Step 9: Implement Changes

After submitting your PLO report (Step 9), your next task will be to implement the changes that you outlined in your report. Remember that the primary purpose of PLO assessment is to use your findings to improve student learning.

Improvements can occur at multiple levels, including:

1. Instruction (e.g., redesigning assignments, adopting new pedagogies, redesigning TA-taught
   sessions or TA training)

2. Curriculum (e.g., adding an intermediate level course, re-sequencing program curriculum,
   adjusting pre-requisite courses)

3. Co-curricular support for student learning (e.g., tutoring, library instruction)

4. Communicating expectations to students (e.g., including rubrics as a teaching tool,explaining how a course and/or a specific assignment helps students develop PLOs in thecourse syllabi)

We implemented our proposed changes and think there will be improvements! Now what?

First, give yourselves a pat on the back for completing the PLO study! We hope that you found assessment interesting, useful, and generative—we at the Assessment Team genuinely believe that assessment, when employed well, can be a crucial mechanism for improving student learning and advancing equity.

Want to see the impact of your changes? It’s time to revisit--and possibly refine--your PLO assessment plan (Step 3), then move forward with assessing your next PLO assessment project.