What's in a Learning Outcome
Learning Outcomes (LOs) are essentially a contract, between the student and teacher on what learning is expected to be achieved.
In this article, I am going to specifically speak to LOs and how they support the development of high quality informal learning, including workshops, seminars/webinars, short courses, and essentially any form of non-accredited training or Learning Experience. To do this, I will transfer and borrow from formal Higher Education (HE) standards and requirements attached to designing and delivering accredited training.
Its also worth noting the HE nomenclature and standards that will be spread out throughout this article. Many terms have a very specific meaning, however, the function is what I will be focusing on and its transferability to any learning experience. For example, ‘Graduate Attributes’, refer to a specific list of qualities expected to be instilled in a student once they complete an accredited course or qualification, however the function and process in developing such a list can be applied to the smallest of workshops.
LOs can be designed for a singular piece of learning, such as a workshop, module, unit, including non-accredited training - or form part of a collection of units (each with their own set of learning outcomes), to form a course or program. LOs also provide the scaffolding for Student Attributes (aka Graduate Attributes). As mentioned earlier, Graduate attributes are like the end game, our mission or the qualities of a student we want at the end of our learning.
Fig.1 below is a Learning Outcomes Mapping Model, showing the flow of learning outcomes within a formalised structure, consistent to HE requirements and Constructive Alignment - which involves aligning the assessment or tasks to the learning outcomes - but let’s look at constructive alignment next week.
Fig. 1 Learning Outcomes Mapping Model
Regulatory Background
Learning Outcomes in HE accredited courses, need to be aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), which provide a scaffolding for each possible Australian qualification, e.g. Cert VI, Diploma, Bachelor Degree, etc), across three key areas of learning:
Knowledge: what the student knows and understands
Skills: what the student can do
Application of Knowledge and Skills: in the discipline context of how the knowledge and skills are applied.
For further regulatory context, we can also draw from TEQSA’s Higher Education Standards Framework (HESF 2015), specifically standards referring to the construction of learning outcomes in a unit or course. While the intention is for HE Accredited courses, they still provide a solid approach to structuring a sound set of LOs for any learning experience or workshop. See below Standard 1.4.2 of the HESF 2015, which identifies what LOs should encompass.
Standard 1.4.2
The specified learning outcomes for each course of study encompass discipline-related and generic outcomes, including:
a. specific knowledge and skills and their application that characterise the field(s) of education or disciplines involved
b. generic skills and their application in the context of the field(s) of education or disciplines involved
c. knowledge and skills required for employment and further study related to the course of study, including those required to be eligible to seek registration to practise where applicable, and
d. skills in independent and critical thinking suitable for life-long learning.
How can we transfer HE thinking to non-accredited learning experiences or workshops?
Developing any type of workshop is much like writing a piece of music. With music you can come in at it from many angles, it has many individual parts, but ultimately it is a coherent piece of work when all instruments and parts are working in harmony with purpose. With a workshops and LOs, we need to think holistically. We need to consider all elements of the workshop, including the delivery style, the environment or mode of delivery we expect to be in (e.g. face to face, online, blended), the content we wish to provide, and the type of tasks or assessments we may want to set. You may prefer to think about the Student Attributes and what type of student you want to develop. Either way, as you start to develop your workshop, your LO’s are the backbone, and can be amended or re-written as you go. They can be written first, they can be written last, but ultimately the development goal is for all LOs to be coherent, connected, with purpose - like a piece of music.
The LOs are most definitely a crucial tool in clarifying your objectives, and solidifying a coherent and progressive learning experience. The LOs are like your road map, your blueprint, and can be used to keep the workshop on track.
Specific and Generic LOs
LOs are also classified as either Specific or Generic outcomes - that is identifying learning that is specific to the discipline or topic area, or generic to lifelong learning and transferability to other disciplines or topic areas. So practically speaking, we aim to develop a handful of LOs that are classified as either Specific and Generic outcomes, across learning areas knowledge, skills and applications.
