What are the Characteristics of Good Student Learning Outcomes?
If your department already has learning goals that it would like to develop into outcomes or is examining its current learning outcomes there are several characteristics to look for:
- Learning outcomes are student-centered in that they focus on the knowledge and skills that students can demonstrate (not on what instructors or curriculum aim to teach students).
- The learning described in department -and program-level outcomes should encompass the essential and significant knowledge and skills expected of major, generally near the completion of their course of study.
- Generally outcomes are short; usually one sentence in length that clearly states the behaviors that students should be able to demonstrate.
- Outcomes focus on the action that signifies student learning by using concrete, measurable verbs: Action Verbs. First drafts of outcomes often contain verbs like understand, be aware of or appreciate that are difficult to observe and measure. Actionable verbs such as interpret, compare, design, and evaluate are far more concrete and less complicated to observe and evaluate.
- The number of outcomes will vary from department to department, usually between 5 and 7, and generally not more than ten (per degree program). The focus should be on creating a manageable number of significant learning outcomes, it is better to work with six focused outcomes of significant learning than a dozen scattered ones.
The Office for Teaching, Learning & Assessment is available to consult with departments and individual faculty members, additionally the office has many resources on assessment and creating learning outcomes that we’re happy to share.