Developing a Syllabus
and Writing Learning
Outcomes
Nancy Allen
College of Education
Qatar University
Instructional Objectives for
this Session
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Provide an understanding of the
nature and purposes of syllabi
Enable participants to prepare better
syllabi with clear course objectives
and learning outcomes
Learning Outcomes for this
Session
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Compare and contrast different kinds of
syllabi.
Evaluate syllabi on the basis of how they
support learning.
Describe the characteristics of quality
instructional objectives and learning
objectives.
Compare and contrast instructional
objectives and learning outcomes.
Write quality instructional objectives and
learning objectives.
Explain how well-written objectives
support student learning.
What is a syllabus?

A syllabus is a legally-binding
contract between the instructor and
the student.
What is a syllabus?
Two fundamental criteria:
1. It should include all the
information that students need to
have at the beginning of the course.
2. It should include all the
information that students need to
have in writing.
BASIC PURPOSES
 Describe the course, its goals, and its
objectives.
 Describe the structure of the course and
its significance within the general program
of study
 Discuss what mutual obligations
students and instructors share.
 Provide critical logistical and procedural
information --what will happen, when, and
where.
Brainstorm: What elements
should a syllabus contain?
Required Elements of a
Course Syllabus
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Course Information
Faculty Information
Course Description
Course Objectives
Student Learning
Outcomes
Content Distribution
Delivery Methods
Learning Resources
and Media
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Assessment Policy and
Tools
Learning Activities and
Tasks
Regulations
References and
Additional Resources
Appendices
- Course Matrix
- Evaluation Criteria
(Rubrics)
Kinds of Syllabi

Content-based
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Process-based

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Outcomes-base

What the instructor will
teach
How the instructor will
teach
What the student will
learn
Example: Process (PBL)
Course Information
•
•
Day and Time Class Meets
• Will longer meeting times be
needed?
• Time to accommodate out-of-class
research?
• “Custom” schedule vs. standard
meeting times?
Place Class Meets
• Fixed seating vs. moveable seats
• PBL or case study room option
Watson, G. (2001
Instructor Information
•
Phone Numbers, E-mail
• Class and/or group phone numbers
• Newsgroup, class mailing lists, chat
rooms
•
Educational Philosophy
• What you value and why
Watson, G. (2001
Text, Readings, Materials
•
Textbook(s)
•
•
•
•
Is one needed? Daily use? Reference?
Choices?
User-friendly for independent study?
Does text address all learning issues?
Supplementary Readings
•
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Electronic reserve
Web sites
Off-campus student accessibility to these
Watson, G. (2001
Course Calendar/Schedule
•
Dates for Exams, Quizzes
• Group components?
• Time constraints: in-class, out-of-class, or
take-home?
• (Out-of-class exams slots require advance
planning for room scheduling, i.e., listing
exams in course registration booklet)
Watson, G. (2001
Course Policies
•
•
•
Attendance, Lateness
• Effect on group progress and
dynamics
Participation
• Clear expectations for individual,
group
Grading
• Balance in individual vs. group
accountability
• Process skills: how much are they
valued?
Watson, G. (2001)
Available Support Services
•
•
Library
• Research skills, available data bases
• Library tours
Computers and Electronic Resources
• Using e-mail, Internet and access to
same
• Using specialized software: spreadsheets,
statistics
• Program/platform compatibility for
sharing work
Watson, G. (2001)
WHAT IS AN OBJECTIVE-BASED
SYLLABUS?
A reflective exercise that addresses
the question: What do students need
to know in order to derive maximum
benefit from this educational
experience?
 A change in focus that affects the
students’ role, requiring them to be
responsible for their own learning
Discussion Question

Why is it important to distinguish
among these three types of syllabi?
BASIC GOALS OF AN OBJECTIVE
BASED SYLLABUS
Answers the questions:

