Learning Outcomes
Describe what students should accomplish or gain from the class session.
What does this look like?
Begin class with a brief discussion of what students should know or be able to do by the end of the class.
How does this help students?
When the learning outcomes for the class or course are explicitly stated, students can more easily:
- Focus on the important knowledge and skills as well as the expected level of mastery;
- Self-direct their learning by comparing their current proficiency with where they need to be by the end of the class/module;
- Recognize the rationale for course activities and assessments;
- See the value and relevance of the course material.
How can I do this in my classroom?
Start class by showing the learning outcomes (what students should accomplish or gain from the class session). Discuss the learning outcomes with the class.
Example:
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Learning Outcomes for Today
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Next Steps
In addition to describing what students should accomplish or gain from the class, consider using the strategies below to help students focus and self-assess their learning.
Focus on the Learning Outcomes
Overview:
Begin class by asking students to reflect on the learning outcomes and self-assess their proficiency with the learning outcomes. For example, after you describe the learning outcomes, ask students to reflect on them:
Example:
Learning Outcomes for Today
- By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:
- Calculate the velocities and accelerations of rigid bodies
- Identify and justify the assumptions made when solving these problems
- As we get ready for class, reflect on the following questions:
- What are rigid bodies? When is it appropriate to treat something as a rigid body? What is an example of something that can be treated as a rigid body? What is an example of something that can’t be treated as a rigid body?
- What are some of the assumptions we typically make when solving problems? For the homework assignment that was due today, what were some of the assumptions you made?
Reflect on the Learning Outcomes
Overview:
End class by returning to the learning outcomes and 1) asking students to reflect on their progress towards the learning outcomes and/or 2) asking students to identify questions they still have.
[more about reflections?] Students could write their reflections 1) on index cards and turn them in, 2) on the worksheet that was used for the class activity, 3) in a Canvas discussion / quiz / assignment, etc.
Example:
Learning Outcomes from Today’s Class
- By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:
- Calculate the velocities and accelerations of rigid bodies
- Identify and justify the assumptions made when solving these problems
- What were the main ideas from class today?
- What is the general procedure for calculating velocities and accelerations of rigid bodies?
- What assumptions did we make today? Why were these assumptions appropriate?
- What questions do you still have about
- Calculating velocities and accelerations of rigid bodies?
- Making assumptions to simplify the problems?
Describe how activities/tasks connect with course Learning Outcomes.
What does this look like?
Explicitly state the purpose of the activity/task; that is, how or why the activity/task is important work toward mastery of the CLO.
How does this help students?
When activities/tasks are explicitly connected to CLOs, students can:
- Recognize which CLO the activity/task is building toward;
- Recognize the rationale, value, and/or relevance of the activity/task; and
- Monitor and assess progress; that is, determine whether engaging in the activity/task achieved the intended purpose.
How can I do this in my classroom?
Provide an explicit purpose for the activity/task as it relates to a CLO. That might mean adding a “Purpose for Activity/Task” slide to your presentation, including a brief description that explains the purpose in your activity/task directions, or simply stating the purpose out loud before students engage in the activity/task.
Examples:
- The purpose of this reading is to introduce the microeconomic models that you will later use to make the predictions described in CLO#1. Pay special attention to the multiplier-accelerator model, two-sector model for investment planning, and an optimizing allocation mode; these are the models that are important to this course.
- During this group activity, you will review real-life disasters associated with both natural and man-made slopes. You will be given three potential actions that a geologist may have used to prevent or reduce the geological risk. Discuss the problem and the mitigation strategies that might have reduced the effect. Select the strategy that you think would have prevented or at least reduced the risk and provide a justification for your selection. This activity provides you with practice that is designed to help you prepare for your final assessment for CLO#3 when you will be asked to design solutions to mitigate geological risks on your own.
- As I think aloud while I work through this problem, listen to the questions that I am asking myself, the assumptions that I am using, and the decisions that I am making to solve this problem. Later, you will be practicing this type of problem solving as we work toward CLO#5. This think aloud modeling allows me to make my thinking visible to you so that you know the kinds of self-talk that should be going on inside your head when you approach this type of problem.
Next Steps
Look at the activities that you have planned for your students. Justify for yourself why the activity/task is important to the CLO. Then add a slide in your presentation or include the purpose right on the assignment that explicitly describes the purpose of the activity/task.
Read more about alignment [link to part of EL Guide]?
Describe how the Learning Outcomes are relevant to the field.
What does this look like?
Explicitly describe how the CLO relates to students’ future careers, their goals, and/or their lives outside of school.
How does this help students?
When students understand how what they are learning in class is relevant to their professional and personal lives, they:
- Are more motivated to engage with the course
- Often perform better in the course
How can I do this in my classroom?
- Consider why students need to master the CLOs for your course. How will they use what they learn, now or in the future, professionally or personally? Describe the relevance of your CLOs for the day when introducing them to students.
- Share concrete, real-world examples of the course content and explicitly link the examples back to the CLO.
- Ask students to identify examples of course content from their everyday lives and other courses.
Examples
Coming soon!