Learner Centered Learning Outcomes
by Mark Ferrer
We have spoken in other sections of your need
to check with your Dean and/or Department Chair concerning college-defined
objectives for your course. Some institutions state that course learning
outcomes -- what students will be able to do upon completion of the
course-- must remain the same no matter who teaches the course. If
that is the case, then your academic freedom means you decide how
youll help students achieve those outcomes. You will decide
the enabling objectives [some institutions use the phrase enabling
objectives to mean those things students learn to do along
the
way toward reaching learning outcomes]. Teachers should identify
and order these objectives as part of the course planning process.
In any case, your best first step as you plan the course is to determine
what students will be able to do upon successful completion
of the course.
Here are some general guidelines for the wording,
organization, and tone to use as you craft objectives (adapted from
Columbia Colleges website):
- Goals and objectives should be stated as student
outcomes (The student will
, or You
will be able to
).
- They may be organized according to
the units of the course; if appropriate, include projects and options.
- They should correspond to the professional
standards of the discipline and work environment the student
is preparing to enter.
Describe your learning objectives using active
verbs that indicate what students will need to do as the semester
progresses. For example, in a course on history, one instructor told
students they would acquire the "basic skills used by historians,"
which included the ability to:
- critically analyze primary documents
- identify an author's thesis and evaluate how
well it is supported
- write a logical and coherent argument of your
own.
The tone of a learning-centered syllabus should
be informal and accessible. Personally, I recommend the phrase you
will be able to . . . instead of the student will be able
to . . .. One other consideration is the decision to use will
or should. Check with your institution; in this litigious
society, some educational institutions have decided that objectives
should be stated as, You should be able to . . . because
using will implies successful accomplishment merely due
to attendance.
We refer many times to Blooms Taxonomy.
Visit the following website to help clarify how to define and phrase
objectives so that you are requiring students to work at the higher
levels of the Taxonomy: .
The authors provide active verbs related to each of the levels in
the Taxonomy. It is clear that cite, list,
and pronounce verbs associated with Blooms Knowledge
level differ markedly from diagram, integrate,
and assess verbs characteristic of Application, Analysis,
Synthesis, and Evaluation.
Integrating as an activity clearly
requires students to do something with the material.
List, on the other hand, requires only successful memorization
and ability to say or write what has been memorized. Use the following
table to locate your objectives on Blooms scale. The level of
demand on students' abilities to think critically, solve problems,
make connections rises as the chart moves from knowledge (lowest demand)
up to evaluation (highest demand). Keeping the level required to complete
your objective commensurate with your students readiness to
accomplish it means that you have set realistic, positive objectives
-- ones that will result in success rather than frustration and loss
of engagement.
There is no bad or good level in Blooms
Taxonomy, but there is appropriate vs. inappropriate. Knowledge-level
learning activity and assessment are quite appropriate at the right
times. For instance, learning the names of the parts of the digestive
system and listing them on a test may be the right task at the right
place in your physiology course. A student who missed this step might
be forced into an inappropriate phrase in a real-world scenario. Assure
that students know the basic vocabulary by employing a Knowledge-Level
activity before moving to assignments that require students to do
something with that knowledge.
It is important to give
students the right challenge at the appropriate moment. If you ask
too little, they lose interest. If you ask too much, they hit overload
and cant process the information or complete the task. One way
to set the
cognitive load of a learning task is to select the verbs appropriate
to student readiness. Choose the verbs from the list below that match
what students are ready to do with the learning task you want to assign.
For example, using the verb name (as in, Name the
parts of the digestive system), means the cognitive load required
of students will be lower than if the verb, determine
(as in, Determine potential causes for the peptic ulcer given
the patients medical history) is used. You want to manage
the flow state to maintain momentum in the learning
process:

The higher levels in Bloom correspond to higher
levels of cognitive load. Students have to be skilled and prepared
to handle demands made of them at the higher levels. Staged preparation,
scaffolding, incremental familiarization, and graduated practice make
the move upward possible. Abrupt shifts and inconsistent levels within
an assignment or presentation will leave most students stranded. (For
more see Tests and Testing
in Module Seven).
Knowledge-Remembering previously learned
materials
cite
|
label
|
name
|
reproduce
|
define
|
list
|
quote
|
pronounce
|
identify
|
match
|
recite
|
state
|
Comprehension-ability to grasp the meaning
of material. Answers: who? what? when? where?
alter
|
discover
|
manage
|
relate
|
change
|
explain
|
rephrase
|
substitute
|
convert
|
give examples
|
represent
|
summarize
|
depict
|
give main idea
|
restate
|
translate
|
describe
|
illustrate
|
reword
|
vary
|
interpret
|
paraphrase
|
tell why
|
express
|
Application-ability to use learned material in new and concrete
situations
apply
|
discover
|
manage
|
relate
|
classify
|
employ
|
predict
|
show
|
compute
|
evidence
|
prepare
|
solve
|
demonstrate
|
manifest
|
present
|
utilize
|
direct
|
|
|
|
Analysis-ability to break down material into
its component parts. Answers: how many? which? what is?
ascertain
|
diagnose
|
distinguish
|
outline
|
analyze
|
diagram
|
divide
|
point out
|
associate
|
differentiate
|
examine
|
reduce
|
conclude
|
discriminate
|
find
|
separate
|
designate
|
dissect
|
infer
|
determine
|
Synthesis-ablity to put parts together to form a new whole. Answers
why?
combine
|
devise
|
originate
|
revise
|
compile
|
expand
|
plan
|
rewrite
|
compose
|
extend
|
pose
|
synthesize
|
conceive
|
generalize
|
propose
|
theorize
|
create
|
integrate
|
project
|
write
|
design
|
invent
|
rearrange
|
|
develop
|
modify
|
|
|
Evaluation-ability to judge the value of
material for a given purpose. Answers how can we improve? what would
happen if?
appraise
|
conclude
|
critique
|
judge
|
assess
|
contrast
|
deduce
|
weigh
|
compare
|
criticize
|
evaluate
|
|
The importance of keeping Bloom in mind as you create/define
your learning objectives for the course and unit is clear. The added
benefit is that our process of syllabus-making/course planning and
its order of activities help you:
- determine objectives in terms of student-doing
- create assessments to measure achievement of
objectives
- create assignments and activities to facilitate
student achievement of objectives.
Working in this way guides you constantly along
the learning-centered path. Planning the order of the steps keeps your
focus on student learning and not solely on the presentation of material:
. . . one reason students do not learn may
be related to the failure of many faculty to consider, articulate,
and specify their expectations and objectives. Outcomes assessment
forces academics to become student-centered.
from Successful College Teaching
by Baiocco & DeWaters, p. 158