CREATING EFFECTIVE

AND MEASURABLE

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Emily Magruder, Ph.D.

Director, Institute for Teaching and Learning

Opening Poll

Go to Café Learn Engagement Bootcamp.

>> Course Design

>> Measurable Learning Outcomes

Reflection Activity

• Did the results of the poll or any of the

examples surprise you?

• What can faculty do to keep teaching and

learning linked?

DESIGN

Approaches to Design

Content

Textbook

Outcomes

What we know about learning

1. Prior knowledge matters.

2. Novices are not experts.

3. Metacognition (thinking about thinking)

can help bridge the gap.

Bransford, Brown, Cocking, How People Learn (1999)

Backward Design

Types of Outcomes

•Cognitive

•Psychomotor

•Affective

Bloom’s Taxonomy:

Cognition

Dee Fink’s Framework:

Adds Affect for “Significant Learning”

Dee Fink and Associates

http://www.aacu.org/peerreview/pr-wi07/pr-wi07_analysis3.cfm

Preparing to Write Objectives

1. Ask dean: Are outcomes mandated by an accreditor?

By the institution? Can I modify them?

2. Research the history of the course: Why was it

proposed? What other courses should it prepare

students for? Who are the students?

3. Are there ILOs and PLOs?

4. What should students who have taken this course be

able to know/do/value at the end?

Effective Outcomes are “Mapped”:

Measurable

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to [do something].

Begin with an action verb that describes behavior that can be observed or evaluated.

Example: At the end of this course, students will be able to deliver a carefully constructed persuasive speech to a well-defined audience.

Effective Outcomes are “mApped”:

Appropriate

Outcomes should match what is taught and

the means of assessment.

Example: A multiple-choice quiz can

measure ability to recall a definition, but it

cannot measure ability to explain a concept.

Effective Outcomes are “mApped”:

Appropriate

• Level 3. Problem-Solving –Evaluating and Creating

• Level 2. Interpretation –Applying and Analyzing

• Level 1. Recall –Remembering and Understanding

Effective Outcomes are “maPped”:

Precise

Outcomes should specify the behavior, the

conditions under which it will be performed,

and the degree of mastery expected.

Examples

• On all written assignments and exams, students will use

correct grammar and spelling.

• Students will walk the entire length of a balance beam set

to standard height without falling off within a 15 second

time frame.

• Students will correctly write and balance chemistry

equations using chemical equations.

Backward Design

Ultimate

OutcomeMediating

Outcome

Foundational

Outcome

Practice

Write (or rewrite) an outcome for one lesson.• Is it measurable?

• How will it be assessed?

• What foundation knowledge is needed?

• What process knowledge?

Wrapping It Up

• What’s one thing you learned today?

• What do you want to know more about?

• What’s one thing you will apply in your teaching?

“Learning results from what the

student does and thinks

and only from what the student

does and thinks.”-Herbert Simon, 2001

References

Susan A. Ambrose, et al., How Learning Works: Seven

Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching. Jossey-

Bass, 2010.

John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown, & Rodney R. Cocking,

How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School.

National Academies Press, 2000.

Linda B. Nilson, Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based

Resource for College Instructors. Jossey-Bass, 2010.