Learning Outcomes (LO)
What is a Learning Outcome?
Learning outcomes are descriptions of the changes in what a person is able to do
when they have been through a learning process. They can be divided into two
kinds;

Subject based outcomes – knowledge and understanding of a subject or area
of work and the ability to use that knowledge in similar or different situations

Personal outcomes – Including interpersonal skills like teamwork and
negotiation and interpersonal qualities like motivation, initiative and critical
self-reflection.
Both of these types of outcomes can be the result of leaning from experience or
learning from education or training.
So for example, an engineer or a dietitian will have gained a lot of knowledge at
University from teachers and other students and from studying books. They will both
also learn to apply knowledge in practical training situations where their learning is
supervised. They will then continue to learn throughout their professional lives as
they face new situations and discover new ways of dealing with problems.
In the same way, personal outcomes such as communication skills can be gained as
a result of education or training, but many people, for example, a social worker, a
teacher or someone working in business will be developing these abilities in the
specific workplace context on a daily basis. These professions make specific
demands in terms of communication skills. However communication skills can also
be developed in situations outside work such as on the sports field, in cultural
activities like music and dance or in community organisation and at home with the
family.
Negotiated credit and writing your own learning outcomes
Exercise 1
Think about the skills, abilities, qualities and knowledge you have gained in your past
experience and list them according to whether you consider them subject based or
personal outcomes.
Subject based outcomes
Personal outcomes
Remember, learning is always developed in a particular setting(s) and contexts and
it is useful to provide a description of how/where you gained your learning. This
provides an indication of the nature and level of your skills and knowledge. The
description needs to include:

An explanation of what it is that you can do

A description of the situation where you have done this. This context may
provide the theme or title for your set of related learning outcomes.
It may also be useful to explain:

How much experience you have
Look at the following two examples described in portfolios. To say that you have
worked in a voluntary capacity on an adult literacy programme or as a volunteer
fundraiser says little about how you developed and what you learned in this role but
expanded into learning outcomes these experiences start to take shape as learning
that can be assessed for credit.
Teaching Adult Literacy
LO 1. I am able to consider the various needs of adults including bilingual adults
and ensure I reflect this in my teaching practice.
Community Development work
LO1. I developed the skill of liaising and negotiating with various public and
private agencies for the successful realisation of planning packages.
Exercise 2
Choose a context where you felt you learnt from experience. List the skills,abilities,
knowledge and qualities you gained with the actions that demonstrate them.
Context
Skills, Qualities, Abilities and Knowledge
Ways that you could demonstrate them
Focussing on what you can do.
Learning something involves being able to 'do' something. Learning outcomes always
include a verb because these are 'doing' words. Here is a list of verbs that you can
use for describing different aspects of your experience. You may be able to think of
others under each heading.
Area
Knowledge and
Understanding
Verbs
Identify
Explain
Discuss
Clarify
Recognise Review
LO Examples
I learned how to identify the
needs of patients and prioritise
difficult cases.
Application of
Knowledge and
Skills
Demonstrate Apply
Operate
Practise
Employ
Illustrate
I demonstrated my interpersonal
skills when offering advice to
members of the community in
relation to culturally sensitive
topics.
Analysis
Test
Analyse
Compare
Question
Examine
Investigate
Inspect
Interpret
Criticise
I am able to analyse and
interpret financial data.
Evaluation
Judge
Revise
Evaluate
Rate
Compare
Value
Appraise
Select
Choose
Assess
Estimate
Measure
I undertook a mid term and end of
project evaluation with the
children in my care.
Action
Compose
Organise
Collect
Propose
Prepare
Create
Assemble
Plan
Manage
Construct
Design
Formulate
I created and designed a project
website using Dreamweaver.
How many learning outcomes equals one module of credit?
As a general guide one taught module will have 3-5 learning outcomes. However if
you are applying for larger amounts of credit your APL Coordinator will help you to
think of broader learning outcomes that reflect your areas of expertise.
What next?
Take your learning outcomes to your APL Coordinator who will tell you if they can be
approved as the basis for claiming university credit - at all, as they stand or with
amendment. If approved they are noted on your APEL Assessment Plan.