How to draft and revise outcomes

Now that you have conducted research and identified the broad concepts, skills, attitudes, etc., that you want student to learn within the program, it’s time to begin writing the outcomes.

Effective Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes are statements that specify what students will know or be able to do as a result of earning their degrees. Effective outcomes are usually expressed as knowledge, skills, or abilities that students will possess upon successful completion of a program. They provide guidance for faculty regarding content, instruction, and evaluation, and serve as the basis for ensuring program effectiveness. Because we evaluate student performance in terms of specific actions, the strongest learning outcomes are measurable and observable.

Key questions to consider when drafting learning outcomes:

  • What is the most essential knowledge students need to have acquired upon successful completion of the program?
  • Are there specific skills or abilities students need? What are they?
  • How does the program attempt to shape students’ attitudes or views regarding the discipline or profession?

EXAMPLE: Making a learning outcome stronger
The following illustration shows how two key questions can be used to strengthen weaker learning outcomes:

  • Is the action accomplished by students?
  • Is the specified action observable?
  • Can the specified action be measured using direct measures of student learning?

The original learning outcome reads:
Upon successful completion of this program, students will be exposed to case studies documenting the use of ethical reasoning in daily decisions.

We evaluate this learning outcome by asking the questions.

  • “Is the action done by the students?”
    • No, the action is not done by students, but by the faculty who present the case studies. The problem is that it says nothing about what students actually LEARN from being exposed to the case studies, so the value of this outcome is low. This learning outcome describes what FACULTY will do, not what students will learn. As such, it is not a learning-centered outcome.
  • “Is the specified action observable?”
    • Yes, the action is observable, as students could be observed as they are exposed to the case studies. Perhaps one could determine what students might learn from being exposed to case studies, but this does little to develop student learning.
  • “Can the specified action be measured using direct measures of student learning?”
    • No. There is nothing to measure in terms of what the student learns.

The revised learning outcome is:
Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to apply ethical reasoning in daily decisions.

By asking the same three questions as before we can evaluate the learning outcome.

  • “Is the action done by the students?”
    • Yes, the action is done by students.
  • “Is the specified action observable?”
    • No, the action is difficult to directly observe. The resources required to observe the behavior directly would be extensive.
  • “Can the specified action be measured using direct measures of student learning?”
    • No, it can be measured indirectly by asking students to comment on the extent to which they apply ethical reasoning in their daily decisions.

The faculty revise the learning outcome to:
Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to appreciate the value of ethical reasoning in their daily decisions.

Again, we evaluate the learning outcome by using the same three questions.

  • “Is the action done by the students?”
    • Yes, the action is done by students.
  • “Is the specified action observable?”
    • Yes, the action is somewhat observable by viewing the student’s actions/behaviors.
  • “Can the specified action be measured using direct measures of student learning?”
    • It can only be. Yes, because it may be measured indirectly by asking students to comment on the extent to which they appreciate the value of ethical reasoning in their daily life.
    • No, because it is challenging to measure directly because appreciation is a concept which is difficult to define or operationalize.

Finally, the department develops the learning outcome:
Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to apply ethical reasoning in discussing an ethical issue.

By revisiting the three questions, the strengths of this outcome emerge.

  • “Is the action done by the students?”
    • Yes, the action is done by students.
  • “Is the specified action observable?”
    • Yes, the action is observable. The student can be given an assignment in which they are required to apply ethical reasoning.
  • “Can the specified action be measured using direct measures of student learning?”
    • Yes, it is measurable. The expectations can be defined and the student’s performance measured against those standards.