Appendix 2: Learning Outcomes
- An outcome should be expressed in terms of what students should be able to do on completion of the module.
- The list of outcomes may distinguish between ‘specific', directly assessed, outcomes and ‘general' outcomes which are broader in nature and not assessable directly by the methods of assessment in any one module.
- An outcome should be expressed in wording such that it is possible to envisage a student being able to achieve it on a scale from ‘fully' through ‘partially' to ‘not at all'.
- The demands on students, as indicated by the intended learning outcomes, should be appropriate to the level of the module (see institutional level descriptors for what is understood by ‘level 1', etc.).
- The outcomes should be assessable across the range of the student cohort for which the module is designed.
- A set of outcomes for a module would normally include a range of types of student attainment (knowledge, understanding, skills).
- It is not exected that the there would be more than about 8 outcomes identified for a particular module.
Outcome vocabulary
There is no set vocabulary with regard to learning outcomes. However, it is advisable to keep the following in mind.
- Verbs used to describe outcomes should be active and indicative, if the outcome is to be assessed, of the capacity to measure each outcome through formative or summative assessment. For example, if students are expected to, "understand" a concept, it might be preferable to state that students should be able to, "identify" qualities of the concept, "describe" its value in explaining a phenomenon, "illustrate" application of the concept and, "evaluate" its significance. These outcomes could be seen as measurable manifestations of the understanding that we would expect students to gain.
- Understanding includes the very specific instances, in this example, of identification, description and illustration. However, there is a variety of intermediate levels of definition. This sort of vocabulary might include, "critically identify", "demonstrate an ability", "be able to apply/discuss" and "use a range." These might equally meet the requirements for measurement. Clearly this will vary greatly between and within disciplines.
The table below includes some more of the less measurable verbs and alternative terms that could be linked to assessment methods more closely. Clearly, they are context specific and some are interchangeable. This is not a definitive list.
| General verb | Measurable verb |
|---|---|
| Understand | Demonstrate an understanding of |
| Be aware of | Describe, Illustrate, Discuss |
| Comprehend | Analyse, Evaluate |
| Assimilate | Explain, Synthesise |
| Establish | Demonstrate, Identify, List, State, Justify |
| Appreciate | Analyse, Evaluate, Compare |
| Make known | Communicate, Explain |
| Carry out | Perform |
| Know | Define, Discriminate, Distinguish, Evaluate |