Assessment at WMU

Identifying and Articulating Outcomes

Outcomes can be at the university, program or course level. Learning outcomes may be defined as the change in a student’s knowledge or skills as a result of the student’s experience(s). The focus of the learning outcomes should be on the results of learning, and not on the process used to accomplish the learning. The learning outcomes should be communicated with students so they understand the expectations. Having too many outcomes can be confusing and harder to achieve and assess. It is often advantageous to keep it simple with a core set of learning outcomes that make sense and have clear benefits for the students.

Try keeping the following questions in mind when developing learning outcomes:

What are your goals? What knowledge or skills do you want students to possess when they finish the course/program?
How will you know when a change in the student’s knowledge or skills has occurred? What specifically will be different about the students?
How will you assess the degree to which the students have achieved the learning outcome?

What is the difference between a learning outcome, a program outcome and process/operational outcome?

Learning Outcomes Defined

Learning outcomes describe the measurable skills, abilities, knowledge or values that students should be able to demonstrate as a result of a completing a course or program. They are learner-centered rather than instructor-centered, in that they describe what the students will do, not what the instructor will teach.

Examples of learning outcomes:

Students will be able to apply chemical concepts and principles to draw conclusions about chemical reactions.
Students can identify and summarize the important features of major periods in the history of western culture.
Students will be able to develop and practice skills to successfully navigate conflict.
Students will exhibit the ability to work effectively with those different from themselves.

Program Outcomes Defined

Program outcomes are statements conveying the intent of a program of study. They are often seen as the knowledge and skills students will have obtained by the time they have received their intended degree.

Specifically, program outcomes should be:

1. Relevant and tailored to meet the specific needs of a discipline, ensuring students are gaining skills and knowledge essential to the field.

2. Clear and measurable in order to identify if a student has achieved the outcome.

3. Written to accommodate a variety of teaching and learning approaches so that there are multiple ways to teach to the outcome.

Examples of program outcomes:

Graduates of the program will collaborate effectively as a part of teams and in interdisciplinary contexts.
Graduates of the program will deliver effective presentations in which they combine visual communication design with oral arguments and/or written word.
Graduates of the program can describe ethical issues in conducting research.

Process/Operational Outcomes Defined

Process/operational outcomes document how effectively or efficiently the operational aspects of a departmental program or activity are functioning by assessing, for example, buildings, budgets, attendance, number of programs, satisfaction, wait times, etc. (Henning & Roberts, 2016)

Examples of process/operational outcomes:

80% of all First Year Seminar students will participate in at least 3 career resource workshops before the end of the year.
150 students will participate in the at least one Wellness Workshop in the fall semester.
Conference attendees will report high satisfaction with the conference facilities.

Frameworks and Taxonomies of Learning

We recommend using the Backward Design framework to design learning outcomes. If you'd like to learn more, WMUx has some excellent resources on this topic.
Bloom's Taxonomy and Revised Bloom's - From the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching, this guide provides background information about Bloom's, including the original six learning levels; the Revised Bloom's, and why you might want to use this taxonomy when developing learning outcomes.
Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning - This site describes the taxonomy, created by Dr. L. Dee Fink, what it is and how it differs from Bloom's, including outcome examples.

Guides for Developing Outcomes

2-Minute Video, "Writing Student Learning Outcomes" - Created by Leah Parsons Simpson from the University of Kentucky.
How to write learning outcomes for co-curricular programs - Watch this 30-minute video to learn tips for writing clearly articulated learning outcomes. (Resource from Campus Labs now Anthology).
Learning outcomes worksheet - Complete this worksheet to help you to learn how to and practice creating meaningful and measurable learning outcomes. (Resource from Campus Labs now Anthology).
Guide on designing effective learning objectives - This guide will provide strategies for crafting clear, measurable, and impactful learning outcomes that enhance the teaching and learning process. It emphasizes the importance of aligning objectives with instructional design and assessment practices to optimize educational experiences for students. (Carnegie Mellon University, Eberly Center.)

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