Integrated Aligned Course Design:
Determining Student Learning Outcomes—Working Guide
This working guide was developed to assist you in the course design process. It
parallels the information presented in the Student Learning Outcomes section of the
CTL Course Design Tutorial. Enter information about your course in the spaces below.
STEP 1: Thinking About the Big Picture
What do you want students to know or be able to do at the end of your course? For
example, a political science instructor may want her students to better understand how
nations relate to one another so that her students can form intelligent opinions about
U.S. foreign policy. What outcomes do you hope to realize? Record your responses to
the following questions:
As a result of my class, how will my students be different from those who haven’t taken
the course?
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Why have I chosen these outcomes and not others?
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Now, reflect on how the material in your course relates to environmental factors such as
the knowledge students bring to your classroom and how they will use what they learn
in your course in the future. Consider the following questions:
What foundational knowledge do students need to be successful in my course?
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University of Minnesota Center for Teaching and Learning
2011
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How can they apply what they know?
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What is the importance of this area of study to my students?
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What do they need to do to be successful learners in this field? How can I assist them?
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STEP 2: Drafting Learning Outcomes for Your Course
Having considered the big picture along with “environmental” factors above, you can
begin to draft your learning outcomes as statements of what students will know or do by
the end of your course. The written outcomes should be student-oriented (that is,
written in a way that indicates to students what performance is expected of them). They
should also be measurable—that is, they should specify clearly what students are
expected to know or do in terms that students can understand and that you can assess.
You may find it useful to refer to Bloom’s taxonomy of learning objectives to help you
identify the type of cognitive outcome you hope students achieve as well as appropriate
verbs to describe those outcomes. (See the end of this guide for a version of Bloom’s
taxonomy that you can use.) Note your learning outcomes below.
Learning Outcome 1: ____________________________________________________
University of Minnesota Center for Teaching and Learning
2011
Learning Outcome 1: ____________________________________________________
Learning Outcome 1: ____________________________________________________
STEP 3: Clarifying and Communicating Your Learning Objectives
Now is the time to revise your learning outcomes. To ensure that your outcomes are
clear to students, consider the following questions. Use your answers to guide you in
refining the presentation of your learning outcomes.
What do my learning outcomes look like from a student’s perspective?
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What does a student DO to demonstrate achievement of these outcomes?
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How will I communicate the importance of these outcomes to students in the syllabus
and in class?
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______________________________________________________________________
University of Minnesota Center for Teaching and Learning
2011
Resources
The following course design resources were referenced in the Learning Outcomes
section of the Course Design tutorial.
Learning Outcomes
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U of MN Student Learning Outcomes: http://www.slo.umn.edu/
U of MN Student Development Outcomes: http://www.sdo.umn.edu/
Criteria for Liberal Education course outcomes:
http://onestop.umn.edu/faculty/lib_eds/instructions.html#all_le
Bloom’s revised taxonomy of learning outcomes:
http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+Digital+Taxonomy
Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning:
http://www.wcu.edu/WebFiles/PDFs/facultycenter_SignificantLearning.pdf
University of Minnesota Center for Teaching and Learning
2011
Developing Course Learning Objectives for Higher Education
Identify Student
Link to Student Learning
Draft Learning
Learning Outcomes in
Outcomes and Student
Objectives for Your
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Development Outcomes
Course
Relevant to Your Course
Remember
Identify & recognize from longterm memory & multiple
retrievals.
 Arrange / List
 Label / Associate
 Recall / State
 Reproduce / Chunk
 Map / Define
Understand
Construct Meaning from new
and existing ideas/date.
 Describe / Distinguish
 Relate / Classify
 Recognize / Match
 Frame / Summarize
 Explain / Systematize
Apply
Use process/procedure to
solve, complete, implement,
develop.
 Explain / Interpret
 Order / Categorize
 Discuss / Model
 Simulate / Demonstrate
 Modify / Elaborate
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University of Minnesota Center for Teaching and Learning
2011
Link Student Learning in
Your Course to Aspects
of Bloom’s Taxonomy
Link to Student Learning
Outcomes and Student
Development Outcomes
Draft Learning
Objectives for Your
Course
Analyze
Break content into meaningful
parts, name links among these
in relating parts to
whole/overall.
 Differentiate / Attribute
 Measure / Collect Data
 Trace / Find Patterns
 Relate / Generate
 Interpret / Contextualize
 Debate / Extend
Evaluate
Make criterion-referenced
assessments and judgments.
 Compare / Choose
 Weigh Evidence /
 Develop Standards
 Survey / Test Out
 Conclude / Critique
Synthesize / Create
Reorganize, build relationships
and bring together parts to
form new whole – pattern,
structure, plan.
 Assemble / Propose
 Compose / Create
 Provide alternatives /
Test cases & scenarios
 Organize / Publish
 Design / Produce
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2011