Mastering Learning Outcomes: A Comprehensive Guide

A learning outcome is a concise description of what students will learn and how that learning will be assessed. Having clearly articulated learning outcomes can make designing a course, assessing student learning progress, and facilitating learning activities easier and more effective. In alignment with other resources, we will use learning outcomes as a general term for what students will learn and how that learning will be assessed. This includes both goals and objectives.

The Essence of Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes are specific statements of what students will be able to do when they successfully complete a learning experience (whether it's a project, course or program). Outcomes are used on many scales, from developing curriculum for a program of study to creating lessons for a single class activity. At the highest level, learning outcomes can be established at the university level.

Goals vs. Objectives vs. Outcomes

These terms are often used interchangeably and they are all related to the teaching and learning that is expected to take place in the classroom. However, the difference between goals or objectives and outcomes lies in the emphasis on who will be performing the activities.

Learning goals and objectives generally describe what an instructor, program, or institution aims to do, whereas, a learning outcome describes in observable and measurable terms what a student is able to do as a result of completing a learning experience (e.g., course, project, or unit).

Learning Goals: Learning goals are broad statements written from an instructor's or institution's perspective that give the general content and direction of a learning experience. They generally describe what an instructor or program aims to do; i.e., “The curriculum will introduce students to the major research methods of the discipline.”
Learning Objectives: Learning objectives are statements of what you intend to teach or cover in a learning experience. Learning objectives can introduce unintended complexity because sometimes they are written in terms of what you intend to teach (the first example above) and sometimes they are written in terms of what you expect students will learn (the latter example).
Learning Outcomes: In contrast, learning outcomes should always be written with a focus on the learner and how the learner will demonstrate achievement, which makes it easier to assess students' learning.

Identifying the desired results of a learning experience is the first step of backward design. Learning outcomes are used for this purpose. Learning outcomes help instructors… Clearly written course-level and module-level outcomes are the foundation upon which effective courses are designed. Outcomes inform both the way students are evaluated in a course and the way a course will be organized. Effective learning outcomes are student-centered, measurable, concise, meaningful, achievable and outcome-based (rather than task-based).

Levels of Learning Outcomes

Just as learning outcomes can be designed at the program level or university-wide level, they can also operate at a more granular scale within an individual course. Typically instructors divide their courses into smaller units such as modules or weeks, and many instructors establish learning outcomes for these smaller units that map onto the larger course-level outcomes.

Crafting Effective Learning Outcomes

Writing learning outcomes can be made easier by using the ABCD approach.

Audience: Define who will achieve the outcome. Keeping your audience in mind as you develop your learning outcomes helps ensure that they are relevant and centered on what learners must achieve. Make sure the learning outcome is focused on the student’s behavior, not the instructor’s. Try to understand your audience so that you can better align your learning goals or objectives to meet their needs.
Behavior: Use action verbs to describe observable behavior that demonstrates mastery of the goal or objective. Depending on the skill, knowledge, or domain of the behavior, you might select a different action verb. The behavior usually completes the audience phrase “students will be able to…” with a specific action verb that learners can interpret without ambiguity. We recommend beginning learning goals with a phrase that makes it clear that students are expected to actively contribute to progressing towards a learning goal. Consider the following examples of verbs from different learning domains of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Generally speaking, items listed at the top under each domain are more suitable for advanced students, and items listed at the bottom are more suitable for novice or beginning students. Often we develop broad goals first, then break them down into specific objectives.
Condition: State the conditions, if any, under which the behavior is to be performed. The level of specificity for conditions within an objective may vary and should be appropriate to the broader goals.
Degree: Degree states the standard or criterion for acceptable performance. The degree should be related to real-world expectations: what standard should the learner meet to be judged proficient? The specificity of the degree will vary. You might take into consideration professional standards, what a student would need to succeed in subsequent courses in a series, or what is required by you as the instructor to accurately assess learning when determining the degree.

Key Characteristics of Effective Learning Outcomes

Outcomes are phrased from the perspective of the student and are written in language that can be easily understood by them.
Outcomes are specific, observable, and can be assessed. They use a concrete action verb.
Outcomes are written in short, succinct sentences.
Outcomes emphasize higher-order thinking and are consistent with university, college, department, and program learning outcomes.
The total number of outcomes is reasonable for this population of students and is achievable within the time available.
Outcomes should specify the skills and knowledge students must demonstrate to prove mastery instead of focusing on the assignment format, such as a quiz or essay. Well-worded outcomes should remain flexible enough to accommodate a variety of formats for a corresponding assessment.

