How to Write Effective Learning Outcomes Using Bloom’s Taxonomy
Life without purpose becomes aimless; therefore, we tend to set goals and pursue them relentlessly. However, needless to say, achieving those goals is not easy, as it takes time and effort to fulfil them, and we can state the same for educational goals as well. Besides, the whole concept of education relies on teaching students specific skills and knowledge.
But it is noteworthy that effective teaching delivery is just as significant as innovative instructional techniques; in fact, both of these elements complement each other. Furthermore, outcome-based education is one of the most sought-after approaches that help teachers facilitate a comprehensive teaching-learning experience.
Meanwhile, the course or program efficiency has been a topic of major discussion; Do the course modules offer insight into the in-demand skills? Is the subject material up to date with educational trends? These questions are worth addressing and are in line with learning outcomes that students must be aware of.
What are Learning Outcomes?
Learning outcomes or objectives are statements that describe particular skills and knowledge that students should attain by the end of a course. To put it in simple words, it describes what the students would be able to do after the unit has been introduced. Therefore, teaching techniques, topics, and lesson presentations directly impact student learning goals.
Moreover, when you have precise learning outcomes, it helps teachers and institutes to work together and prepare the basic course design. Instead of sticking to a singular approach, you can develop different assessment methods with the help of ERP solutions. Simultaneously, you need to have a strategy in place to track students’ progress.
Failing to identify the common problem areas where students suffer or stumble the most causes them to continue on the same path repeatedly. Hence, the lack of timely guidance and corrective measures are two of the major reasons why they fail to achieve student objectives. Nevertheless, there are a few other factors that you need to consider while writing effective learning outcomes, which are as follows:
- Assess Prior Knowledge
Before teaching a core topic, assess their existing knowledge regarding the subject matter; have they ever explored it before? Can they recall any major events or examples related to it? These are some of the questions you can associate with their prior knowledge. Moreover, it is the lowest level of bloom’s taxonomy that relates to remembering.
Hence, teachers can take help from the framework while writing the learning outcomes and developing clear objectives. For example, the remember phase signifies recalling of information and establishing factual knowledge regarding an event, formula, etc. Also, it is noteworthy that this phase relates to recalling crucial information from long-term memory.
So, the action verbs they can include are as follows: Recall, identify, define, recite, repeat, select, label, quote, copy, list, name, and state.
- Understanding the Subject Matter
Implementing multiple pedagogies to enhance the learning environment in schools and higer education institutes is a common practice. But how often do we make an effort to ensure that students grasp the understanding of everything that has been taught in the class? On the other hand, it is difficult to ascertain each and every student’s understanding levels.
Nevertheless, we can use specific pedagogy or the framework to determine various understanding capabilities. As a result, it becomes easier to write the outcomes in the same context; for instance, you can use action verbs such as interpret, exemplify, classify, summarize, infer, compare, explain, describe, indicate, translate, paraphrase, explain, discuss, report, rewrite.
Also, these action verbs are useful for highlighting the objectives of personalized understanding of concepts and subject matter.
- Application of Knowledge
How far is the subject material that you study for years in school or college applicable in real life? That is indeed a thought-provoking question; the ultimate aim of education is not just to gain knowledge but to apply it. So keeping that in mind, you can write the learning objectives and point out the skill or ability that the student would be able to demonstrate by the end of the term.
Action verbs such as execute, implement, relate, sketch, calculate, demonstrate, estimate, illustrate, contrast, diagnose, identify, and classify are the most remarkable.
- Analyze the Information
Teaching students to be individualized and opinionated persons is one of the primary responsibilities of institutes and the faculty. Hence, posing questions to clear doubts should take precedence, boosting students’ ability to analyze information critically. Consequently, they won’t accept everything passively; instead, they will dissect the given data, do elaborate research and make relevant conclusions.
In fact, the analyzing stage of bloom’s taxonomy is one of the crucial stages in the learner’s journey that relates to their evolving personal identity. Besides, action verbs such as differentiate, organize, attribute, select, combine, figure, find, solve, change, survey, compare, diagram, examine, test, modify, etc., are relevant in this context.
- Evaluate
‘’When people repeat a lie a hundred times, it does not take long to turn it into the truth’’; we have seen this quote played out in reality in many instances. Therefore, one must learn to eliminate falsification by evaluating the information and creating judgements based on reason and rationality.
Also, the most useful action verbs are, check, assess, critique, predict, argue, defend, estimate, judge, qualify, rate, support, recommend, appraise, etc.
- Create
After completing a degree or course, students should be able to utilize years of training, including the knowledge and skill to contribute something to society. So, the learning outcomes should reflect that; the action verbs must specify students to generate or produce something. And action verbs such as generate, plan, produce, develop, construct, invent, manage, modify, organize, create, design, devise, formulate, invent, prepare, propose, construct, etc., are useful in this case.
In Conclusion,
While writing learning outcomes, the faculty must ensure to incorporate measurable and specific goals that would help to bring behavioural outcomes. In addition, they must include action verbs that relate to the in-classroom activities and abilities that they can demonstrate by the end of the term.
