Analyzer shows how and where chosen outcomes are addressed in a course or multiple courses. It compiles, organizes, and illustrates where particular learning outcomes are addressed and assessed in curriculum. Use it to create matrices showing exactly where selected outcomes are addressed in a single course, across multiple courses, and how they are linked to assessment tasks. Analyzer also helps you check the quality of a course to see if learner-focused principles are applied.
For example, you can build a matrix like the one below to show where selected outcomes are addressed in courses.
Why use it?
Analyzer helps lay the foundation for accountability by providing the groundwork for documenting learning results. It ensures continual improvement of the teaching and learning process, as you are able to quickly assess the quality and completeness of curriculum designed in WIDS.
Below are typical real-life learning design challenges, where Analyzer fits as a solution:
- Only two of your organization’s core abilities are being addressed effectively and you need to take steps to ensure they are integrated into more courses.
- Your faculty argue about whether or not students need an additional writing course requirement for a particular program. Some say writing skills are integrated already. Your Learning Outcome Matrix indicates that the General Education outcome related to writing is only addressed in one of the courses in the program.
- Local employers complain that your graduates are missing some critical skills. When analyzing a matrix of where DACUM tasks are being addressed, you find that several are not adequately addressed in the course curriculum. You need to take steps to ensure they are addressed more thoroughly.
- You are trying to monitor the completion and quality of finished curriculum and want to document the application of performance-based, learner-focused principles. After reviewing the Course Analysis, you determine that not all courses use performance-based assessments and many learning activities are teacher-centered.
- You need to provide assessment documentation for accreditation that shows where learning outcomes are being assessed throughout the curriculum. The General Education outcome that requires learners to plan and deliver an oral presentation is not being assessed adequately in a program, or in a set of General Education courses. The Assessment Task Matrix illustrates where assessment of this outcome is missing.
What can it do?
Analyzer takes existing WIDS files and runs reports to show how learning outcomes and assessment are connected.
To see the full variety of reports generated from Analyzer, download the Sample Analyzer Reports.
Next steps:
Watch the short video clip about Analyzer. A great introduction!
View the Sample Reports and read how each report can be used.