What are Learning Outcomes?
Learning outcomes are statements that describe the desired qualities of students at the completion of a learning experience. Whether the learning experience is a single activity, a class session, a course or a set of courses, learning outcomes provide guidance in how to measure whether students achieved the intended learning. For this reason, it is important that they be written in a way that they may be easily measured.
Constructing Outcomes
To construct outcomes, you can follow the A-B-C and sometimes D formula:
|
A
|
Audience
|
|
B
|
Behavior
|
|
C
|
Condition
|
|
D
|
Degree
|
Here is an example of an outcome written using this formula:
|
the student
|
Audience
|
|
will apply appropriate techniques for addressing a policy decision problem
|
Behavior
|
|
when given one,
|
Condition
|
|
90% of the time.
|
Degree
|
As implied above, not all outcomes will state a degree. In fact, it is more likely they will not. Note also that the order of the A-B-C and sometimes D parts is not important. We could have written the objective this way:
|
Given a policy decision problem,
|
Condition
|
|
the student
|
Audience
|
|
will apply appropriate techniques for addressing it
|
Behavior
|
|
90% of the time.
|
Degree
|
Here are other examples of learning outcomes:
- For a given decision, students can predict channel-wide costs (effects on other parts of the channel).
- Given information about successful business ventures, students will identify the organizational factors that contributed to their success.
- Given pricing information about spot and forward markets, students will use arbitrage arguments to identify mispricings.
Notice that they are all easily measurable; as you read them, you can easily imagine test questions, projects or problems that would reveal whether (and the degree to which) the objectives have been met.
A Word About Verbs
Verb Lists
Download Writing Learning Outcomes (Word)
Download Writing Learning Outcomes (PDF)
| 
