characteristics of good learning outcomes essay

An introduction to writing effective learning outcomes

How to plan your teaching and prioritise what students need to learn.

Learning outcomes describe what students should be able to do by the end of a teaching session or course. They are related to, but different from, teaching aims, which instead describe broadly what the session or course is about and its overall purpose.

Writing learning outcomes can help you to plan your teaching, for example, by prioritising key learning points for the session or course and enabling you to plan your teaching across a session or course. You may also want to share learning outcomes with your students to help them to understand what they are meant to be learning.

Core principles of learning outcomes

Learning outcomes should:

• Avoid jargon.
• Use action verbs to describe what it is that students should be able to do during and/or at the end of a session or course. One way to ensure this is by completing the sentence: ‘By the end of the session students will be able to …’ (see the ‘Learning outcome verbs’ table later in this guide).
• Not be too numerous. This helps to avoid writing a list of ‘content to be covered’ and will also help you prioritise what students need to do.
• Be specific.

Examples of learning outcomes

All learning outcomes should include an action verb to describe what students should be able to do at the end of the session or course to demonstrate their learning. Two examples are provided below:

‘Describe qualitatively the relationships between risk factors and acute respiratory infections using data from published sources.’

‘Analyse the use of language and symbolism in Middle English poetry by close reading extracts of verse.’

Learning outcome verbs

This table lists some examples of action verbs which you may find helpful when writing learning outcomes for your session or course:

When writing learning outcomes, avoid using words that are vague and which are more difficult to assess. This includes words and phrases such as:

• learn the basics of
• be aware of
• have a good grasp of
• be interested in
• be familiar with
• realise the significance
• become acquainted with
• obtain a working knowledge of
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Information Literacy Toolkit: Resource for Teaching Faculty

• Learning Outcomes

Writing Learning Outcomes

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• Objectives vs Outcomes
• Checklist for Outcomes

Structure of a Learning Outcome Statement:

• An  action  word that identifies the performance to be demonstrated
• A l earning statement  that specifies what learning will be demonstrated in the performance
• A broad statement of the  criterion  or standard for acceptable performance 

Characteristics of Good Learning Outcomes:

• Specify the level, criterion, or standard for the knowledge, skill, ability, or disposition that the learner must demonstrate
• Include conditions under which they should be able to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, abilities, or dispositions
• Contain active verbs using  Bloom's taxonomy
• Be measurable / assessable 
• Example of a poorly written outcome: At the end of the session, students will create a search strategy using Boolean operators and write a correctly formatted MLA citation for a scholarly article. 

"Learning objectives" and "learning outcomes" are often used interchangeably in the literature. In general, "objectives" are intended results or consequences of instruction, curricula, programs, or activities, while "outcomes" are achieved results or consequences of what was learned, i.e. evidence that learning took place. Objectives are often focused on teaching intentions and typically indicate the subject content that the teacher intends to cover. Learning outcomes, on the other hand, are more student-centered and describe the actions the learner should be able to take as a result of a learning experience. 

Learning Objective:  This workshop will cover background and method for writing learning objectives.

Learning Outcome:  At the end of this session, participants will be able to construct a learning outcome for an undergraduate course

• Are the outcomes written using action verbs to specify definite, observable behavior? OR Do they use vague or unclear language, such as "understand" or "comprehend"?
• Is it possible to collect accurate and measurable data for each outcome?
• Is it possible to use a single method to measure each outcome? 

Achievable/Actionable 

• Do the outcomes clearly describe and define the expected abilities, knowledge, and values of learners?
• Are the outcomes aligned with the mission, vision, values, and goals of the institution? program? course?
• Can the outcome be used to identify areas for improvement?
• Are learners at the center of the outcome, or does it focus on the teacher's behaviors?
• Is the language used to describe an outcome, not a process?

Timely/Timebound

• Can the outcome be assessed within the duration of the learning experience (course session, assignment, course, degree program, etc.)?
• How to Write Objectives and Outcomes Basics of writing learning outcomes. Includes information on how to clarify an "unclear outcome."
• Learning Outcomes: University of Connecticut Excerpt from "Assessment Primer: Goals, Objectives, and Outcomes." Quick overview of the basics of learning outcomes with a focus on course-level outcomes.
• Northern Illinois University Instructional Toolkit This guide is a brief compilation of teaching-related information from several sources, including instructional guidebooks from other institutions, journals, and contributions from master teachers and academic support units at Northern Illinois University. The guide is meant to be a quick reference and not a comprehensive source on teaching-related information.

