Learning outcomes

If you don’t know

where you’re
going,
You’ll probably
end up
somewhere else.
(Campbell 1984)
 Context of the Workshop
• Framework for HE Qualifications
• Subject benchmark statements
• Professional Body Requirements
• Programme specification
• Level of module
• Pre- and co-requisites
• Barred combinations
 What are learning outcomes?
• An outcome is simply a result or
consequence of an action or process
• A learning outcome is what results from a
learning process
• Intended learning outcomes are
statements that predict what learners will
have gained as a result of learning
(Higher Education Academy)
 Outcomes Model

Explicit Enabling Assessment

statement of processes and criteria for
learning intent resources achievement

Feedback loop
 So for today…
Aims
This session aims to:
– Help you to reconsider your course design, and
whether you have ‘got the basics right’ in terms of
assessment

Intended learning outcomes (ILO)

By the end of this course you should be able to:
– Write explicit learning outcomes
– Design a course that is ‘constructively aligned’
Aims and learning outcomes
• Aims are written in terms of lecturer
intention
• Learning outcomes are written in terms of
student capability
 What to consider in designing a
module: constructive alignment
1. Who are my students?
2. What are my aims/learning outcomes?
3. What outcomes do I hope students will
achieve?
4. What do I want to assess?
5. How do I want to assess my students?
6. What segments of content do I think are
essential building blocks for students
7. What teaching and learning strategies do I
want to use?
8. In what mode(s) will I deliver the course?
 Alignment model

Figure 1. Aligning learning outcomes, learning and teaching activities and the
assessment. Adapted from Biggs(1999) p 27
Learning Outcomes
 Learning outcomes

• Programme learning outcomes

• Module learning outcomes
• Session learning outcomes
Programme Learning
Outcomes

•Knowledge and understanding

•Intellectual skills

•Practical skills

•Key/transferable skills
 Distillation matrix
Code Year/Se
m
COMPULSORY MODULES
K1 K2 K3 I1 I2 I3 P1 P2 P3 T1 T2 T3 T4
Title

ECO127 1/1
Economics Y Y Y

BMG106 1/1
Organisational Studies

MKT108 1/1
Introduction to Marketing

ACF110 1/2
Introduction to Accounting

BMG171 1/2
Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis for Managers

BMG170 1/2
Introduction to Human Resource Management

BMGXXX 2/1
Management of Organisations (Lloyd H)

MKTXXX 2/1
Marketing Management (John Milliken) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

ACF321 2/2
Managerial Accounting (Michael Thompson

BMGXXX 2/2
Contemporary Issues in HRM (AMD)

BMGXXX 3/1
Strategic Management (Lloyd Hunter)

ACFXXX 3/2
Financial Management (Ken Dyson)
 Constructive alignment

Figure 1. Aligning learning outcomes, learning and teaching activities and the
assessment. Adapted from Biggs(1999) p 27
Module Level
 SOLO taxonomy
• Pre structural

• Unistructural

• Multi structural

• Relational

• Extended abstract
 Writing learning outcomes
• Aims • Outcomes
– Know – Outline
– Understand – Distinguish between
– Determine – Choose
– Appreciate – Assemble
– Grasp – Identify
– Become familiar – Solve
– Apply
– Describe
– Analyse
– Synthesise
 SOLO verbs
• Minimal understanding – sufficient to deal with
basic terminology – memorise, identify, recognise.
• Descriptive understanding – knowing about several
topics – classify, describe, list
• Integrative understanding – relating facts together and
understanding basis theory – apply to known contexts –
integrate,
‘If students are to learn desired
outcomes in a reasonably effective
manner, then the teacher’s
fundamental task is to get students to
engage in learning activities that
are likely to result in their achieving
those outcomes’ (Schuell, 1986)
 Some examples
By the end of the module colleagues should be able to:

1. Plan and structure teaching sessions for

effective student learning
2. Apply appropriate teaching strategies and
technologies as appropriate
3. Present content in clear language and
stimulating ways
Writing learning outcomes
We recommend that you aim for between
four and eight learning outcomes for each of
your single modules, and up to twenty-five
outcomes for an entire programme.
Start programme outcomes with the
phrase:
‘A successful learner from this programme
will be able to …’
Start module outcomes with the phrase:
‘On successful completion of the module,
you will be able to …’
Writing learning outcomes
 Examples

• Knowledge & understanding skills (Blooms)

• Intellectual skills (Blooms)

• Practical skills (subject specific)
• Key/transferable (generic)
 Linking outcomes to
assessment
• Assessment tasks should fulfil module
outcomes
• One-to-one criterion for each outcome
• Multi criterion for each outcome
• Regular reference to module outcomes
Motivating students
 Constructive planning
Learning outcomes

Learning
activities

Assessed
coursework
assignment

Final module
assessment task
WORKSHOP
Using the handout please
complete a learning
outcome from each
category for one of your Learning
outcomes
lectures/modules/courses.

•Knowledge & understanding skills

•Intellectual skills
•Practical skills
•Key/transferable