What do students need to learn (goals and
objectives)?
 What assignments, classroom activities, and
pedagogical approaches will help students reach
these goals?
 How will you determine that students have
accomplished what you set out to teach them?
Course Descriptions
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Explaining, briefly, what your course
is all about
The “big picture”
Interrogatory Course Description
Interrogatory:
Political Sciences 340
Individual Responsibility in Organizations
This course examines research on
responsibility and relates it to how we run
our business, government, educational and
other institutions. What do we do that
sabotages responsibility? How can you design
organizations so that people feel responsible?
Is there a relationship between responsibility
and efficiency? If so, why is it a secret?
Method: collaborative inquiry.
Declarative Course Description
History 212
Renaissance Europe
This course will examine the cultural and
intellectual movement known as the Renaissance,
from its origins in fourteenth-century Italy to its
diffusion into the rest of Europe in the sixteenth
century. We will trace the great changes in the
world of learning and letters, the visual arts, and
music, along with those taking place in politics,
economics, and social organization. We will be
reading primary sources as well as modern works.
Discussions on issues and group presentations will
be the main focus of our work.
Course Description: Tips
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You may want to use statements such as:
 The students will explore ……
 [List the topics covered in brief descriptive
phrases] will be examined in relation to…..
 There will be emphasis on ….
If the first line of a description does no more
than repeat the course title, omit it and go
on to the next line.
If a term such as "laboratory", "seminar" or
"workshop" is used in the title, you don’t
need to repeat it in the description.
Course Description: Tips
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If the course number or title adequately
indicates the relative sophistication of the
course, it is unnecessary to use "introduction
to" or "advanced study of" in the course
description.
In general, the course description should
cover the course aims, structure
(methodology) and assessment.
Use action words, active voice, convey a
user-friendly tone, and use tasteful humor if
you deem appropriate.
Course Description: Tips
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Limit the description to about 35 words
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Proof read!!
Review your own course
description.
References
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http://universitysenate.syr.edu/curric
ula/writing.html
http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/en/wtt
s/description.htm
http://precollege.case.edu/syl/Creati
veWritingEquinox07.pdf
http://www.ctl.sas.upenn.edu/tips/in
dex.html
http://www.usm.maine.edu/olli/natio
nal/pdf/USM-PR_Tips.pdf
Instructional Objectives
Broad
statements reflecting what
students should learn as a result of
taking the course.
Express
the general focus of the course
and help students understand the
direction the course will take.
Examples
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“Students will develop a basic
speaking knowledge of the French
language that will enable them to
carry on a simple conversation with a
native French speaker.”
“Students will be able to apply basic
economic concepts to current
economic situations.”
Instructional Objectives
 Use
general terms such as: students
will acquire, know, understand,
appreciate, grasp the significance of,
believe, internalize, experience,
recognize, identify etc.
 Ask:
In what ways will students be
“different” when they finish the
course?
Instructional Objectives
Objectives are:

stated in abstract terms. It is non
observable /non measurable. It
describes what we think students
should know and know how to do, and
what attitudes they should have by the
end of the course.  knowledge, skills,
attitude.
Instructional Objectives
Objectives are:
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concerned with students, not faculty,
and will guide students in their studies.
provide a basis for setting curriculum
priorities to focus on the most
meaningful content throughout the
course.
Examples of Objectives
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Students will be able to differentiate between
hard woods and soft woods.
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Students will comprehend principles of ethics
in the work place.
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Students should demonstrate a critical
understanding of the historical and
contemporary methods of experimental
psychology.
Students should be able to apply basic
principles of human metabolism.
Examples of Objectives
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Students will develop an understanding of
important concepts and methods in the field
of literary criticism.
Students will learn how to use basic chemical
concepts in a
laboratory experiment.
Upon completion of this course, students will
recognize how cardiac abnormalities manifest
clinically as disease processes .
Program Goals
General Instructional Objectives
Course Learning Outcomes
Developing Objectives
1.
Brainstorming what ideal students at the
end of your course and based on your
instruction should know, learn, be able to
do, etc.
2. Keep in mind how your course fits with
other courses in the program.
3. Discuss your responses.
Learning Outcomes
Written
statements of what students are
expected to learn and perform in a course
•State
what we want students to know and
be able to do as a result of their learning
experiences in a course
Clarify
to students our expectations
Purposes
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Increase students’ awareness of and
reflection on their own learning;
Help students understand where they are
supposed to be headed or what they are
aiming for as learners;
Help establish a common language among
faculty, students and other stakeholders
for describing and assessing course
content;
Purposes
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Provide advisors with a useful tool for
helping advisees make decisions about
course registration;
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Help faculty self-assess/reflect on practice;
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Define potential evidence bases for course
revision and design; and
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May satisfy important accreditation
requirements by external evaluators.
Writing Learning Outcomes
Bloom (1956) defined three different domains of
knowledge:
Cognitive domain (thinking, knowledge):
student cognitive behavior is categorized into six
levels ranging from simple (knowledge) to more
complex behaviors (evaluation)
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Affective domain (feeling, attitudes): this
domain ranges from receiving going up to
internalizing.
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Psychomotor domain (doing, skills): this
taxonomy ranges from the simple act of perception
to the highest level of behavior, organization.
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Examine the following statements: Which in your
judgment are acceptable Learning Outcomes?
Why?
“By
the end of the course, I will be able to
demonstrate to students how to set up lab
equipment.”
“By
the end of the course, students will be able
to set up laboratory equipment based on
specified tasks and purposes”
Student focused versus Teacher focused
By
the end of the semester, the
course will instill an understanding of
the scientific method.”
By the end of the semester, students
will be able to analyze what
constitutes valid and invalid
conclusions
Focused on the process versus focused on
the Outcome.
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Students will write a lesson plan at the
end of each chapter.
Students will design different lesson
plans in relation to a variety of
instructional models such as inquiry
model, cooperative learning, lecturing
etc.
Activity based versus outcomes based
How many learning outcomes
in a course should we develop?
You may want to develop as many
outcomes as needed in order to clearly
indicate to the students what they will gain
from the course.
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Each major topic in the course should
have one to three learning outcomes.
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Each 45-hour or three-credit course
should have between five and 12 learning
outcomes.
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Learning Outcomes -- More Tips