3 Methods for Writing Learning Outcomes

• Bloom's Taxonomy
• ABCD Method
• Backwards Design

Bloom's Taxonomy forms the base of any learning outcome statement. The action verbs used in the taxonomy are measurable and discrete. Aim for learning outcomes that include skills that span across the pyramid. Although it is easy to focus on the foundations of "remember" and "understand," try to include at least one outcome that strives for "evaluation" or "creation." 

Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching (2015).  Bloom's Taxonomy .

• Teaching Guide for Bloom's Taxonomy: Vanderbilt University Overview of the original (1956) taxonomy and revised (2001) version.
• Bloom's Taxonomy Action Verbs Cheat Sheet One page handout including list of verbs for each level of the taxonomy.

Learning Outcome Statements can be written using the ABCD (audience, behavior, condition, and degree) method.  While the method is often directed at learning objectives, it can also be used to write learning outcomes. 

• A(udience) Who is the target audience? (e.g., " ENGL397 students will be able to..." )
• Should be both observable and measurable behaviors
• Should refer to action verbs that describe behaviors 
• C( ondition ) What are the conditions/constraints in which the learners will be expected to perform these tasks? (e.g., "At the end of the session" )
• D( egree ) How will the behavior need to be performed (e.g., " between primary and secondary sources ")

Learning Outcome: "At the end of the session, ENGL397 students will be able to distinguish between primary and secondary sources"

• ABCD Method: Maryland Faculty Online Three page overview of the ABCD method including specific examples.

Backwards Design is a method of instructional design which asks users to begin with the "end" - desired results, goals, or standards - and then build a curriculum from the "evidence of learning (performances) called for by the standard and the teaching needed to equip students to perform" (Wiggins and McTighe). In short, it calls on teachers to identify learning outcomes as a first step and then build a lesson plan that works in service toward those goals. This process has three stages:

• Identify desired results:  establish curricular priorities by separating desired outcomes into three categories: (1) "Enduring Understanding,"  things you want learners to remember after they have forgotten everything else about the course, or concepts that have to be grasped before other knowledge can be gained (2) "Important to Know and Do," skills, methods, principles, and concepts without which learning would be incomplete (3) "Worth Being Familiar With, " things that can be covered if there is time, or may be covered adequately through supplementary material, such as tutorials or readings.
• Determine acceptable evidence : think about the evidence needed to document and validate that the desired learning outcomes have been achieved. Evidence should be collected over time and does not have to be entirely focused on an end of workshop activity. For example, if one of your goals is for students to learn how to problem-solve, give them an assessment that requires a demonstration of problem-solving skills (Vanderbilt University, Center for Teaching). 
• Plan learning experience and instruction:  once you have identified outcomes and assessment measures, decide how you will teach the concepts. Focus instruction around the "enduring understanding" concepts and "important to know and do." Only include the "worth being introduced to" when the other two categories are completely satisfied.
• Understanding by Design: Vanderbilt University Short and sweet overview of Understanding by Design by Wiggins and Tighe.
• Backward Design for Hybrid Instruction This interactive guide walks faculty through the 9 steps of Backward Design. It is oriented toward hybrid courses, but can be useful for any instructional designer.

Program & Institutional Learning Outcomes

• Nesting Learning Outcomes
• UMD Outcomes

Learning outcomes should build on one another. The learning outcomes you set for a particular session should contribute to the development of the course or unit outcomes, which build toward macro-level program and university-wide learning outcomes. Each of these learning outcomes should work in concert with one another, building towards the same set of goals, although individual outcomes will vary in specificity. 

Not every lesson, course, or unit outcome will address every program or institutional outcome. However, to build consensus among student learning, it is important that members of these large educational communities agree on learning outcomes. 

• Mission, Vision, and Values for Instruction Guiding Principles for UMD Libraries Instruction program.
• University-Wide Learning Outcomes for Undergraduates Provided by the Provost's Commission on Learning Outcomes Assessment. Includes specific information literacy outcomes.
• General Education Learning Outcomes by Course Learning outcomes for general education courses. Although it does not include specific information literacy outcomes, information literacy concepts are incorporated into the Academic and Professional Writing Program outcomes.
• Graduate-Level Learning Outcomes Assessment Efforts are being made to improve the graduate-level process and add learning outcomes.
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