Course Outcomes or Objectives
Introduction to writing learning outcomes
In this tutorial, we will ask you to set goals that meet very specific criteria. When reviewing overarching goals for courses, some of which may meet the criteria and some of which don't.
· Is the goal student-focused, rather than teacher-focused?
· Does the goal focus on higher order thinking skills?
· Could you design an activity/assignment that would allow you to determine whether students have met the goal or not (does the goal have "measurable outcomes")?
· Is the goal concrete, rather than vague and abstract?
Determine course content. Select the major topics and determine the order in which you will teach them.
Select the main topics to be covered. To obtain an initial list of course topics, look in current textbooks or the current literature (for a special-topics course). Determine whether there is a consensus concerning the necessary topics by obtaining previous course syllabi and discussing potential topics with colleagues. Refine your list by considering your course goals and the characteristics of your students. At the same time, use the desired content to refine the course goals.
Pare down and refine your initial list of topics. Instructors often plan initially to teach more material than they can cover in the allotted time.
Determine the structure of the course; arrange the topics in a logical order. Developing a rationale that guides the structure of the course can help you explain the material more clearly to the students. In other words, you can discuss how and why you have organized the material in a particular way, helping them to see, for example, how one topic builds on, illustrates, or offers a different perspective on another. Articulating the rationale behind the course structure also increases and maintains the students’ interest in the course content. Determining the course structure can help you decide which texts are most appropriate.
You can choose to organize the topics in a variety of ways, whether chronological, topical, conceptual, survey-oriented, or process-oriented. Think about how the structure of the course will contribute to student learning. Ask questions such as the following:
Can I organize the topics according to a theme or storyline?
Do I need to teach certain skills initially and then discuss applications?
Do I want to introduce a particular theory before illustrating it with specific examples or problems?
PRACTICE - Can you identify the outcomes that need revisions? What are those revisions?
1. Describe the seven major disasters covered in the course and explain the geologic processes involved in the disasters.
Student-focused?
Higher order thinking skills?
Measurable outcomes?
Concrete, rather than vague and abstract?
2. I want students to understand the scientific method.
Student-focused?
Higher order thinking skills?
Measurable outcomes?
Concrete and specific, rather than vague and abstract?
3. Learn geologic knowledge for municipal planning and land use decisions.
· Student-focused?
· Higher order thinking skills?
· Measurable outcomes?
· Concrete, rather than vague and abstract?
4. Explain why geologic catastrophes happen in some places but not in others.
Student-focused?
Higher order thinking skills?
Measurable outcomes?
Concrete, rather than vague and abstract?
5. Analyze historical and geologic records in an area and predict the likelihood of future natural disaster events.
Student-focused?
Higher order thinking skills?
Measurable outcomes?
Concrete, rather than vague and abstract?
6. I want students to be able to go up to an unfamiliar outcrop, ask appropriate questions, make observations and collect data, analyze their observations and data, make interpretations, and make decisions about where to proceed next in the field.
Student-focused?
Higher order thinking skills?
Measurable outcomes?
Concrete, rather than vague and abstract?
7. Evaluate old hypotheses in light of new data.
Student-focused?
Higher order thinking skills?
Measurable outcomes?
Concrete, rather than vague and abstract?
Task 1.2: Set one goal for each unit or week of your course.
What do you want your students to be able to do when they are done with your course? Several months down the road? Next year? Five years from now? As you write your goals, keep the following in mind:
Factor in context. Who are your students, and what do they need? Remember what you wrote on course context for the tasks in Part 1.1 of this tutorial!
Set student-focused goals. What does the student do to show mastery?
Use verbs that signal higher order thinking skills, such as derive, predict, analyze, design, interpret, synthesize, formulate, plan, correlate, evaluate, create, critique and adapt.
Verbs that signal lower order thinking skills, such as list, explain, calculate, know about, identify, describe, recognize, summarize, discuss, define, recall, and locate.
Set goals that are concrete, have measurable outcomes, and provide clear direction for course design.
Avoid verbs such as understand, learn, appreciate, value.
Remember that there is no one right set of overarching goals for a course. The details and conditions and criteria for excellent work will follow in the course through formative assessments.