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- Say what you mean!
A student learning outcome statement should be clear, specific and measurable.
- Learning outcomes are demonstrated by what students do.
Things provided by the program, like resources, e.g. laboratory facilities and activities e.g., courses and internships, may well contribute to a student’s learning, but are not learning outcomes. Also, enrollment numbers, graduation rates, and grade point averages are examples interesting data, but are not learning outcomes. When a student demonstrates what he or she knows and can do as a result of completing the program, that is a learning outcome.
- Program learning outcomes are different than those for a specific course.
Learning outcomes reflect competencies students will be able to demonstrate they have achieved at completion of the program. Even though students are assessed in their course work, program-learning outcomes also go beyond the sum of all individual course outcomes. As students proceed through the curriculum their competence should become synergistic, that is, they should be able to draw from the knowledge, and skills and experiences gain through multiple courses and combine or apply them in ways that exceed what they learned in the individual courses. If an engineering program outcome is to deliver a project proposal to a lay audience, for example, the student may need to combine skills in engineering, mathematics, problem solving and analysis, writing, public speaking and more to do so effectively. Many courses may have assessed the student’s abilities in these separate skills, but a program-learning outcome asks students to demonstrate what they can do as a result of all these courses and, in so doing, reflects the competence of a new graduate entering the discipline.
- Program outcomes are in alignment with the missions of the program, college and university.
Program learning outcomes should be closely aligned with course objectives and instruction within the major. The objectives in every course should support one or more program outcomes, and all program outcomes should be supported by objectives in one or more courses.
- Learning outcomes should align with requirements or expectations of the profession.
Outcomes should be influenced by and be congruent with requirements for professional accreditation, requirements for accountability or professional guidelines adopted by the program.
- Program learning outcomes require students to demonstrate competence.
Course objectives may include both basic and higher-order learning objectives, as defined by Bloom. However, program-learning outcomes should exist primarily in the domain of higher-order learning, thus requiring students to demonstrate the application, analysis, synthesis and/or evaluation of knowledge and skills within the context of the discipline.
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