The ABCD method explicitly states the audience, behavior, condition, and degree. Explicitly stating these components can make the learning outcomes easier to assess. The behavior is the most essential component in the learning outcome. Audience may be implied to be “student” or “learner” or “participant.” Condition and degree suggest which assessments to use and can be useful for consistency across multiple sections of a course.

Audience

What population are you assessing? Who is learning?

Behavior (Essential)

What action do you expect from the participant?

Conditions

Under what circumstances will the individual perform the behavior?

Degree

How well must the individual perform the behavior?

Table 1: Aligning example learning outcomes to instructional intervention and assessment

Type of Learning	Learning Outcome	Instructional Intervention	Assessment
Cognitive	Given a blank page [Condition], the learner [Audience] will be able to write a measurable learning outcome statement [Behavior] with at least 75% accuracy [Degree].	Instructor writes a learning outcome statement on the board and points to each component. In pairs, learners to identify components within several examples. Then each person writes a learning outcome and has a partner identify the components.	The instructor will hand out a blank page to each learner, who will write a learning outcome and identify each component within the learning outcome. The learner must correctly identify at least 3 of the 4 components for successful completion.
Psychomotor	Given a new piece of sheet music and a musical instrument [Condition], the student [Audience] plays the piece [Behavior] with no errors that disrupt enjoyment of the music [Degree].	Add example	Add example
Affective	Given various community service options [Condition], students [Audience] choose to engage in the activities that support vulnerable populations [Behavior].	The instructor incorporates community service in the course design. The class includes discussions about vulnerable populations in the community. Instructor asks students to reflect on their misconceptions about the vulnerable population.	For their class project, students choose to work on projects that support vulnerable populations and explain their rationale for choosing that project.

 

Tips for writing learning outcomes

• Use one behavior verb at a time. The verb indicates the action that you will be assessing. Different verbs may need different kinds of evidence.
• Use the word “and” sparingly. The word “and” often signals more than one idea within a learning outcome, which may require more than one kind of assessment to generate the necessary evidence. If “and” is present, consider whether the statement would be better broken into separate outcomes.
• Avoid the words “know,” “understand,” or “knowledge of”. To gather evidence of learning, the learning outcomes need to describe what tyou will see, hear, taste, smell or feel to know when the student learned. We cannot physically sense “understand” and “know”.
• Choose verbs that accurately signal the task complexity. Some verbs, like “identify” or “recall” signal cognitive tasks related to recognition and memory. Other verbs such as “analyze” or “create” signal higher-order thinking skills that might require synthesizing information or
• Choose a limited number of outcomes you will “guarantee”. You will be assessing each of your learning outcomes. Only write learning outcomes for the knowledge, skills, and attitudes you will intentionally teach and will expect all successful students to exhibit.

Table 2: Sample learning outcomes with improved wording

Could be Improved	Better	Rationale
List the steps in the assessment process and choose the best way to assess success of the project.	Rationalize the best approach to assessessing success on the project.	The two verbs suggest very different kinds of cognitive tasks. The first involves only recall and the second requires higher-level thought processes. Combine the verbs into one outcome or separate into two outcomes.
Construct an understanding of spirituality, religion, and health	Describe the relationship between spirituality, religion, and health.	We didn’t really know what the instructor expects the learner to do to demonstrate learning.
In a reflective journal, define social injustice as it relates to the socioeconomically disadvantaged	In a short essay, explain how socioeconomically disadvantaged people experience social injustice.	There’s a mismatch between the task complexity and the verb. “Define” suggests a memorization and recall task, but the instructor probably intends a more complex, higher level analysis of the content.
Demonstrates ability to implement and manage collaborative plans for a long-term project with community partners.	Manages a collaborative plan for a long-term project with a community partner.	Wordiness can obsure meaning. Only the verb “managing” is needed because “implementing” and “demonstrating” are included within the action of managing.
Distinguish theory X from theory Y. Assess with quiz question: “List the major theories in the 20th century”	Distinguish theory X from theory Y. Assess with essay question: “Explain the most important differences that characterize theories X and Y.”	The assessment was evaluating students’ ability to recall rather than provide evidence about their ability to distinguish the theories
Students will gain knowledge and practice in methods and research.	Students will use common methods in our field to conduct publishable-quality research on a topic of interest.	The outcome does not what a student will do to provide evidence that they met the desired level of knowledge and skills.