We are applying specific meaning to the phrase “measurable learning outcome”. A learning outcome is our promise about what a student will be able to do as a result of successfully completing the instructional experience we designed.
You will be expected to assess each “learning outcome” you write, so it is a good idea to only promise that which you can guarantee. If you hope that certain learning will occur, but can’t guarantee it, call it a “goal” instead. For example, we might have a goal that our students will go to graduate school, but we create a learning outcome that students will be able to conduct a research project. We can actually design a class to have students conduct a research project, so we have a large amount of control for this learning outcome. However, for our goal of graduate school, we can only hope that we can influence the students’ choices by creating a positive research experience for them.
Why measurable learning outcomes?
The most useful learning outcomes are written in a measurable way. A measurable learning outcome is written to describe an observable behavior by the learner. Writing learning outcomes in a in a measurable way is advantageous for several reasons. First, measurable learning outcomes set clear expectations for students and colleagues because they state the behavior a learner will be able to exhibit upon completing the educational activity. Second, they increase the likelihood students learn what you intended them to learn because you can explicitly align the desired goal state (learning outcome) with the instructional intervention (teaching methods and materials) and the assessments (evidence of learning). Third, measurable learning outcomes can be easier to assess.
What is curriculum mapping?
Mapping learning outcomes involves providing a rationale for why certain learning outcomes connect with each other and how more specific classroom learning outcomes contribute to accomplishing broader institutional learning outcomes.
The most specific learning outcomes are likely those for a course, workshop, or lesson. Aggregated together, the outcomes for these educational opportunities contribute to accomplishing the learning outcomes for the broader program, department, concentration, major, etc. The learning outcomes at a program, department, concentration or major level aggregate and connect to the College-Wide Learning Outcomes (CWLO). These connections allow us to use course-level information to determine a) how well students are accomplishing the departmental and institutional outcomes, b) whether there is unnecessary overlap in coursework, and c) whether we have gaps in our curriculum. This information helps the areas on campus to effectively utilize their resources and to demonstrate need for more resources in critical areas.
