In brief: Learning Outcomes describe what you expect your students to achieve from a single class, a chapter, a course or an entire program. Course-level learning outcomes are broad and describe what a student will be able to do as a culmination of their learning at the end of a course. Supporting outcomes are descriptions of more discrete learning that builds up the knowledge, skills and attitudes students need to reach the course learning [...]

In brief: Learning outcomes identify the level or depth of learning you expect from your students, and what they will be able to do with their learning: A learning taxonomy can help you identify the level of learning you are targeting, from foundational knowledge, like memorizing, to higher order thinking, like analyzing. A Taxonomy of Educational Objectives1, developed by Benjamin Bloom and colleagues, is the most widely used learning taxonomy in education. [...]

In brief: Course goals, teaching objectives and learning outcomes are distinct from each other because: Course Goals are general statements that indicate the broad intentions of a course. These goals can be mapped to the program curriculum as indicators of purpose and cohesion. Teaching objectives describe the Instructor’s responsibilities, goals or intentions for the course. They often focus on the content that you, as Instructor, want to cover with your students. Learning outcomes focus [...]

In brief: Learning outcomes are important because they: clarify the purpose of learning and the design of assessments; identify important course content; clarify Instructor expectations for the level of knowledge to acquire; situate a course within a program. How do learning outcomes help students? They help students clarify what you expect them to do with their learning. They help students identify the purpose of a course within their program. You can map [...]

In brief: Learning Outcomes are: statements that describe what a student can do with their learning; statements that use observable and measurable verbs to describe student learning; statements that help determine teaching approaches and course assignments that will help students learn; statements that indicate what you should assess to measure student learning. Learning Outcomes are statements that describe specific knowledge, skills, attitudes, etc. that students should acquire and be able to [...]