Course Description

Outcomes-based planning and evaluation (OBPE) has emerged as a best practice in museum and library services. Since 1998, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has offered a two-day, face-to-face OBPE workshop. A cooperative project between IMLS and Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Shaping Outcomes provides a new convenient alternative to this workshop -- an online, instructor-mediated course on OBPE for library and museum personnel as well as students in the museum and library fields.

The course content builds upon the in-person workshop offered by IMLS for the past seven years. Both the workshop and the new instructor-mediated course were designed to train museum and library staff to create exhibits and programs based on specific, named goals or outcomes, and then to measure a program's success based on the accomplishment of its stated goals.

The online course is structured in five modules: Overview, Plan, Build, Evaluate, and Report. Each module introduces key OBPE concepts and vocabulary and invites students to check and apply their understanding of the material in interactive features at the end of each module ("Check Your Understanding" and "Apply Your Understanding"). In addition to the self-guided modules, the instructor for the course administers learning assessment tools and coaches students in case study-based assignments.

A team of faculty from the IU School of Library Sciences, Indianapolis and the IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI developed, tested, and honed the course over a three year period. Professional contributions also included feedback from a Steering Committee of national experts, instructional designers from the IUPUI Center for Teaching and Learning, and an evaluation team from the IUPUI Testing Center.

Those interested in learning more or possibly participating in the course offerings should consult the project web site shapingoutcomes.org for further details or contact outcomes@iupui.edu.