Backward Design Step 2: Identify Course Outcomes

The next step of blended course design is to identify your course outcomes. Course outcomes are the achieved results a student can expect from the course. They state what learners should be able to do, know, and value at the end of your course. Articulated course outcomes serve as a guide to us as we (re)design a course. At UW‑Madison, course outcomes should align with two campus initiatives: program outcomes and the Wisconsin Experience.

• VIEW WISCONSIN EXPERIENCE –https://wisconsinexperience.wisc.edu
• VIEW THE GUIDE –&http://guide.wisc.edu/

Program Outcomes

As stated in the campus document Institutional Plan for Assessing Student Learning, course and program outcomes are required for all courses and programs. View program outcomes for each UW‑Madison undergraduate and graduate academic program in The Guide. Academic program outcomes should:

• Describe what students are expected to know or be able to do upon completion of a program;
• Be observable and measurable in some way;
• Contribute to the Wisconsin Experience whenever possible; and
• Be assessed and reviewed by the faculty on a regular basis.

The Wisconsin Experience

The Wisconsin Experience is UW‑Madison's vision for the total undergraduate student experience, which combines learning in and out of the classroom. Tied to the Wisconsin Idea and steeped in our long‑standing institutional values — the commitment to the truth, shared participation in decision‑making, and service to local and global communities — the Wisconsin Experience describes how students develop and integrate these core values across their educational experience.

Course Outcomes

An essential element of a successful course design is how well and how clearly course outcomes have been written. Students should be able to read course outcomes and understand exactly what is expected of them and to what levels of performance they will be held accountable. As you write or review your course outcomes, consider the following guidelines. Course outcomes should:

• State what students are expected to know or be able to do upon completion of a specific course;
• State clearly and relate specifically to the topics, assignments, exams, and assessments in the course;
• Be observable and measurable in some way; and
• Contribute or map to program‑level learning outcomes.

Significant Learning

Fink believes that significant learning requires some lasting change that is important to the learner. The following taxonomy provides types of significant changes that can be helpful in the development of course outcomes.

• Foundational Knowledge — “At the base of…learning is the need for students to know something. Knowing, as used here, refers to students’ ability to understand and remember specific information and ideas.”
• Application — “Besides picking up facts and ideas, students often learn how to engage in some new kind of action, which may be intellectual, physical, or social. Learning how to engage in various kinds of thinking (critical, creative, practical) is an important form of application learning, but this category of significant learning also includes developing certain skills (such as communicating, playing the piano) or learning how to manage complex projects.”
• Integration — “When students are able to see and understand the connections between different things, an important kind of learning has occurred. Sometimes they make connections between specific ideas, between various learning experiences…or between different realms of life.”
• Human Dimension — “When students learn something important about themselves or about others, it enables them to function and interact more effectively. They discover the personal and social implications of what they have learned. What they learn or the way in which they learn sometimes gives students a new understanding of themselves…a new vision of what they want to become…or greater confidence that they can do something important to them. At other times, they acquire a better understanding of others: how and why others act the way they do or how the learner can interact more effectively with others.”
• Caring — “Sometimes a learning experience changes the degree to which students care about something. This may be reflected in the form of new feelings, interests, or values. These changes mean students now care about something to a greater degree than they did before or in a different way.”
• Learning How to Learn — “In the course of their studies, students can also learn something about the process of learning itself. They may be learning how to be a better student, how to engage in a particular kind of inquiry, or how to become a self‑directed learner. All these constitute important forms of learning how to learn” (Fink 34‑36).

See Also:

• Backward Design Step 1: Identify Situational Factors
• Backward Design Step 2: Identify Course Outcomes
• Backward Design Step 3: Define Course Structure
• Backward Design Step 4: Identify Unit Objectives
• Backward Design Step 5: Identify Evidence of Understanding
• Backward Design Step 6: Select Learning Activities For Your Course
• Backward Design Step 7: Integrate Course Elements
• Backward Design Step 8: Debug Your Course
• Backward Design Step 9: Evaluate Your Course