with Depth: A Dialogue on AI, Assessment, and Learning Outcomes Beyond Bloom

by Jarek Janio, Ph.D. In higher education, conversations about learning outcomes often orbit one central framework: Bloom’s Taxonomy. It’s ubiquitous in curriculum design, accreditation rubrics, and faculty workshops. But what if Bloom isn’t enough? At a recent Friday SLO Talk, Dr. Gavin Henning encouraged educators to think beyond traditional cognitive frameworks. He introduced alternative taxonomies […]

Humanizing the Online Math Environment to Prompt Demonstrable Skills

by Jarek Janio, Ph.D. In an era of AI tools, auto-graded quizzes, and self-paced asynchronous content, it’s easy to assume that a well-designed course can teach itself. But what Ruth Lane, Program Director of Mathematics at South University, made abundantly clear in her Friday SLO Talk is that students don’t learn from design they learn […]

Micro-Credentials and the Hidden Curriculum: Surfacing the Unsung Skills

by Jarek Janio, Ph.D. Education is full of signals. Transcripts, GPA, course titles, and degrees all tell a story but not always the full story. At a recent Friday SLO Talk, Noah Geisel reminded us that much of what makes a student truly prepared for life and work is never reflected in these conventional signals. […]

Friday SLO Talk – Beyond a Checklist: Rethinking Rubrics to Honor the Process of Learning

In this Friday SLO Talk, Melissa Ko, Rachel Weiher, Courtney Gomas, and Tara Mason from the UC Berkeley Center for Teaching and Learning examine how rubrics can move beyond checklist-style grading to better support meaningful learning. Drawing on their work with the AAC&U VALUE rubrics and campus-wide instructional design initiatives, they explore how assessment practices […]

Friday SLO Talk – Connecting Programmatic Learning Objectives with Practice: Insights from an Analysis of Workforce-Based Assessments

In this Friday SLO Talk, John Moore and Phil Reeves from the National Board of Medical Examiners examine how medical schools assess student performance during real clinical work. Drawing on a multi-institutional study of workplace-based assessments, they analyze millions of evaluation records to explore how clinical competencies are measured in practice. Their findings raise important […]

Friday SLO Talk – Buggy Whips, Rocket Ships, or Total Eclipse?

Rethinking Higher Education in the Age of AIPresented by Dr. J.D. Mosley-Matchett In our first Friday SLO Talk of Spring 2026, Dr. J.D. Mosley-Matchett challenged us to move beyond reactionary thinking about artificial intelligence in higher education. Instead of asking whether AI is “good” or “bad,” she framed the moment through three powerful metaphors: Each […]

Designing for Discovery: Credentialing as a Tool for Human Connection

by Jarek Janio, Ph.D. What if credentials weren’t just about certifying completion—but about catalyzing connection? At a recent Friday SLO Talk, Noah Geisel delivered a compelling challenge to how we think about digital credentials, student learning outcomes, and the very role of recognition in education. In his words, badges and micro-credentials are not products—they are […]

Designing with Depth: A Dialogue on AI, Assessment, and Learning Outcomes Beyond Bloom

by Jarek Janio, Ph.D. In higher education, conversations about learning outcomes often orbit one central framework: Bloom’s Taxonomy. It’s ubiquitous in curriculum design, accreditation rubrics, and faculty workshops. But what if Bloom isn’t enough? At a recent Friday SLO Talk, Dr. Gavin Henning encouraged educators to think beyond traditional cognitive frameworks. He introduced alternative taxonomies […]

Humanizing the Online Math Environment to Prompt Demonstrable Skills

by Jarek Janio, Ph.D. In an era of AI tools, auto-graded quizzes, and self-paced asynchronous content, it’s easy to assume that a well-designed course can teach itself. But what Ruth Lane, Program Director of Mathematics at South University, made abundantly clear in her Friday SLO Talk is that students don’t learn from design they learn […]

Micro-Credentials and the Hidden Curriculum: Surfacing the Unsung Skills

by Jarek Janio, Ph.D. Education is full of signals. Transcripts, GPA, course titles, and degrees all tell a story but not always the full story. At a recent Friday SLO Talk, Noah Geisel reminded us that much of what makes a student truly prepared for life and work is never reflected in these conventional signals. […]