Working with learning outcomes/standards

Learning outcomes are a popular way for schools to gauge student progress within a subject over a period of time. In MySchool these are applied on a subject level and will be used by the course educators. Learning outcomes can be attached to assignments, and used within the continuous assessment strategy to calculate a numerical outcome at the end of the assessment period, or used as evidence to support non-numerical grade scales. 

How do we add the learning outcomes to a subject?

Learning outcomes are applied in subject specifications, they can be created manually or via import. If learning outcomes are shared across subjects then you can use the copy functionality. 

1. Find the subject, either by entering the name in the search field or using the folder icon. 

2. By default the system year is selected. learning outcomes will need to be included in your yearly rollover. Make sure you have the correct target year when using the copy functionality. Copying into the active or historic year groups will remove assessments.

3. There are two icons; The folder is used to group your learning outcomes into subsets. Whereas the second exercise icon allows you to create a learning outcome outside of the folder.

4. Once you have added a folder you can add learning outcomes by selecting the appropriate create button to make sure they are grouped correctly. You can always drag and drop the content after creation. Simply click and hold the left mouse button.

Individual learning outcome

Open the learning outcome creation page, and start to add the information you need. The title will be visible to all users and used within certain grid views. Be careful not to make this too text-heavy, as the report cards may have problems presenting this. If you are copying from an external source then make sure you do not copy formatting when you paste. 

The shortcode is important for the assignment and assess grids. In the grid view, this will appear as a subheader, educators can mouse over the code for the full label. In the list view the full title is shown instead. 

If you wish to restrict certain LOs for a period then add a start and end date. Choose to add them for a term or the whole year by using the preset ranges. If you leave this blank then they will be available for the whole year.

Top Tip: To test the LOs in the assessment grid then make sure you have added them to the assessment tab beforehand. This does not apply to using them in the assignment module, but without this, you will not be able to assess for the report card.

Import

This is only available for learning outcomes. Click on the import icon for the slide-over screen to appear with the options. Import is done on a class level (i.e. for all subjects connected to grade 4 for example) or per subject individually. You would need to break down your LOs into separate excel workbooks.

Top Tip: If you have generic LO's that cover many subjects then create these first in one subject, and easily copy across all other relevant subjects. When using the copy functionality, uncheck the erase from target box or else your existing LO's will be erased following the copy.

Steps to import: 

1. Select the import method and download the appropriate template. 

2. Choose the class level import and a subject column will be added, make sure you use the same spelling as the subjects in the system.

3. Choose the year for the LO's. Be careful if you import to a year that already has data, you may risk losing this.

4. Select the appropriate scale. these can be changed individually after import.

5. Map the import columns to the same fields available in the drop-down menus.

Bulk update

The bulk update option is a great way to apply a scale en masse or to simplify your assessment rollover. You can also export the learning outcomes to Excel. 

Select the outcomes you wish to update by checking the box next to their name in the list view. 

If you open the rollover option, you will have the option to copy ALL learning outcomes across ALL subjects from the current year to a target year. 

NB: When copying assessments in bulk, please be wary of the system year (Current) and the target year value. If you are copying into a year that already has assessments, you will wipe data. Always double-check the target value before committing to the copy.