How Do I Write Aims and Outcomes?

Aims
The Aim is what you as the teacher set out to achieve

An example:
The aim of this topic is to:

Provide students with the opportunity to investigate a contemporary scientific issue in depth while developing skills in basic research, team work and critical analysis.
In this topic students will be given the opportunity to work in teams to investigate a scientific issue that currently is the subject of media attention to identify the assumptions underlying the popular media reports and compare these with a range of evidence-based research articles in reputable scientific journals

This is what you will evaluate to determine if your educational design and teaching strategies adequately supported students engagement and achievement of your intentions.

An example:

Was the relevance of the learning task made clear to the students?
Were the demands of the task explained clearly to students?
Were students adequately supported in developing research skills, team work skills and their capacity for critical analysis?
Was advice and guidance about the appropriateness of the identified issues provided to students?
Were resources and advice on methods for investigation and critical analysis and feedback on progress provided?

Your aims should be closely aligned with the topic description already held in the Course Information Booklet. You can view your description on the University Calendar. Please note that if your topic does not appear, or the description is out of date, please contact your Faculty office.

Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes are what students must demonstrate

An example:
Students must demonstrate that they can:

Identify an appropriate contemporary media issue
Analyse the assumptions and evaluate the worth of the evidence use by the popular media in stating their view
Select academic evidence about the issue and evaluate its worth
Compare and contract the media and academic arguments
Make a contribution to their team and work effectively and collaboratively with the other members

This is what you will assess

A list of verbs that can be used to described your learning outcomes:

analyse	apply	classify	collaborate	compare
compute	conduct	contrast	define	demonstrate
direct	derive	designate	discuss	display
evaluate	explain	identify	infer	integrate
interpret	justify	list	name	organise
outline	report	respond	solicit	state
synthesize

Teaching and assessment strategies must account for the topic aims and learning outcomes as well as account for the strengths and limitations of the site of learning.

Sites of Learning:

Online Environment
Intensive
Large Lectures
Small Group Tutorial
Field Trip
Laboratory
Group Project
etc