Outcomes and Assessment

Learning Outcomes Workshop

Key Terms

Goals: Goals are generalized statements of what a teacher or program wishes to accomplish. (example: Classes will be designed so students have the opportunity to learn the foundational concepts of ecology).

Learning Outcomes: Outcomes are what participants are expected to do in relationship to the goals, such as what students will learn. (example: Students will learn the foundational concepts of ecology).

Objectives: Based on goals, course objectives are more specific occurrences that a teacher wishes to accomplish. These objectives can include the conditions and assessment. (example: Given a diagram of a lake, students can identify at least three life zones).

Assessment: Assessment is systematically acquiring data on outcomes, such as student work (example: A student paper on lakes contains information about what the student has learned).

Evaluation: Assignment of a value to a participant's outcomes as apparent in a form of assessment, such as assigning a grade to student work. (example: A student's paper on lakes is given a "C" grade based on specific criteria).