Title: Developing objectives and learning outcomes for the evaluation of learning
1Developing objectives and learning outcomes for
the evaluation of learning
2Introduction
- In the last briefing, Evaluating learning
(http//www.nelh.nhs.uk/folio/infoskills2/learning
.htm), we saw that one way to evaluate learning
is by setting assignments for trainees - To aid the evaluation of learning, it is useful
to match the assessment criteria by which you
will mark assignments with the objectives and
learning outcomes of the training course - Objectives, learning outcomes and assessment
criteria should be created during the design of
information skills training courses. For more
information about designing training courses, see
the Designing information skills training
courses briefing from the previous InfoSkills
course at http//www.nelh.nhs.uk/folio/infoskills
/methods.htm
3Objectives and learning outcomes
- So what are objectives and learning outcomes
and how do we create them?
4What are objectives?
- Objectives are
- An expression in concrete and specific terms of
what will happen on the course. The specific
activities which participants will undertake on
the course in order to achieve the stated aims
(1). - Note not what will be learned, that comes
next, but what will be done (1). - Objectives usually start with the phrase By the
end of this training course, participants will be
familiar with (or similar)
5Examples of objectives
- For a literature searching course (2)
- By the end of this session, participants will be
familiar with - the names, coverage and content of the core
health and health-related databases including
Medline, CINAHL and Embase - the types of information that can be identified
through interrogation of these databases - the process of developing a research question
into an effective search strategy including the
identification of keywords, concepts and synonyms - the techniques and skills required to conduct a
database search including the use of a controlled
language thesaurus, truncation, boolean operators
and explosion
6Examples of objectives
- For a searching for health information on the
internet course (2) - By the end of this session, participants will be
familiar with - the various components of the Internet, such as
electronic mail and the World Wide Web - the basic structure of, and methods of
navigating, the World Wide Web - the types of information which are available
through the internet - the strengths and weaknesses of the Internet as
an information resource - criteria that can be used to evaluate the quality
of internet-based information - examples of resources which can be used to find
evidence to support research and practice - the techniques and skills needed to find
resources on the internet including the use of
information gateways, search engines and resource
lists -
7Examples of objectives
- For a library induction
- By the end of this session, participants will be
familiar with - the opening hours of the library
- the resources held by the library (books,
journals, statistics etc) and how to locate them
(including an introduction to the NLM
classification scheme) - their borrowing rights
- the services offered by the library (literature
searching training, inter-library loans, enquiry
desk etc) - the contact details of the library (including
email address, telephone number, web address)
8What are learning outcomes?
- Learning outcomes (also known as key learning
activities) are - What will be learned. What the participants
will be expected to achieve at the end of the
course - knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
Specifically what achieving the course objectives
should have enabled the participants to learn (1)
9Writing learning outcomes (1)
- Learning outcomes should specify the minimum
acceptable standards for students to pass the
training course (3) - Therefore, it is important that learning outcomes
are expressed in terms of the essential learning
for the information skills training course (3) - Each information skills training course should
have between four and eight key learning outcomes
(3)
10Writing learning outcomes (2)
- Learning outcomes should begin with the following
phrase (or similar) (3) - On successful completion of this training
course, students will be able to
11Writing learning outcomes (3)
- Each learning outcome should be preceded by an
action verb so that students are able to
demonstrate that they have learned or achieved
the outcome (3) - Verbs relating to knowledge outcomes such as-
know, understand, appreciate- tend to be
rather vague and focus on the process that
students have gone through (3) - Instead, where possible, action verbs such as-
solve, evaluate, use, analyse- should be
used to indicate how students can demonstrate
their knowledge (3)
12Writing learning outcomes (4)
- Blooms Taxonomy of 1956 is a good aid for
writing learning outcomes (3) - Bloom identified six categories of learning (3)
- 1. Knowledge 2. Comprehension 3. Application 4.