As a result of participating in (educational unit), students will be able to (measurable verb) + (learning statement). If the educational unit is implied, based on the context in which the learning outcomes are shared, you might leave off the first portion of the learning outcome statement.

Examples of Well-Crafted Learning Outcomes

Not Student-Centered: Different theories of personality development will be explored through lectures, readings, and assignments.
Student-Centered: Students will name each theory of personality development and describe the key characteristics that distinguish each theory.
Not Measurable: Students will understand symbolism.
Measurable: Students will be able to identify examples of symbolism in short stories and incorporate symbolism in their own writing.
Not Clear: Students will be able to analyze American history.
Clear: Students will be able to analyze how American foreign policy history relates to current trends in American foreign policy.
Not Concise: Students will analyze American foreign policy, from 18th-century diplomatic relations with Europe to the Monroe Doctrine, considering the ways in which shifts from expansionism and Manifest Destiny to isolationism and protectionism impacted relations with neighboring nations and Native Americans.
Concise: Students will be able to identify how changes in American foreign policy during the 18th and 19th centuries impacted relations with neighboring nations and Native Americans.
Task-Based (Inflexible): Students will be able to demonstrate on a mannequin the four steps to administer CPR.
Outcome-Based (Flexible): Students will be able to demonstrate the four steps used to administer CPR.

Taxonomies of Learning

Learning taxonomies describe how a learner’s understanding develops from simple to complex when learning different subjects or tasks.

Bloom’s Taxonomy: Bloom’s Taxonomy is a hierarchical model and includes three domains of learning: cognitive, psychomotor, and affective. In this model, learning occurs hierarchically, as each skill builds on previous skills towards increasingly sophisticated learning.
Taxonomy of Significant Learning: The Taxonomy of Significant Learning is a non-hierarchical and integral model of learning. It describes learning as a meaningful, holistic, and integral network.

The Research-Backed Approach to Learning Objectives (LOs)

Learning objectives (LOs) are used to communicate the purpose of instruction. Done well, they convey the expectations that the instructor-and by extension, the academic field-has in terms of what students should know and be able to do after completing a course of study. As a result, they help students better understand course activities and increase student performance on assessments. LOs also serve as the foundation of course design, as they help structure classroom practices and define the focus of assessments. Understanding the research can improve and refine instructor and student use of LOs.

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Defining Learning Objectives

Learning objectives (LOs) are statements that communicate the purpose of instruction to students, other instructors, and an academic field (Mager, 1997; Rodriguez and Albano, 2017). They form the basis for developing high-quality assessments for formative and summative purposes. Once LOs and assessments are established, instructional activities can help students master the material.

Many terms in the literature describe statements about learning expectations. The terms “course objectives,” “course goals,” “learning objectives,” “learning outcomes,” and “learning goals” are often used interchangeably, creating confusion for instructors and students. To clarify and standardize usage, the term “objective” is defined as a declarative statement that identifies what students are expected to know and do. At the same time, “outcome” refers to the results measured at the end of a unit, course, or program. It is helpful to think of LOs as a tool instructors use for describing intended outcomes, regardless of the process for achieving the outcome (Mager, 1997). The term “goal” is less useful.

In this guide, “learning objective” is defined as a statement that communicates the purpose of instruction using an action verb and describes the expected performance and conditions under which the performance should occur. In terms of content and complexity, LOs should scaffold professional practice, requirements for a program, and individual course goals by communicating the specific content areas and skills considered important by the academic field (Rodriguez and Albano, 2017). They also promote course articulation by supporting consistency when courses are taught by multiple instructors and furnishing valuable information about course alignment among institutions. As a result, LOs should serve as the basis of unit or module, course, and program design and can be declared in a nested hierarchy of levels.

