Long-term behaviors become the starting place for designing a course. In order to more fully understand the impact a course has on a person, you want to study their behavior a few years in the future. The description of the new student behaviors the course aims to develop is the target zone in which the course will be designed. This module will define long-term behaviors, their role within the instructional design process, and how important it is to write quality descriptions. Finally, a methodology is presented on how to write them and the criteria that determines their quality.

Definition

A behavior is defined as an ability, skill, or attitude that is demonstrable in various contexts and which is evident because the person has a desire to exhibit the ability, skill, or attitude when the situation calls for it. A course or program that produces learning but does not produce a change in long-term behaviors does not produce substantial growth for the learner. Realize that growth occurs only when a person has both the desire and the ability to change. It is therefore critical to distinguish between actually building the ability to perform a long-term behavior and simply building the desire to do so. Long-term behaviors focus on the qualities faculty want students to exhibit habitually, are foundational to the curriculum, and relate to key aspects of performance that are valuable and meaningful for the learner, the profession, the institution, and society.

Needs

It is important to think about long-term behaviors because doing so forces one to think beyond the current educational activity and learning experience. Instead, the current learning experience is seen as part of the students’ ongoing intellectual development and performance growth. Although long-term behaviors are difficult to determine and describe, there is a consistent set of behaviors that professionals in any given discipline possess (Schön, 1990). The development of these behaviors is truly the basis of instructional design and implementation of a course because students have difficulty in routinely exhibiting these behaviors (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). Profiles of professionals in a given area demonstrate the importance of long-term behaviors in the learning and growth processes (2.4.3 Development and Use of an Expert Profile). Such profiles can also inform and motivate students about the usefulness of long-term behaviors.

Long-term behaviors give substance to the courses in a program by motivating both students and faculty to build learner performances that align with the disciplinary profile. These behaviors inform curriculum developers as they structure lessons in a course so that students can more easily understand why each activity is required and the effect the activity will have on their entry into a given profession. This continual focus on their life goals will motivate students at each point in their course work.

Long-term behaviors also give teachers and students guidance for the formative assessments that take place throughout the course and program. Measuring the development of these behaviors through performance assessments will provide the instructor and students with needed feedback so that mid-course corrections can be made. These behaviors also guide to the structuring of measurable student learning outcomes since they focus on the residual skills and learning that should exist long after a student has left the course, or even the program of which it is a part.

Measurable learning outcomes link learning objectives with long-term behaviors (2.4.5 Learning Outcomes). These learning outcomes should be measured regularly during the course as well as at the end of the course. This makes it easier to determine if the long-term behaviors are being developed; the goal is for as many students as possible to realize the long-term behaviors. Therefore, the design of the measurable learning outcomes is critical since they help to ensure and document that long-term behaviors have been developed.

Table 1 Methodology for Developing Long-Term Behaviors

Picture students in situations in which they will be expected to perform well.
From these contexts, target those attributes that students should exhibit in relevant situations.
Reflect on current student deficiencies that might be revealed in these contexts.
Prioritize these targeted attributes.
Visualize these targeted attributes in the contexts in which you have visualized them.
Develop the draft versions of the behaviors.
Establish the levels of performance for the behaviors.
Review with colleagues and professionals to assure that the behaviors chosen are ones that are valued, and that the quality levels are appropriate.

Methodology for Developing Long-Term Behaviors (Table 1)

The process of designing curriculum for a program starts with a consideration of the behaviors needed by students graduating from the program, and which they should exhibit throughout their lifetimes (2.4.6 Methodology for Program Design). The description of these long-term behaviors will be the program’s signature, reflecting the qualities students most need to attain by completing your program. The long-term behaviors for a program’s graduates should highly correlate to the behaviors exhibited by a professional in the discipline, including appropriate working knowledge, performance skills, and attitudes. Ultimately, the description of long-term behaviors you determine should positively impact the impression others have regarding your program. A course will develop selected program long-term behaviors. What follows is a method for developing long-term behaviors that meet these criteria for a course or program.

As you move through the steps of the methodology for an elementary statistics course, consider the following questions:

What qualities might the students demonstrate? Visualize your students when they are in their senior year taking internships in various programs, e.g., asking analytical questions, collecting and testing the quality of data, questioning others’ analyses, using appropriate techniques, and conferring with a statistician.
What kinds of tasks might be asked of an intern in programs that require an elementary statistics course? In such situations, a student should thoroughly validate data set quality, the method of collection, sources, and appropriateness. Once the data is validated, the student should analyze the statistical process including data manipulation, analysis, and presentation.
What data collection problems are the students likely to encounter? What resources should the students seek? How can the students clarify the task? What statistical tools are available and understandable to the supervisor?
What are the most important aspects of these tasks? What are the most important and most difficult parts of the activity?
What might an intern’s presentation of the results look like? The student carefully describes the setting for the data collection and clearly states the rationale for the data collection process. The student then describes the statistical methods used and their rationale. Finally, the student states the results of the analysis, the conclusions, and, if appropriate, offers suggestions for further work.
What would a draft version of the three to five long-term behaviors look like? For each behavior include an indication of its value to improve its quality and assist in establishing measures for the behaviors.
Are the three to five long-term behaviors clear and are the levels of performance appropriate to assure quality?
What should be the composition of the review panel? To assure that the behaviors are appropriate, the panel would include, at minimum, colleagues at your institution and professionals in your discipline.

Ideas for Implementation

A major task in developing these long-term behaviors is getting the buy-in of the faculty in the discipline or program. The use of long-term behaviors can be a powerful element of a program and can guide program assessment and evaluation. However, it goes well beyond the standard course development activities that faculty are accustomed to. Effort must be devoted to convincing the faculty that these are important and in persuading them to create long-term behaviors.

An effective way to allow faculty to see the benefits of the work of developing and refining long-term behaviors is to talk with working professionals. It can also be effective to look at job descriptions and announcements, standards for the profession, and actual projects done by professionals in the field. It can also help to review government policies for the profession and court cases involving the profession. Another way to gain further insight into the long-term behaviors that are expected of the profession is to discuss the profession with clients who use or rely on the profession.

Concluding Thoughts

Long-term behavior is the cornerstone of curriculum development. If behavior changes as a result of a program or course, then the student’s ability to work as a professional in the field is improved, giving the student a lasting foundation for further personal and professional development.

References

Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Schön, D. A. (1990). Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.