Analysis 5. Synthesis 6. Evaluation - The first two relate to knowledge and
understanding, while the remaining for involve
intellectual skills - It may be tempting to concentrate on the first
two categories for your information skills
training session, but it is important to
introduce the higher level activities where
possible
13Examples of learning outcomes Stage 1
- For an information skills for medical students
training course - Upon successful completion of this training
course, participants will be able to
14Examples of learning outcomes Stage 2
- For an information skills for medical students
training course - Upon successful completion of this training
course, participants will be able to - Understand
- Develop
- Conduct
- Evaluate and select
- Use
- Use
- Use
- Understand and evaluate
15Examples of learning outcomes Stage 3
- For an information skills for medical students
training course Based on (4) - Upon successful completion of this training
course, participants will be able to - Understand the information seeking process and
its role in research - Develop a search strategy for your research
topic(s) - Conduct subject searches and other search tactics
- Evaluate and select information
- Use traditional library sources
- Use on-line databases
- Use the WWW for healthcare/medical information
- Understand and evaluate the range of primary
healthcare resources available to you
16What are the benefits of learning outcomes?
- Courses which are designed using learning
outcomes are student-centred (2) - Designing courses in this way marks a shift from
the content of a module or course (i.e. what
trainers teach) towards its outcome (i.e. what
the students are able to do upon successful
completion of the course) (2)
17What are the benefits of learning outcomes?
- Learning outcomes can
- Help to guide students in their learning because
they explain what is expected of them (3). - Help trainers to focus on what they want students
to achieve as a result of the training course
provide a useful guide to inform potential
students and employers about the knowledge and
understanding that a graduate of the training
course will possess (3)
18What about assessment criteria?
- Now that we know what objectives and outcomes
are, we need an understanding of assessment
criteria
19Assessment criteria
- Assessment criteria describe how well a student
has to be able to achieve the learning outcome in
order to be awarded a particular grade (5). - Assessment criteria should test, assess or
relate to the learning that is mentioned in the
learning outcomes (6) - Assessment criteria are important because they
ensure that marking is fair and standard as all
students work is marked to the same criteria (5) - For an example of assessment criteria for an
information literacy course, see
http//www.nelh.nhs.uk/folio/infoskills2/criteria.
doc - For detailed information about how to create
assessment criteria, see Designing and using
assessment criteria (Oxford Brookes University)
at http//www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsd/firstwo
rds/fw24.html
20Linking objectives, learning outcomes and
assessment criteria to the evaluation of learning
- When setting assignments or tests for trainees,
the tasks that you set should have a clear
alignment with the objectives, learning outcomes
and the assessment criteria for the course (3) - This enables you to design appropriate tasks and
to deliver the training course in a way that
enables students to reach the required outcomes
(3) - It also enables you to ensure that there is
coherence in your information skills training
session (3) - The alignment between objectives, learning
outcomes, assessment tasks and assessment
criteria should be made transparent to the
students to help them to successfully attain the
required knowledge and skills (3)
21References
- West Midlands Modular Trainers Course. 2004.
Curriculum. http//www.trainer.org.uk/members/theo
ry/planning/curriculum.htm - Alison Hicks. Developing information skills
training for National Health Service personnel
experiences at the Trent Institute for Health
Services Research. Program, 1998. Vol 32, No. 2
pp 123-136 - University of Central England in Birmingham.
2004. Guide to learning outcomes.
http//lmu.uce.ac.uk/outcomes/UCE20Guide20to20L
earning20Outcomes.pdf
22References
- University of Strathclyde. 2004. GAELS.
http//gaels.lib.strath.ac.uk/info_skills - Oxford Brookes University. 2001. 2.4 Designing
and using assessment criteria. http//www.brookes.
ac.uk/services/ocsd/firstwords/fw24.html - Jenny Moon. Linking Levels. Learning Outcomes and
Assessment Criteria. http//www.liv.ac.uk/cll/fil
es/LinkingLevelsplusasscrit.doc Exeter University
23Further reading
- Chris Butcher. 2004. Blooms Taxonomy. SDDU
University of Leeds. http//www.leeds.ac.uk/sddu/o
nline/bloom.htm - E.A. Hesketh. 2004. Aims and objectives. NHS
Education for Scotland. http//www.nes.scot.nhs.uk
/courses/ti/AimsObjectives.pdf - Janet Peters. 2004.Learning outcomes and
information literacy. SCONUL - University of Aberdeen. 1997. Guidance on aims
and objectives for teaching and learning. - http//www.abdn.ac.uk/secretariat/aimsobs.hti
- University of Portsmouth. 2004. Aims and
objectives explained getting the most out of
units. http//www.port.ac.uk/departments/academic/
edam/resources/intranet/studyguide/filetodownload,
3626,en.pdf