Constructing Effective LOs

Writing LOs effectively is essential, as their wording should provide direction for developing instructional activities and guide the design of assessments. Effective LOs clearly communicate what students should know and be able to do and are written to be behavioral, measurable, and attainable (Rodriguez and Albano, 2017). It is particularly important that each LO is written with enough information to ensure that other knowledgeable individuals can use the LO to measure a learner’s success and arrive at the same conclusions (Mager, 1997).

Effective LOs specify a visible performance-what students should be able to do with the content-and may also include conditions and the criteria for acceptable performance (Mager, 1997). When constructing an LO, one should use an action verb to describe what students are expected to know and be able to do with the disciplinary knowledge and skills (Figure 3). Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive skills provides a useful framework for writing LOs that embody the intended complexity and the cognitive demands involved in mastering them (Bloom, 1956; Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001). Assessment items and course activities can then be aligned with LOs using the Blooming Biology Tool described by Crowe et al. (2008). Course designs and redesigns built around clear and measurable LOs result in measurable benefits to students (e.g., Armbruster et al., 2009, and other citations in the Course and Curriculum Design and Outcomes section of this guide).

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LOs in Course Design

LOs are established as the initial step in backward design (McTighe and Wiggins, 2012). They provide a framework for instructors to 1) design assessments that furnish evidence on the degree of student mastery of knowledge and skills and 2) select teaching and learning activities that are aligned with objectives (Mager, 1997; Rodriguez and Albano, 2017).

Used in this way, LOs provide a structure for planning assessments and instruction while giving instructors the freedom to be creative and flexible (Mager, 1997; Reynolds and Kearns, 2017). In essence, LOs respond to the question: “If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know which road to take and how do you know when you get there?” (Mager, 1997, p. 14).

When assessments are created, each assessment item or task must be specifically associated with at least one LO and measure student learning progress on that LO. The performance and conditions components of each LO should guide the type of assessment developed (Mager, 1997). Data gathered from assessment results (feedback) can then inform future instruction.

Aligning Instruction with LOs

The purpose of instruction is communicated to students most effectively when instructional activities are aligned with associated instructional and course-level LOs (e.g., Chasteen et al., 2011, and others within the Instructor Use section of this guide). The literature summarized in the Course and Curriculum Design section of the guide supports the hypothesis that student learning is strongly impacted by what instructors emphasize in the classroom.

When LOs are not reinforced in instruction, students may conclude that LOs are an administrative requirement rather than something developed for their benefit. Using LOs as the foundation of course planning results in a more student-centered approach, shifting the focus from the content to be covered to the concepts and skills that the student should be able to demonstrate upon successfully completing the course (e.g., Reynolds and Kearns, 2017, and others within the Active Learning section of this guide). Instead of designing memorization-driven courses that are “a mile wide and an inch deep,” instructors can use LOs to focus a course on the key concepts and skills that prepare students for future success in the field. Group problem solving, discussions, and other class activities that allow students to practice and demonstrate the competencies articulated in LOs can be prioritized over lectures that strive to cover all of the content.

Engaging Students with LOs

When instructors publish well-written LOs aligned with classroom instruction and assessments, they establish clear goalposts for students (Mager, 1997). Researchers have shown that students support the use of LOs to design class activities and assessments. However, several questions remain about the impact of LOs on students. For example, using LOs may improve students’ ability to self-regulate, which in turn may be particularly helpful in supporting the success of underprepared students (Simon and Taylor, 2009; Osueke et al., 2018). There is evidence that transparency in course design improves the academic confidence and retention of underserved students (Winkelmes et al., 2016), and LOs make course expectations transparent to students. LOs are also reported to help students organize their time and effort and give students, particularly those from traditionally underserved groups, a better idea of areas in which they need help (Minbiole, 2016). Additionally, LOs facilitate the construction of highly structured courses by providing scaffolding for assessment and classroom instruction. Highly structured course design has been demonstrated to improve all students’ academic performance. It significantly reduces achievement gaps (difference in final grades on a 4.0 scale) between disadvantaged and nondisadvantaged students (Haak et al., 2011).

Maximizing Student Benefits from LOs

Research indicates that many students never receive instruction on using LOs (Osueke et al., 2018). However, when students receive explicit instruction on LO use, they benefit (Osueke et al., 2018). Examples include teaching students how to turn LOs into questions and how to answer and use those questions for self-assessment (Osueke et al., 2018). Using LOs for self-assessment allows students to take advantage of retrieval practice, a strategy that has a positive effect on learning and memory by helping students identify what they have and have not learned (Bjork and Bjork, 2011; Brame and Biel, 2015).

