Learning outcomes: Starting with the end in mind
Whether you are focusing on your unit learning outcomes and assessment tasks, or what you want to achieve for this session or other sessions, it is important that you are clear about what it is the students are to achieve both in the short term and in the long term. Being clear about each of these outcomes enables you to prioritise what happens in your sessions as well as what changes in direction you may be able to take in response to your students' progress and interest.
Steps to determine the student outcomes
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What are the stated learning outcomes for your unit? It is likely that each unit you teach will have predetermined learning outcomes and assessment tasks. If you need to write learning outcomes, refer to Week 6. Curriculum design; if you need to write assessment tasks, refer to Week 7. Assessment. Familiarise yourself with the unit learning outcomes and how students will be assessed. You may find it helpful to talk these over with a colleague.
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What is so important about this unit/topic that it needs to be taught and taught at this time in the sequence? What is the underlying goal for this unit/topic?
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What are the key knowledge and skills that students need to carry out the assessment tasks and the criteria they need to meet. The criteria may be set out in a marking guide or rubric depending on your institute’s approach.
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How will you check the students' progress to ensure they are moving towards the final outcomes for the unit? In some institutions this may be known as formative assessment and may form part of an assessment policy.
Formative assessment takes many forms and focuses on providing feedback to both students and the teacher as to how the learning is progressing. This information can then be used by students to improve their next efforts, and for teachers to modify their approach. Formative assessment is also known as assessment for learning.
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