Defining Course Learning Outcomes:
Traditionally courses have been described based on “what the instructor does.” This is reflected in syllabi
statements such as “Providing an overview of…,” “Addressing the differences between…,” “Exploring new
concepts in…,” “Familiarizing students with the conventions of…”, etc. While such statements may give
students an idea of what an instructor will cover in the course, they tell little about what the students will
actually learn. That’s where learning outcomes come in. They require the instructor to take the students’
perspective and make a realistic estimate of what students are supposed to know and be able to do by
the end of the course (from: http://www.neiu.edu/~neassess/pdf/DevEff.pdf).
According to a document posted by Montgomery College, Maryland (“Developing College-wide Common
Core Course Outcomes”):
Core course outcomes describe what discipline faculty agree are the most important abilities,
knowledge, values, and attitudes that students should acquire as a result of successfully
completing the course, regardless of where the course is taught, how it is delivered, or who
teaches it. In general, such outcomes should reflect higher levels of thinking and critical skills, as
opposed to simple memorization of bits of information… Such common core learning course
outcomes should be part of every instructor’s syllabus, although individual instructors may choose
to augment these with additional learning objectives or goals that they wish to stress in their
class.
Janet Fulks at Bakersfield College, CA, clarifies that “student learning outcomes” (SLO) build upon, but
are different from, course objectives and goals” as follows:
Objectives
Outcomes
Objectives represent valuable skills, tools, or content (nuts and
bolts) that enable a student to engage a particular subject.
SLOs represent overarching products of the course.
Objectives focus on content and skills important within the
classroom or program: what the staff and faculty will do. Often
termed the input in the course.
Outcomes express higher level thinking skills that integrate the
content and activities and can be observed as a behavior, skill,
or discrete useable knowledge upon completing the class.
Objectives can often be numerous, specific, and detailed.
Assessing and reporting on each objective for each student
may be impossible.
An assessable outcome is an end product that can be displayed
or observed and evaluated against criteria.
“Outcomes demonstrate an understanding and application of a subject beyond the nuts and bolts which
hold it together; objectives represent the nuts and bolts.” (BC Chemistry Prof)
Here’s a specific illustration of the difference between course objectives and course learning outcomes:
Course Objectives
Examples of course objectives from
nutrition course:
• Review nutritional
recommendations and
components.
• Discuss differences in
nutritional requirements
associated with sex, age, and
activity.
• Describe causes and
consequences of nutritional
Course Student Learning Outcome (SLO)
Example of an SLO from the same nutrition
course:
• A student will be able to analyze a
documented nutritional problem,
determine a strategy to correct the
problem, and write a draft nutritional
policy addressing the broader scope of the
problem.
problems.
• Explain complications of
underlying physiologic
conditions (e.g., diabetes &
mal-absorption).
• Identify key factors involved
in correcting nutritional
behaviors.
• Describe resources and
strategies to treat nutritional
Writing Common Course Learning Outcomes:
A good way to begin the process of developing learning outcomes is for each faculty to take a few
minutes and list 5 to 7 most important outcomes achieved by a student in the course. If a set of course
objectives already exists, these can be used as a starting point. Course textbooks may also be helpful, as
they often describe broad learning outcomes at the start of each chapter or section. Faculty teaching the
same course may then share their list of outcomes. Most likely a number of similar outcomes will be on
everyone’s list, suggesting that these may the most important of the potential course outcomes.
Faculty may agree on a first draft of a list of outcomes, understanding that they will be revised several
times before becoming firm (or definitive) and that they will change over time for currency in the discipline
and in order to reflect that changing needs and characteristics of students.
Note again that learning outcomes should be learning-oriented and student-focused (not coverageoriented) and should focus a course on a few (about 5-7) key purposes that have a realistic chance of
being accomplished within a term. Also, they should be general enough to capture important learning,
but specific enough to allow for a fair assessment, whose criteria are clearly communicated to students.
Finally, a number of institutions use Bloom’s levels of cognitive skills to create student learning outcomes
that tap into each of the student ability levels. Below are terms (verbs) that come from Bloom’s Taxonomy
which can be used when creating student learning outcomes for a course.
Suggested Action Verb List to Use in Each Level of Thinking Skills
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
Count
Define
Describe
Draw
Identify
Labels
List
Match
Name
Outlines
Point
Quote
Read
Recall
Recite
Recognize
Record
Repeat
Reproduces
Selects
State
Write
Associate
Compute
Convert
Defend
Discuss
Distinguish
Estimate
Explain
Extend
Extrapolate
Generalize
Give examples
Infer
Paraphrase
Predict
Rewrite
Summarize
Add
Apply
Calculate
Change
Classify
Complete
Compute
Demonstrate
Discover
Divide
Examine
Graph
Interpolate
Manipulate
Modify
Operate
Prepare
Produce
Show
Solve
Subtract
Translate
Use
Analyze
Arrange
Breakdown
Combine
Design
Detect
Develop
Diagram
Differentiate
Discriminate
Illustrate
Infer
Outline
Point out
Relate
Select
Separate
Subdivide
Utilize
Categorize
Combine
Compile
Compose
Create
Drive
Design
Devise
Explain
Generate
Group
Integrate
Modify
Order
Organize
Plan
Prescribe
Propose
Rearrange
Reconstruct
Related
Reorganize
Revise
Rewrite
Summarize
Transform
Specify
Appraise
Assess
Compare
Conclude
Contrast
Criticize
Critique
Determine
Grade
Interpret
Judge
Justify
Measure
Rank
Rate
Support
Test
Examples of College-Wide Common Core Course Outcomes
(from Montgomery College, MD, Developing College-wide Common Core Course Outcomes
AR 127: Students will be able to distinguish form and content in 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional
works of art.
BI 101: Students will be able to explain the role of natural selection in the development of chemical
resistance in microbes, viruses, plants and animals.
EN 102: Students will be able to apply principles of logical argument and persuasion in their writing.
MA 116: Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the Central Limit Theorem and
sampling distributions and use these to estimate a population parameter.
HE 100: Students will be able to analyze and evaluate a nutrition food label and the various components
of that food label, and use the information to make healthy food choices.
SP 108: Students will find, identify and apply research materials to their speech presentations.
Additional resources on the development of course learning outcomes
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Brigham Young University, here are the “Guidelines for writing learning outcomes:
http://learningoutcomes.byu.edu/files/GuidelinesWritingCourseLearningOutcomes.pdf
Laney College (Oakland, CA): http://www.laney.peralta.edu/apps/comm.asp?$1=31028
Seattle Central Community College :
http://seattlecentral.edu/users/crc/Assessment/IA_Writing_Course_Outcomes.htm