Check whether your students’ intended
performance is observable.
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Check whether you can assess/measure
your students’ observable performance.
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Align course learning outcomes with the
mission and goals of your program.
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Indicate the type and level of
knowledge, attitude and skills which are
expected of students upon completion of
the course.
Learning Outcomes -- More Tips
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Make sure each statement has one action
verb. Do not include more than one
expectation in one statement because the
required assessment methods may differ.
Focus on the learning result (i.e. product
or performance) that the student will
exhibit and not the learning process or
your instruction.
Write learning outcomes which can be
measured by more than one assessment
method.
Developing Learning
Outcomes
Effective learning outcomes must:
Have
an action word that describes
what the student will do differently as
a result of your course
Describe
meaningful learning
Developing Learning
Outcomes
Effective learning outcomes must:
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Be measured/verified i.e., you
can measure students’ ability to
achieve them
Represent high levels of thinking,
rather than trivial tasks
Be written in plain language
students can understand
Examples
1.Bio 100/101
General Instructional Objective/Goal:

Students will be able to understand how the
biological sciences explain the natural world.
Specific Learning Outcome:
Students will:
1. Design an experiment, based on a reasonable
scientific hypothesis,
to demonstrate how an environmental factor
affects a living organism
2. Choose 2 biological concepts from the following
list and explain how they are related: ecology,
cell function, evolution, genetics.
Examples
2. English 110
General Instructional Objective/Goal:

Students will understand how major works of
literature explore the human condition and
examine human values.
Specific Learning Outcome:
Students will be able to:
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Identify the characteristics inherent in
literature, such as emotional, intellectual and
aesthetic design, on problems of the human
condition.
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Relate the characteristics of literature to larger
cultural and human values.
Examples
2. Course Learning Outcomes (Educ. 245)
You should be able to:
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describe the cognitive, social, physical,
emotional and language development of
students in the elementary school;

demonstrate (in writing and actual teaching)
how to implement effectively major
instructional methods, approaches and
techniques in teaching the language arts in
the elementary school;
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plan lessons based on the language arts
components under student-centered classes
in the elementary school;
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Reflect on your teaching practices;
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assess your peers’ micro teaching practices;

develop your philosophy of teaching the
language arts in the elementary school,
Writing Learning Outcomes
Write learning outcomes for the
following objective:
“Understands
modern drama”
Summary
A syllabus is a contract. Write it
carefully.
Begin with the big picture (course
description)
…add the idealized final product
(instructional objectives)
…provide specific, observable,
measurable learning outcomes
Summary
Then, and only then, are you ready to
plan your content and activities.