Further, students may have difficulty understanding the scope or expectations of stated LOs until after learning the content. The practice of using LOs to create pretest questions may serve as an effective, evidence-based model for students to self-assess and prepare for assessment.

Outcomes of Using LOs

Specifically, 1) alignment of LOs and assessment items is associated with higher exam scores (e.g., Armbruster et al., 2009, and others within the Outcomes section of the guide); 2) exam items designed to measure student mastery of LOs can support higher-level Bloom’s cognitive skills (e.g., Armbruster et al., 2009, and others within the Outcomes section of the guide); and 3) students adjust their learning approach based on course design and have been shown to employ a deeper approach to learning in courses in which assessment and class instruction are aligned with LOs (Wang et al., 2013).

Implementing Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Student learning outcomes (SLOs) are the specified knowledge, skills, abilities or attitudes that students are expected to attain by the end of a learning experience or program of study.

Program-Level Assessment

With respect to program-level assessment, SLOs should be informed where appropriate by the following:

Discipline-related skill set
Accreditation and other external accountability expectations
Program goals and objectives

Additionally, program level SLOs should be:

Meaningful in helping the program to accomplish its mission.
Should be stated in measurable terms.
Should reflect the aggregate by focusing on the program as a whole.
Should be manageable.

Components of SLO Statements

Student learning outcome statements should include the following:

A verb that identifies the performance to be demonstrated.
A learning outcome statement that specifies what learning will take place.
A broad statement reflecting the criterion or standard for acceptable performance.

Examples of SLOs

Students will be able to:

apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering principles in addressing aerospace engineering problems.
apply knowledge of the scientific method to develop reasoned solutions to address environmental problems.
demonstrate knowledge of contemporary issues that impact the field of business.

Assessing Student Learning Outcomes

The goal of assessing student learning outcomes for program assessment and continuous improvement is different from assessing individual students’ performance. This continuous process provides faculty, staff and students with a clear understanding of the program’s mission, the expected learning goals of the program, how the curriculum supports those learning goals, and how all subgroups of students, particularly underrepresented students, are performing on those learning goals.

Key Steps in Assessment

The program’s mission states the broad goals that are of value to the program and what the program aims to provide its students. These goals should be consistent with the goals of the school, campus, and University.
Student learning outcomes answer the question “What will students know and be able to do when they complete the program?” and should be clear, concise, and specific to the discipline. Student learning outcomes are not specific to the program and are more reflective of general education outcomes. Outcomes such as “think critically and analytically,” “speak and write clearly,” and “gather and evaluate data” are all important student outcomes, but they are outcomes that might apply to the goals of the general education curriculum or the institution’s goals for its students. Programs should determine their own specific student learning outcomes that are germane to the discipline.
Data sources should be strategically selected to best assess the specific learning outcomes. The program can use (or adapt) data sources already in place such as papers, projects, student surveys, capstone or milestone projects, licensure and professional exams, exit interviews, and job/graduate school placement data instead of creating entirely new data sources to measure. Assessment methods should be strategically selected to best assess the specific learning outcomes. Not all assessment methods are well suited for every learning outcome.

Data Collection and Analysis

For some data sources, such as job placements, student surveys, or number of academic papers published, assessment may be based on descriptive statistics, such as the percentage of students who were co-authors on two or more academic papers.
Once an appropriate method of assessment is identified, the faculty should decide who will be assessed, i.e., what sample of students. In some cases, particularly when reviewing student papers, theses, or dissertations, it makes sense to only use a small sample of students such as 10%.
Student learning outcomes need only be assessed every three to five years.

Setting Standards

Standards are values set by individual programs that represent the expectation for a given measurable goal. Standards of comparison are determined by the program faculty to provide a benchmark for student achievement and identify how well students should be able to do on the assessment as well as the percentage of students who should achieve the stated outcome. To assess progress, faculty should determine what percentage of students should meet each learning outcome.

Using Assessment Data for Improvement

The resulting data from the measurement of student learning outcomes is of little use unless the academic program has a strategic plan for using those results for program improvement.

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