Defining Course-Level Learning Outcomes

Writing Your Objectives

Let’s work through a practical process for developing learning objectives for your course. Consider completing these steps in a notebook or document you can reference throughout your design process.

Step 1: Start with Your Course Purpose

You may want to revisit the Articulating the Purpose of Your Course page (Add a link)

Before writing objectives, review the big ideas and enduring understandings you identified when articulating your course purpose. Your learning objectives should help students develop these understandings.

Connecting Purpose to Objectives

Big Idea: Environmental factors influence biological processes

Possible Objectives:

• Students will be able to explain how temperature affects enzyme activity
• Students will be able to predict how changes in pH will impact cellular respiration
• Students will be able to design experiments to test environmental effects on plant growth

Step 2: Draft Course-Level Objectives

Write 4-8 statements describing what students should be able to do by the end of your course. Focus on the most important capabilities, not everything you might cover.

Balancing Cognitive Levels

Your course objectives should include a mix of thinking levels. Introductory courses might emphasize understanding and application, while advanced courses should include more analysis, evaluation, and creation.

Example mix for an intermediate course:

• 1-2 foundational objectives (remember/understand)
• 2-3 application objectives
• 2-3 higher-order objectives (analyze/evaluate/create)

Step 3: Break Down into Module Objectives

For each major unit or module, develop 2-4 objectives that:

• Build progressively toward your course-level objectives
• Break complex skills into manageable steps
• Can be achieved within the timeframe of that module
• Provide clear targets for assessments and activities

Example: Progressive Development

Course Objective: Students will be able to write research papers that synthesize multiple sources

Module Progression:

• Module 1: Students will be able to identify credible academic sources using library databases
• Module 2: Students will be able to summarize key arguments from scholarly articles
• Module 3: Students will be able to compare and contrast arguments from multiple sources
• Module 4: Students will be able to synthesize ideas from multiple sources to support an original argument

Step 4: Test Your Objectives

Review each objective using these questions:

• Observable? Does it use an action verb that describes something students will do?
• Measurable? Could you design an assessment that measures whether students achieved it?
• Aligned? Does it connect to your course purpose and big ideas?
• Achievable? Can students realistically achieve this in the available time?
• Appropriate? Is the cognitive level right for your students and course level?

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Too broad: “Students will understand biology” → Make it specific and observable
• About you, not students: “I will teach about…” → Focus on what students will do
• Lists topics, not outcomes: “Cover chapters 1-5” → What should students be able to do after those chapters?
• Unmeasurable verbs: “Students will appreciate…” → How will you know they appreciate it?

Three domains of learning / levels of learning

Beyond basic learning objective writing, you may consider how to make your learning objectives more inclusive, transferable, and transformative by:

Incorporating Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

For instance, the UDL principles below suggest designing objectives that offer flexibility in how students demonstrate their learning:

~ Multiple Means of Action and Expression

Instead of prescribing a single way to demonstrate learning, you may consider objectives that allow choice:

• Instead of: “Students will write a 10-page paper analyzing…”
• Consider: “Students will analyze [topic] and communicate their findings through written, visual, or multimedia format.”

Doing this maintains the rigorous cognitive work (analysis) while offering flexibility in expression— this is particularly important for multilingual students, students with disabilities, or those with different strengths.

~ Equity-Minded Objective Writing

Consider how your objectives might create barriers for some students:

• Examine your assumptions: Does achieving your objectives assume prior knowledge or experiences that not all students have?
• You may Build in scaffolding: Break objectives into intermediate steps rather than assuming students can jump to complex tasks
• Consider the course context: Do your objectives reflect diverse perspectives and applications, or only dominant cultural viewpoints?
• Make your expectations transparent: Can students clearly understand what success looks like?

Example: Making Objectives More Equitable

Original: Students will be able to analyze the themes in British literature.

More Equitable: Students will be able to analyze how authors use literary techniques to explore universal themes across diverse cultural contexts

Why it’s better: This broadens the scope beyond a single tradition, acknowledges diverse literary traditions, and makes the transferable skill (analyzing literary techniques) explicit.

~ Metacognitive and Self-Regulated Learning Objectives

Consider including objectives that help students develop awareness of their own learning, such as:

• Students will be able to assess their own understanding and identify areas needing further study.
• Students will be able to select appropriate strategies for different types of problems.
• Students will be able to reflect on their learning process and identify effective study approaches.
• Students will be able to monitor their comprehension while reading complex texts.

These metacognitive objectives help students become independent, self-directed learners—a critical outcome for lifelong learning.

~ Disciplinary Thinking and Habits of Mind

Beyond content knowledge, consider objectives that develop disciplinary ways of thinking:

Examples Across Disciplines

History: Students will be able to analyze historical sources by considering author perspective, audience, purpose, and historical context

Sciences: Students will be able to evaluate scientific claims by examining the quality and sufficiency of evidence

Mathematics: Students will be able to persevere in solving complex problems by trying multiple strategies

Arts: Students will be able to articulate aesthetic choices and defend their creative decisions using disciplinary concepts

~ Transfer and Application Beyond the Course

The most powerful objectives prepare students for contexts beyond your classroom. Ask yourself:

• Where will students need to apply these skills in future courses?
• How will these capabilities serve them in their careers?
• What does expertise look like in your field, and how do your objectives build toward that?

Writing for Transfer

Make the transferable skills explicit in your objectives:

• Weak transfer: Students will be able to calculate standard deviation using Excel
• Strong transfer: Students will be able to select and apply appropriate statistical measures to characterize data variability in diverse contexts
• Why it’s better: The second version emphasizes the judgement and application skills that transfer beyond one specific tool.

Regularly revisit your objectives and ask:

How do my objectives support students’ growth as independent learners?

Whose knowledge and ways of knowing are centered in my objectives?

Are there students who might find these objectives inaccessible? Why?

Do my objectives prepare students for diverse contexts and applications?

Am I assessing what truly matters, or just what’s easy to measure?