Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes, or “objectives,” were first described by Dr. Robert Mager, a well-known behavioral psychologist, as the “guides that will guarantee that you are teaching what needs to be taught.” Learning outcomes are clearly defined statements that describe the intended results of training. They describe what participants will be able to do when they are competent. They do not describe what instructors will do or the content of the lesson or unit.
Because learning outcomes describe a participant’s performance, they begin with an action verb that describes the behavior or skill participants should perform by the end of the unit or course. These outcomes should be both observable and measurable. To illustrate, the verb “describe” is an action verb because we can observe a participant describing something and we can measure the quality of their description using a set of criteria. On the other hand, the verb “understand” is not an action verb because we are unable to observe or measure a participant as they understand. To avoid using “understand,” think about what participants would be able to do if they understood a concept and you will be able to determine the appropriate action verb. Sometimes learning outcomes have conditions that explain the performance criteria, such as a time limit or use of a job aid. Course developers design knowledge checks and end-of-course assessments to measure participants’ mastery of the learning outcomes.
Learning outcomes are also important because they define the scope of the content. Learning outcomes can help to separate the “nice to know” information from the “need to know” information. Focusing on the content required to achieve the learning outcomes rather than just covering content can show what should be taught and how to determine if the training accomplished what was attended.
Learning outcomes help control the information in a training course and guide the evaluation of participant’s mastery of the content. As figure 1 demonstrates, instructional strategies connect learning outcomes with learner mastery. There should be clear alignment between a learning outcome, the instructional strategy, and the assessment used to determine learner mastery. A variety of instructional strategies are described in detail in Tools and Techniques.
Example
Learning outcomes for a lesson on underwater bridge inspection frequencies.
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Identify the National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS) inspection frequencies for above water bridge inspections
- Identify the NBIS inspection frequencies for underwater bridge inspections
- Explain the difference between the NBIS and the National Bridge Inventory (NBI)
- Estimate the scour undermining of an example bridge