Teaching and Learning at Flinders

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Aims and Learning Outcomes

Why do I have to design and publicise aims and outcomes for my topic(s)?

The University Education and Research Policy states as part of the "Principles for effective teaching and learning in undergraduate, honours and postgraduate courses" that students can expect:

• within each program of study there is to be coherence between the structure of the program, the course and topic aims, the learning, teaching and assessment methods, and the desired learning outcomes;
• the structure of the program, the processes for teaching, learning, assessment and evaluation, and the desired learning outcomes to be clearly communicated to them;

Why state aims AND learning outcomes?

It is good educational practice to communicate to students what you are trying to achieve and what they should expect to gain from your topics. It is not only helpful for students, but the very task of articulating your aims can you help you to clarify these matters in your own mind.

Additionally, the University’s policy on having a web presence for every topic (WebPET) requires that the information be made available on Student One and on FLO.

Aims

Teaching, like research, is a purposeful activity. Planning for teaching (and research) is based on intentions, also variously described as goals, purposes, objectives and aims. Aims are broad, general expressions of intention or purpose. Aims can include those that are lofty and noble as well as the more mundane and pragmatic.

They provide guidance on the overall direction or thrust of the topic (or program, or activity). Expressing aims and learning outcomes for teaching involves the same process as describing the purpose and procedures for a research proposal. They contribute logical starting points for topic design. So, once we are clear about what we want to achieve we can then make decisions about how we will achieve it.

Thus, statements of topic aims are general statements formulated in clear language to express the nature and direction of the topic.

Aims are:

• Significant and worthwhile
• Clear and unambiguous
• Attainable in terms of available facilities and resources
• Achievable (through reasonable effort by all students)

Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes are derived from aims - they represent the translation of aims into specific, tangible, attainable terms. They are also statements of intention but precise ones. It is reasonable to assume that students will learn something through doing our topics. We can convey to them what they will learn by stating learning outcomes. Outcomes reflect what students will be able to do or accomplish. Examples of the sort of lead statements that can precede a list of learning outcomes are:

• It is expected that as a result of work in this topic, student will:
• It is expected that on completion of this topic student will have:
• On completing this topic students will be able to:

Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (revised version) can be used as a tool to help formulate statements of objectives and outcomes. The taxonomy presented here identifies six levels of thinking (and associated cognitive processes) that students will engage in when asked to do particular things (for example, in class or in assignments). In the table, Bloom’s objectives (expressed in topic aims) are linked to the sorts of learning expected of students. In other words, what students will be able to do...

Aims	Outcomes
Remember	Recognize, recall, identify, retrieve, name
Understand	Interpret, paraphrase, translate, represent, clarify Exemplify, instantiate, illustrate Classify, categorize, subsume Summarize, abstract, generalize Infer, extrapolate, interpolate, predict, conclude Compare, contrast, match, map Explain, construct models
Apply	Execute, carry out Implement, use
Analyze	Differentiate, discriminate, select, distinguish, focus Organize, outline, structure, integrate, find coherence, parse Attribute, deconstruct
Evaluate	Check, test, detect, monitor, coordinate Critique, judge
Create	Generate, hypothesize Plan, design Produce, construct

*Adapted from: Krathwol, David; Anderson, Lorin; et. al. (2000). A taxonomy of learning for teaching: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. NY: Addison-Wesley-Longman.

Learning outcomes are those which are assessed in measurable ways. The current information-gathering process does not ask you to demonstrate the link between your expected learning outcomes and your assessment strategies, but you may be asked to do so in the near future. Therefore it’s advisable to think about your assessment methods while writing your aims and outcomes.

Summary

• Aims are what you will do as the teacher and what you will evaluate
• Learning Outcomes are what students must demonstrate and what you will assess
• Teaching and assessment strategies must account for the aims, learning outcomes and the site of learning.

Thanks to Grette Wilkinson, Roz Murray-Harvey and Elizabeth Handsley for providing the content for this page

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