Animal Science Studentsâ₀™ Perception of Learning and the Link to Student Learning Outcomes in an Introductory Course

Introductory Animal Science courses often contain purposefully constructed student learning outcomes based on the material that is presented during the semester. Traditional assessment methods in the form of assignments and exams provide feedback to the student and instructor as to whether those student learning outcomes are being met. Anecdotally, students fail to acknowledge the link between assessment tools and the learning outcomes of the course. Students often ignore learning outcomes of a course and focus solely on content and assessment success. Other than assessment scores, instructors lack the means to determine whether or not the student learning outcomes are being met. To begin evaluating the efficacy of animal science students’ perception of achieving the learning outcomes of a course, students (n = 683) enrolled in an introduction to animal science course were given the option to complete a survey. Students were evaluated through pre- and post-course assessments to determine what their perceived level of achievement of student learning outcomes was, based on a scale where 1 = not at all and 10 = expert level. Each of the 9 statements were linked to one of three student learning outcomes, based on acquisition of knowledge, comprehension and application. Each learning outcome was linked to each of the three themes of the course: industry, products, and animal biology. Results indicate that students significantly increased (P < 0.05) their perceived ability to meet all student learning outcomes from the beginning of the course (3.46 ± 0.18) compared to the end of the course (8.83 ± 1.34). The animal science students’ perception of learning should be considered when designing the content of a course and can provide a means to assess whether or not student learning outcomes have been met.