To explore this more practically, we will use a Songwriting workshop. A Specific LO would refer to development of knowledge, skills or application of songwriting, for example ‘understanding song structure’. A Generic LOs will address transferable skills, which use songwriting as a vehicle to develop, but may otherwise may be obtained via other learning experiences, for example, collaboration.
An example of a set of LO’s specific to a songwriting workshops, may be as follows:
At the completion of the workshop, the student will be able to:
a. Demonstrate an understanding of song structures
b. Identify harmonic development and voice leading in songs
c. Engage in self reflection and personal development for lifelong learning
d. Collaborate with others towards completing a creative project
e. Create an original song with skills developed in class
The table below outlines my intention of each LO.
Table.1 Learning Outcomes Classification
Coherency
Coherency and balance is important when developing LO’s - and clarity in what we are trying to achieve in our workshop. That is we try to find the clear purpose and function of each individual LO within the group of all LOs and workshop elements. We need to be conscious of our decisions, and be confident in how we wish to deliver the workshop - Remember, you are the teacher, another teacher will potentially have a different view or set of LOs.
The example I have used above attempted to provide a balanced set of LOs, 3 Specific, 2 generic, and an even spread of learning areas Knowledge, Skills and Application - but this is entirely based on the type of Songwriting Workshop I would like to deliver. Meaning, it is completely acceptable for a workshop to be entirely made up of Specific and Knowledge based LO’s - but it should serve a measure to how you conduct your workshop as well as provide an expectation of activities and learning at the completion. For example, if you did have a group of LOs that were Specific and Knowledge, but included group or collaborative activities, there may be a misalignment of the intentions to the workshop.
The impact of workshop length on LOs
Time allowance for a workshop is also critical in the development of LOs. That is whether you are thinking of a single 2hr workshop, or a series of workshops. The time available will impact the depth of learning your students can achieve. The more time available, the more content can be absorbed, and more tasks or exercises can be explored; thus enabling you to provide greater depth to your LOs. However, this does not mean you can't have a single workshop, but important to be realistic on the time allowance and the depth of learning your LOs may suggest.
Structuring and writing LOs
The structure of your LO is also quite important. We typically attempt to write an LO like a story arc with a start, middle and end. This includes appropriate use of action verbs, supporting a noun - while ensuring the context and purpose of the LO is clear.
For example, an LO lacking clarity or purpose, may be:
At the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
a. Identify harmonic development and voice leading
We understand that we will be able to identify harmonic development and voice leading, but there is no context, or clarity on where it will be applied. A more completed version may look like the following:
At the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
a. Identify harmonic development and voice leading in songs for the purpose of developing new material
But we could go a step further and provide a ‘why’ we need this skill, extending the LO with purpose and specific use of the skill, as seen below.
At the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
a. Identify harmonic development and voice leading in songs for the purpose of developing new material
The action or measurable verb
The action or measurable verb is typically first word of the LO, initialising the depth of action or learning that will take place. These are best aligned to Bloom's Taxonomy. For those where Bloom’s Taxonomy is foreign, this is a very well documented topic area which I urge you to do some searching online, but essentially it is a hierarchical approach to learning progression, of either qualification levels, or from stages within a course. See Bloom’s Taxonomy model below, where starting at the bottom, the depth of learning is basic (Remember), progressing through developmental stages until someone is skilled enough to create an original work (Create). Ultimately, Bloom's Taxonomy provides us a solid grounding for nominating action verbs, with guidance on the expectation of the student.
Fig.2 Blooms Taxonomy
Table.2 below is also a great resource in finding an action verb that best supports your learning intention, and ultimately the start of the LO. The table below is aligned with Bloom’s Taxonomy as a method to firstly conceptualise your intention of the leaning to one of the six categories (e.g. Remember, Understand, etc), then nominating an appropriate action verb to support your LO.
Table.2 Action Verbs against Bloom’s Taxonomy