Characteristics of Good Learning Outcomes [LO]

Discussion topic:

Characteristics of Good Learning Outcomes [LO]

Key points: ( Please cover the following areas)

1. What are Learning Outcomes?

2. Examples of Learning Outcomes

3. Why Develop Learning Outcomes?

4. Tools for Developing Learning Outcomes.

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What are learning outcomes?

Learning  outcomes {LOC} are statements that describe the knowledgeொ or skills students should acquire by the end of a particular assignment, class, course, or program. 

 

LOC help students:

• Understand why that knowledge and those skills will be useful to them.

• Focus on the context and potential applications of knowledge and skills.

• Connect learning in various contexts

• Help guide assessment and evaluation.

Good learning outcomes emphasize the application and integration of knowledge. Instead of focusing on coverage of material, learning outcomes articulate how students will be able to employ the material, both in the context of the class and more broadly.

Consider using approximately five to ten learning outcomes per assignment; this number allows the learning outcomes to cover a variety of knowledge and skills while retaining a focus on essential elements of the course.

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Examples of LOC:

[For reference, Bloom’s Taxonomy of relevant active verbs]

¶ By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify and describe the political, religious, economic, and social uses of art in Italy during the Renaissance

• Identify a range of works of art and artists

• Analyze the role of art and of the artist and analyze the art of the period according to objective methods

• Link different materials and types of art to the attitudes and values of the period

• Evaluate and defend their response to a range of art historical issues

• Provide accurate diagrams of cells and be able to classify cells from microscopic images

• Identify and develop data collection instruments and measures for planning and conducting sociological research

• Identify and classify their spending habits and prepare a personal budget

¶ By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Predict the appearance and motion of visible celestial objects

• Formulate scientific questions about the motion of visible celestial objects

• Plan ways to model and/or simulate an answer to the questions chosen

• Select and integrate information from various sources, including electronic and print resources, community resources, and personally collected data, to answer the questions chosen communicate scientific ideas, procedures, results, and conclusions using appropriate SI units, language, and formats

• Describe, evaluate, and communicate the impact of research and other accomplishments in space technology on our understanding of scientific theories and principles and on other fields of endeavour

¶ Learning outcomes that address content:

• By the end of this course, students will be able to categorize macroeconomic policies according to the economic theories from which they emerge.

• By the end of this unit, students will be able to describe the characteristics of the three main types of geologic faults (dip-slip, transform, and oblique) and explain the different types of motion associated with each.

¶ Learning outcomes that address skills:

• By the end of this course, students will be able to ask questions concerning language usage with confidence and seek effective help from reference sources.

• By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze qualitative and quantitative data, and explain how evidence gathered supports or refutes an initial hypothesis.

¶ Learning outcomes that address values:

• By the end of this course, students will be able to work cooperatively in a small group environment.

• By the end of this course, students will be able to identify their own position on the political spectrum.

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Why Develop Learning Outcomes?

¶ For students:

• By focusing on the application of knowledge and skills learned in a course and on the integration of knowledge and skills with other areas of their lives, students are more connected to their learning and to the material of the course.

• The emphasis on integration and generalizable skills helps students draw connections between courses and other kinds of knowledge, enhancing student engagement.

• Students understand the conditions and goals of their assessment.

¶ For instructors:

• Developing learning outcomes allows for reflection on the course content and its potential applications, focusing on the knowledge and skills that will be most valuable to the student now and in the future.

• Learning outcomes point to useful methods of assessment.

• Learning outcomes allow instructors to set the standards by which the success of the course will be evaluated.

¶ For institutions and administrators:

• When an instructor considers the particular course or unit in the context of future coursework and the curriculum as a whole, it  contributes to the development of a coherent curriculum within a decentralized institution and helps to ensure that students are prepared for future work and learning.

• The application and integration of learning emphasized by learning outcomes reflect and support the contemporary nature and priorities of the university, enhancing student engagement, uncovering opportunities for interdisciplinary, and providing guidance and support for students with many different kinds of previous academic preparation.

• Learning outcomes provide structures from which courses and programs can be evaluated and can assist in program and curricular design, identify gaps or overlap in program offerings, and clarify instructional, programmatic, and institutional priorities.

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Characteristics of Good Learning Outcomes:

Good learning outcomes are very specific, and use active language – and verbs in particular – that make expectations clear and ensure that student and instructor goals in the course are aligned.

Where possible, avoid terms, like understand or demonstrate, that can be interpreted in many ways.

¶ Keep in mind, learning outcomes:

• Should be flexible: While individual outcomes should be specific, instructors should feel comfortable adding, removing, or adjusting learning outcomes over the length of a course if initial outcomes prove to be inadequate

• Are focused on the learner: Rather than explaining what the instructor will do in the course, good learning outcomes describe knowledge or skills that the student will employ, and help the learner understand why that knowledge and those skills are useful and valuable to their personal, professional, and academic future

• Are realistic, not aspirational: All passing students should be able to demonstrate the knowledge or skill described by the learning outcome at the conclusion of the course. In this way, learning outcomes establish standards for the course

• Focus on the application and integration of acquired knowledge and skills: Good learning outcomes reflect and indicate the ways in which the described knowledge and skills may be used by the learner now and in the future

• Indicate useful modes of assessment and the specific elements that will be assessed: Good learning outcomes prepare students for assessment and help them feel engaged in and empowered by the assessment and evaluation process

Offer a timeline for completion of the desired learning.

Each assignment, activity, or course might usefully employ between approximately five and ten learning outcomes; this number allows the learning outcomes to cover a variety of knowledge and skills while retaining a focus on essential elements of the course.

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Learning outcomes should be SMART

• Speak to the learner: Learning outcomes should address what the learner will know or be able to do at the completion of the course

• Measurable: Learning outcomes must indicate how learning will be assessed

• Applicable: Learning outcomes should emphasize ways in which the learner is likely to use the knowledge or skills gained

• Realistic: All learners who complete the activity or course satisfactorily should be able to demonstrate the knowledge or skills addressed in the outcome

• Time-bound: The learning outcome should set a deadline by which the knowledge or skills should be acquired;

• Transparent: Should be easily understood by the learner; and

• Transferable: Should address knowledge and skills that will be used by the learner in a wide variety of contexts

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Tools for Developing Learning Outcomes:

The process of developing learning outcomes offers an opportunity for reflection on what is most necessary to help learners gain this knowledge and these skills. 

You may wish to consider the following questions as you develop this list of key words:

• What are the essential things students must know to be able to succeed in the course?

• What are the essential things students must be able to do to succeed in the course?

• What knowledge or skills do students bring to the course that the course will build on?

• What knowledge or skills will be new to students in the course?

• What other areas of knowledge are connected to the work of the course?

These three areas can be used to identify and describe different aspects of learning that might take place in a course.

• Content can be used to describe the disciplinary information covered in the course. This content might be vital to future work or learning in the area. 

A learning outcome focused on content might read:

By the end of this course, students will be able recall the 5 major points from the topic taught.

• Skills can refer to the disciplinary or generalizable skills that students should be able to employ by the conclusion of the class. 

A learning outcome focused on skills might read:

By the end of this course, students will be able to define the characteristics and limitations of the topic taught.

• Values can describe some desired learning outcomes, the attitudes or beliefs imparted or investigated in a par