Knowing What They Know:
Learning Outcomes and the
Evidence of Student Learning
The Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning
Greg Siering, Director
Lisa Kurz, Principal Instructional Consultant
Learning Outcomes:
are user-friendly statements that tell students what they will be
able to do at the end of a period of time. They are measurable
and quite often observable.
Learning outcomes:
• state in clear terms what it is that your students should be
able to do at the end of a course that they could not do at
the beginning.
• focus on student products, artifacts, or performances,
rather than on instructional techniques or course content.
• are student-centered rather than instructor-centered.
Learning Outcomes:
• maximize student achievement.
• help to structure the course design/development
process.
• explicitly communicate course expectations to
your students.
• ensure the alignment of course lectures, class
activities, and the evidence of student learning.
• provide a framework for monitoring students’
progress throughout the semester.
By the end of this course, students should be
able to . . .
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Know
Understand
Be exposed to
Learn
Appreciate
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Recall
Explain
Interpret
Compare
Differentiate
Implement
Judge
Create
Using Measurable Language
Folklore
Hard to Measure:
Students will be exposed to the major folklore genres
of Indiana.
Measurable:
By the end of this course, students will be able to
analyze an example of Indiana folklore that is
unfamiliar to them, using appropriate research and
writing techniques.
Using Measurable Language
Sociology
Hard to Measure:
I want students to realize and gain knowledge of
institutional racist policies that impact minority families.
Measurable:
Students will be able to recognize and verbally explain
U.S. policies that have an impact on minority families.
Using Measurable Language
SPEA – Public Affairs
Hard to Measure:
I want students to see how urban problems are
important in their own lives.
Measurable:
Students will be able to invent and defend a solution
to an urban problem that is relevant to their own city,
town, or campus.
Using Measurable Language
Business - Finance
Hard to Measure:
Students will know how to complete a finance-related
project efficiently when presented with a set of financial
reports from their boss.
Measurable:
Given a financial dilemma and a sundry assortment of
financial documents, students will be able to solve the
dilemma and recommend the soundest financial decision
to their boss.
Alignment of Outcomes,
Assessments, and Activities
What should they be able to do?
(Outcome)
How can they demonstrate this?
(Assessments)
How will you get them there?
(Activities)
Where to go from here
CITL Departmental Support
• Faculty workshops on writing course-level learning
outcomes
• Departmental workshops on writing programmatic
learning outcomes and mapping them to courses
Both of these include an emphasis on designing activities
that measure how well students are reaching these
outcomes.
The Responsive Teaching and
Learning Cycle
Align course goals,
assessments and
learning outcomes
Share results of the
reflective activity
Reflect upon and
analyze the results
Make visible the
learning outcomes
and grading
criteria
Collect evidence of
student learning
For more assistance
Please feel free to contact:
The Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning
http://citl.indiana.edu
citl@indiana.edu
855-9023
This material comes from a CITL teaching resource on learning
outcomes, which can be found at:
http://citl.indiana.edu/resources/teaching-resources1/learningoutcomes.php