Outcomes Writing & Revision
How many outcomes should we have?
This depends on each course and program, but a general rule of thumb is:
5 to 7 course-level outcomes
3 to 6 program-/discipline-level outcomes
How should outcomes be written?
The guidelines below will help you write effective learning outcomes. After writing your first draft, use Lane's Good Outcomes Lens and Bloom's Verb chart to help guide your use of language (both linked below right).
Some guidelines to outcomes writing:
Begin all sets of outcomes with "Upon successful completion of this (course, program, etc.), the student will be able to"
Use active and observable verbs to describe the actions students will be able to perform as a result of their learning; do not include behavioral expectations
Try to avoid leading with less observable/specific language such as: demonstrate, understand, show awareness, think about, consider, gain/develop an understanding of, appreciate, etc. What can a student actually do to show they understand or appreciate the content?
Successful completion of an exam or certification/licensure is NOT a learning outcome; if it is important for your students to pass a test like this, consider structuring the outcomes around the important skills and knowledge measured by the test.
Basic template:
Upon successful completion of this _______ (lesson, course, program, etc.), the student will be able to _________ (active verb + description of skill or knowledge)
Example:
Upon successful completion of this tutorial, faculty will be able to:
Determine meaningful and attainable program and course learning outcomes
Apply action-focused language in the creation or revision of learning outcomes in order to communicate clearly with students about expectations
Define the role of learning outcomes in developing tools for assessment in order to ensure alignment
The Good Outcomes LensBloom's Taxonomy CompilationGuiding Questions and Best Practices for Outcomes WritingGuiding Questions and Best Practices for Outcomes Writing
How specific should outcomes be?
Each outcome should be only 1sentence, and the level of specificity/generality should correspond to the level of outcome. In other words, generally the broadest outcomes are institution-level (CLOs), followed by program-level, and then course-level. Lesson objectives are the most specific type of learning goal, and they naturally contain the highest concentration of content-specific language.
See the example below depicting the same types of outcomes at each level from Lane's Music program.
Note that while the outcomes all have the same or similar intent, the degree of specificity is appropriate to the level of outcome. The levels of outcome can be considered like this:
any student completing general education requirements at Lane should be expected to learn how to engage diverse values with civic and ethical awareness (Institutional Learning Outcome);
no matter what Music courses they take, they should be aware of the necessary components of group collaboration (Program Outcome);
no matter who teaches their MUS 294 class or when they take it, they should develop the ability to collaborate with others in jazz rehearsal and performance (Course Outcome); and
any student engaged in the unit on Thad Jones's song Low-down should be able to recognize the relationship between their own and others' parts in the performance of that piece (Lesson Objective).