Session Objective To understand how to set
high quality learning objectives and learning
outcomes
Session Outcomes By the end of this session you will …
Know the difference between a learning objective and
a learning outcome
Be able to share objectives and outcomes with pupils
using common sentence stems
Understand the importance of planning and sharing
clear outcomes with pupils
Develop a range of strategies for sharing learning
outcomes
Improve schemes of work by annotating
improvements to learning objectives and outcomes
Understand how photo story can be used as a tool for
sharing learning objectives and learning outcomes
Why do we need this?
Our work on Photo Story revealed that many
staff are unclear on how to set clear learning
objectives and outcomes
Learning outcomes are not always evident in
schemes of work. This increases the need for
daily lesson plans.
Lesson observation evidence points to a lack of
clarity in terms of sharing learning outcomes as
a barrier to lessons being judged as “good”
So what’s the difference?
Learning objectives set the overall aim of a
lesson or sequence of lessons and how it fits
into the bigger picture of the subject
Learning outcomes inform pupils what they
need to do by the end of the lesson or sequence
of lessons to prove that they have achieved the
learning objective. They tell pupils what you
expect from them as a high quality outcome of
each lesson or part of lesson
Sharing Learning Objectives and
Outcomes
Watch the video sequence 1a, (Pedagogy and Practice Teaching and
learning in secondary schools Ref: DFES 0445-2004 GDVD) which shows
the introduction to a lesson. Note how the teacher
shares the purpose (learning objectives - WALT) with
pupils. Can you suggest how the objective could be
improved?
Note how she indicates what outcomes (WILF) she
expects the pupils to achieve?.
What other assessment for learning tool does she
employ to ensure a quality outcome?
Reflect on your own introductions to lessons: how do you
communicate your objectives and expectations
(outcomes) to learners?
Writing Learning Objectives Activity
Analyse your schemes of work. Do they identify clear learning
objectives?
Are they precise enough or do they need refining?
Annotate schemes with improvements if necessary.
Learning objectives should use the following stems:
“WALT - We are learning to …..” Followed by:
know that …
understand how / why …
be able to …
be aware of ….
explore and refine strategies for ….
E.g. We are learning to understand why the Berlin wall was built
Or use “By the end of this lesson (or sequence of lessons) you will
know / understand / be able to / be aware of etc. …….”
Defining learning outcomes
Learning outcomes should:
unpack the learning objective
define what pupils will produce at the end of a
lesson or sequence of lessons that will demonstrate
the learning that has taken place
tell pupils what you expect from them as a highquality outcome of a lesson, part of lesson or
sequence of lessons
be clearly defined
be planned for
be in “pupil speak”
Use the following stems to share
learning outcomes
WILF What I’m looking for ….
What I expect from everyone is …..
For top marks ….
To be successful you should ….
By the end of this lesson you will …….
To achieve the objectives you must ….
Learning outcome examples
For top marks you will need to solve the equations
for all values of x and show clearly in your working
how you reached your answers.
By the end of this lesson we will be able to confidently
discuss reasons why the Berlin wall was built from the
perspective of both East and West. You will produce a piece
of written work which will include ………
To be successful your group will have listed the pros and cons
for each of the suggestions on the paper provided and be
prepared to give feedback in 20 minutes.
Learning outcome examples
What I am looking for is for you to set your
conclusion out in three paragraphs:
the first will describe the pattern you found in
your results;
the second will explain this, using the scientific
ideas we talked about;
the third will state whether the hypotheses you
investigated were supported or not from the
evidence.
What I expect from everyone is a description
of the events leading up to the Norman invasion
in 1066. It should have three main parts:
an introductory paragraph to set the scene,
a description of events in chronological order
and a closing statement.
A good one will contain ….
Getting the pitch right
Learning outcomes must be pitched at the
appropriate level for the ability of learners
More able learners should be challenged with
more open ended objectives
Use “must”, “should”, “could” to differentiate
outcomes
e.g.: "By the end of the lesson all of you will be
able to……, most of you will be able to….. and a
few of you may even be able to….." This sets a
baseline for everyone to aim for, without
restricting those students with special
aptitude. Encourage students to set the
appropriate target for themselves.
The following slide may help ensure that your
outcomes are pitched at an appropriate level
High order thinking and challenge
Low order
thinking
and
challenge
Modelling
It may be appropriate to demonstrate the skill the
students are working towards.
It may be appropriate to show them examples (e.g.: a dovetail joint, a
web cam image of a good piece of written work etc.) If these
examples have been made by other students (e.g. last year's Year 7
class), it reassures the students in the class that the outcome is
within their reach.
Sell the benefits
Help students get a sense of excitement about what they
are learning. Doing so can create a sense of achievement
and instil a sense of personal pride. Enthuse students by
telling them:
How they will feel?
How this is going to benefit them immediately and in the
long term?
What opportunity there will be for them to demonstrate
or use what they have learned?
Remember that boys in particular will respond to a sense
of challenge. Set them a target or a time limit. Better
still, encourage them to set themselves targets.
Activity
Work in pairs or groups of three
Analyse a scheme of work to identify clear learning
outcomes for each of the learning objectives
Update your scheme of work and make it available to the
rest of your Department by saving it in your Departments
resource area on the network
Produce a NoteBook (Smartboard software) or
PowerPoint presentation to share learning objectives
and outcomes with pupils. Save this in your Department
folder and share it with the rest of your Department.
Demonstrate what you have produced or are working
towards at your next Department meeting
Photo Story Activity
Photo Story is a piece of free software that
allows you to produce a “movie” using still
images.
Click the link on the home page to view
the Photo Story CPD activity.
When observing lessons …
Look for clearly defined objectives and
outcomes
Ask pupils if they understand what they are
doing and why they are doing it
Ask pupils what they will know, be able to do etc.
at the end of the lesson or sequence of lessons
that they could not do at the start
Don’t be pedantic. If the outcomes of a lesson
are clear but the terminology advised in this
presentation is not used don’t down grade a
lesson
References
Slides 3 to 10 adapted from DFES Pedagogy and Practice Teaching and
learning in secondary schools unit 1 Structuring Learning DFES ref 04232004-G
Video referred to in slide 4 Pedagogy and Practice Teaching and learning in
secondary schools DVD 1 sequence 1A DFES Ref 0445-2004 GDVD
Slide 11 adapted from Valencia Community College Learning Evidence
Team Thesaurus of useful verbs helpful in writing learning outcomes GIF