Developing Learning Outcomes

1. Developing Learning Outcomes Jason Adsit, Ph.D. – Director, Teaching & Learning Ctr.

2. Background & Overview • Goals, Objectives, and Outcomes: What’s the difference? • What is a learning outcome? • Why are learning outcomes important? • What are the core elements of a learning outcome?

3. Workshop Outcomes

4. What is a Learning Outcome? Clarifying the muddle of terms…

5. What is a learning outcome? • Goals • Objectives • Performance Criteria • Benchmarks • “Measurables” • Etc., etc.

6. What is a learning outcome? • Goals • Outcomes • Objectives

7. What is a learning outcome? Specific General Outcome Goal Objective Objective

8. What is a learning outcome? Goal Outcome • A statement of the intended general aims of an instructional unit, course, or program • Global, general • Not necessarily measureable • A statement that describes what the learner is expected to know and be able to do as a result of instruction • Specific, targeted • Measurable

9. What is a learning outcome? • Objectives vs. Outcomes vs. Goals • If I had my druthers…Learning objective = • Outcome • Learning outcome • Student learning outcome

10. What is a learning outcome? • Clarifying the terminology: University School Program/Major Course Unit/Lesson

11. The Importance of Learning Outcomes

12. Why are learning outcomes important? • Help foster curricular coherence by connecting classroom activities and assessment • Guide instructional planning – content, delivery, and activities/assignments • Guide the learner – set priorities and performance expectations • Guide evaluation – establish a framework (and set of benchmarks) for assessing learning

13. Learning Outcomes: A Definition

14. Core elements of a learning outcome • Learning outcome: A statement (in specific and measureable terms) that describes what the learner will know and be able to do as a result of engaging in a learning activity

15. Core elements of a learning outcome • Learning outcome: A statement (in specific and measureable terms) that describes what the learner will know and be able to do as a result of engaging in a learning activity

16. Goals vs. Objectives Goal Outcome • At the end of the workshop, participants will understand the role and importance of learning objectives • Given a list of ten (10) statements, participants will be able to identify how each statement corresponds to Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive behavior. Participants who correctly identify seven (7) or more statements will demonstrate mastery of the topic

17. Core elements of a learning outcome • Learning outcome: A statement …

18. Core elements of a learning outcome • Learning outcome: A statement (in specific and measureable terms) … • Measurable vs. Non-Measurable Terms

19. Core elements of a learning outcome • Learning outcome: A statement (in specific and measureable terms) that describes what the learner will know and be able to do … • Come to think of it, what is it that we want the learner to know and be able to do?

20. Classifying Outcomes • Learning outcome domains • “Knowledge, skills, and dispositions” • Bloom (1956) – Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (“Bloom’s Taxonomy”) • Cognitive Domain – intellectual thinking or skills • Psychomotor Domain – physical skills or the performance of actions • Affective Domain – attitudes and values

21. Cognitive Domain (Bloom)

22. Cognitive Domain (Bloom)

23. Core elements of learning outcomes • Example: At the end of this statistics lesson, students will know about the concepts of mean, median, and mode • How would you turn this into a learning outcome? • What changes might you make to the outcome to assess higher levels of learning (from Bloom’s taxonomy)?

24. Core elements of learning outcomes • Example: At the end of this class, students will understand and appreciate the role of the pharmacist in the community • How would you turn this into a learning outcome? • What changes might you make to the outcome to assess higher levels of learning (from Bloom’s taxonomy)?

25. Core elements of learning outcomes • Example: At the end of this unit, students will know about the causes of poverty in Africa • How would you turn this into a learning outcome? • What changes might you make to the outcome to assess higher levels of learning (from Bloom’s taxonomy)?

26. Core elements of learning outcomes • Learning outcome: A statement (in specific and measureable terms) that describes what the learner will know and be able to do as a result of engaging in a learning activity

27. Learning Activities • Reverse-engineering your instruction: • Identify the learning outcomes • Identify the appropriate learning activities – and tailor them to the outcomes • Identify the appropriate assessments of student learning