You may already have a sense of what you’d like to teach. But, do you know what knowledge and skills students will acquire from your teaching? Can these ‘learning outcomes’ be expressed succinctly to communicate their value, and do they shape the structure of the course and the teaching and assessment authentically?
Learning outcomes are typically the description of some theoretical and/or applied education attainment for students. They are typically written as short active statements, beginning with a verb that denotes a level of mastery.
It typically requires less mastery to acquire knowledge, than to apply that knowledge. Some examples of knowledge learning outcomes might include ‘recall the properties of a thermo engine at low temperature’, ‘identify the risks of undiagnosed lymphatic cancer to the immune system’ or ‘describe the effects of a low tax macroeconomic policy’. Some examples of applied learning outcomes might include ‘develop a cataloguing methods of endangered wildlife specimens’, ‘apply clinical observational techniques for respiratory disease’ or ‘assess the viability of competing community investment cases.’
This resource will take you through crafting learning outcomes for your own course.
