Learning outcomes for online classes need to be focused on skills that students can demonstrate in the online environment. While this lends itself to more writing assignments, I believe that most competencies that can be demonstrated in the on-site classroom have an online analogue. Developing actionable learning outcomes is important for all teaching because of the importance of backwards design in how classes are created. My learning outcomes for the online classroom focus on the big picture of what I want students to know and be able to do once they have completed my course. I hope that my students will grow from their time in my classroom, and that they gain the specific skills and competencies that I outline at the beginning of the class.
Furthermore, my learning outcomes for the entire class focus on higher order cognition. I hope to foster critical thinking in my students by engaging them in tasks like evaluating and judging material as well as creating their own content.
Sample Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to evaluate how well a particular biological model fits a given data set.
Students will be able to present scientific findings in the written form.