What is a Learning Outcome?
Learning outcomes are statements that indicate what students will know, value or be able to do by the end of the course. They are the assessable ends of education, written from the students’ perspective, focused on what students can expect to achieve if they have learned successfully. In order to be assessable, they must specify things that can be observed, that are public, and not activities or states that are internal to students’ minds. Every learning outcome follows a stem, such as:
On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
After the stem, you write a list of your learning outcomes, each of which begins with an active verb or phrase that tells people what sort of public, observable activity will be expected of them.
Finally, you have the object of that verb – a concept/idea, skill, attitude or value. There are three domains of
knowledge from which you can draw these objects:
1. Cognitive:
Concepts, ideas, beliefs, and facts. If you can say, “I believe that X”, then you’re dealing with the
cognitive domain. Cognitive knowledge is “knowing that” and “knowing about”, sometimes “knowing why”. It is also called “declarative” or “propositional” knowledge.
2. Performative:
Skills and abilities. These are things that people can do, generally after practice over a period of time, and they’re not usually the sorts of things people can do naturally (no one talks about the “skill” of chewing!). Performative knowledge is “knowing how”. It is also called “functional” knowledge. At the post‐secondary level, most performative knowledge presupposes and operationalizes a base of cognitive knowledge.
3. Affective:
Values, attitudes and emotions. When we’re talking about how we feel about something, our disposition toward it, or about values and principles we use to guide our behaviour, then we’re dealing with the affective domain. This kind of knowledge is closely connected to our emotions. Although universities have been declaring a commitment to affective knowledge for centuries, most still don’t include intentional teaching and assessment of the affective domain in their programs. So let’s look at a few learning outcomes in detail. We’ll make them learning outcomes about the same sort of object, in order to clarify differences between the three domains.
On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Explain the steps involved in at least two standard forms of historical research methodology:
This is a cognitive learning outcome, because it focuses the students’ attention on demonstrating their knowledge of the steps involved in historical research. Note that it doesn’t require them to demonstrate that they can actually do that research themselves!
2. Research and write articles using a standard form of historical research methodology that meets
professional standards of style and format:
This is a performative outcome. Here the focus is on students’ demonstration that they can actually research and write using a standard methodology. Note that the object is the same – the combination of outcomes 1 and 2 should give you a good sense of how well students understand the object from cognitive and performative perspectives.
3. Defend at least two standard forms of historical research methodology with an appeal to the underlying
scholarly values and attitudes of professional historians that they embody:
This is an affective and performative outcome. The performative component is a skill (defence, which is a form, of argumentation), but they need to demonstrate that skill by appealing to the attitudes and values embodied in historical research. Clearly, in addition to combining the performative and affective domains, this outcome has two objects as well.
Now, if a student achieved all three of those outcomes, you’d have good evidence that they understood some aspects of standard forms of historical methodology from cognitive, performative, and affective perspectives. The three outcomes work together very well to engage students holistically with their object of study.
Constructive Alignment: Outcomes, Methods, and Assessments
Learning outcomes are one of the three key components of a constructively‐aligned course – that is, a course in which the outcomes, means (teaching methods and learning experiences), and assessment tasks are mutually consistent and supportive. The outcomes specify what students should achieve, the teaching methods and learning experiences help them achieve those outcomes, and the assessment tasks determine whether and how well the outcomes have been achieved. Learning Outcomes Means (Learning Experiences and Teaching Methods) Assessment Tasks.
The Three Essentials of Alignment:
- Teaching methods should help students develop the knowledge and skills specified in the learning outcomes. The teaching methods are the means; the learning outcomes are the ends.
- Assessment tasks should determine whether, and to what degree, students have achieved the learning outcomes.
- Teaching methods, assessments, and learning outcomes should be consistent and coherent.
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