CREATING LEARNING OUTCOMES

Suzanne Rose
What are learning outcomes?
Students will be different because of a
learning experience

Students Knowledge
Skills
Take Attitudes
Aways Habits of mind

(Suskie, 2009)
Why do we need learning outcomes?
To set goals and expectations
To measure participants understanding and
comprehension
To help participants stay engaged
To reflect on the learning experience

(NASPA, n.d.)
Develop intentional and
purposeful programs that
assist students in
developing new knowledge
and/or skills. (Evatt, 2015)
 Effective learning outcomes should:
Meaningful, Measurable, Manageable

Align with departmental, divisional,

university
Objectives, goals, and
mission
Mission-driven
Needs-based
Theory or
model
(Bresciani, Zelna, & Anderson, 2004; Evatt, 2015; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Student Affairs Assessment Team, 2016)
Where to start? Backward
Design
3. Plan learning
experiences and process
instruction

2. Determine
acceptable evidence

1. Identify desired
results

(Wiggins & MacTighe, 2005)

The ABCs of Learning Outcomes
Audience:
Who does the outcome pertain to?
Behavior:
What do you expect the audience to know/be
able to do?
Condition:
Under what conditions or circumstances will the
learning occur?
Degree:
To what degree will learning take place?

(Dean, 2017; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Student Affairs Assessment Team, n.d.)

Writing a Learning outcome
Limit to 3 6 outcome

Write in order of CABD

Condition, Audience, Behavior, Degree

Areas to consider:
Intended outcomes
Action or level of thought
Achieving the outcome
Degree of achievement
(Dean, 2017; NASPA, n.d.)
The The Parts
experience,
program,
or event;
Condition After participating in this presentation,
Participants;
Audience
Resident Assistants should be able to
Action formulate More effective learning
verb;
Behavior
outcomes to aid in students learning
Explicit,
observable Through Programming In The halls.
terms;
Degree

(University of Oregon Student Life Assessment and Research, n.d.)

Try writing outcomes that address the full
range of cognitive processes
 References
Bresciani, M. J., Zelna, C. L., & Anderson, J. A. (2004). Assessing student learning and
development: a handbook for practitioners. Washington, D.C.: NASPA.
Dean, S. R. (2017). Learning Outcomes in Program Assessment and Evaluation. In Using the CAS
professional Standards: Diverse examples of practice (pp. 17-25). Washington, DC:
NASPA- Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, ACPA College Student Educators
International, and Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education.
Evatt, D. (2015, September 30). Planning Events with the End in Mind: Setting the Purpose
and Outcomes [Webinar]. Retrieved from
http://learnforwardblog.orgsync.com/planning- events-with-the-end-in-mind-setting-the-
purpose-and-outcomes/
NASPA. (n.d.) Program Submission Guidelines. Retrieved September 26, 2016, from
https://www.naspa.org/events/program-submission-guidelines#section4
Suskie, L. A. (2009). Assessing student learning: A common sense guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-
Bass.
University of Oregon Student Life Assessment and Research. (n.d.) Student Learning
Outcomes. Retrieved September 26, 2016, from http://sa-
assessment.uoregon.edu/Resources-and-Training/Writing-Student-Learning-
Outcomes
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Student Affairs Assessment Team. (n.d.). Effective Learning
Outcomes. Retrieved September 26, 2016, from
http://uwm.edu/saassessment/learning- outcomes/effective-learning-outcomes/
Wiggins, G. P., & MacTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson
Prentice Hall International.