Course Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) are a critical component of course design and play a key role in guiding both students and instructors. They establish clear expectations for what students will achieve by the end of the course and ensure alignment between learning activities, assessments, and the overall program’s Vocational Learning Outcomes (VLOs). This section provides guidance for understanding, writing, and utilizing CLOs effectively.

What are Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)?

CLOs articulate what students will know, do, or value by the end of the course. They:

• Provide students with a clear understanding of what they are expected to achieve.
• Help students anticipate learning outcomes and track their progress.
• Support instructors in designing aligned assessments, activities, and resources.
• Ensure consistency between the course and the overarching program VLOs.

Best Practices for Writing CLOs

1. Focus on Priorities: Identify “must know” and “must do” elements for the course and include “nice to know/do” elements only if time permits.
2. Ensure Alignment: Link each CLO to the larger VLOs for the program, ensuring a progression of learning across courses within the program.
3. Be Distinct: Avoid duplicating CLOs across courses. Each course should have unique outcomes that reflect increasing levels of complexity or proficiency.
4. Less is More: Aim for 3-8 robust CLOs that can be evaluated through graded assessments.
5. Be Measurable: Use action verbs from Bloom’s Taxonomy to ensure outcomes are assessable and demonstrate progression.

Structure of CLOs

Each CLO should contain the following four parts:

1. Stem: Begins with “By the end of the course, students will be able to…”
2. Action Verb: A measurable verb that indicates the level of learning (e.g., analyze, design, evaluate).
3. Learning Statement: Describes the knowledge, skills, or abilities to be demonstrated.
4. Context: Explains the “why” or “how,” providing relevance to the learning.

Example of a CLO

By the end of the course, students will be able to analyze alien propulsion systems by examining theoretical designs and proposing innovative solutions to improve efficiency and safety in space travel.

Learning Objectives (LObs)

While CLOs define the overarching goals for the course, Learning Objectives (LObs) break these down into smaller, more specific tasks or skills. These objectives:

• Describe how students will demonstrate they can meet the CLOs.
• Provide clarity on expectations for each learning activity or assignment.
• Are not required to be assessed, unlike CLOs, which must have associated graded assessments.

Example of LObs for the CLO above

• Compare propulsion system designs used in science fiction media.
• Identify key principles of propulsion efficiency in interstellar travel.
• Develop a schematic for a propulsion system model based on theoretical designs.

Steps for Writing CLOs

1. Review the program’s VLOs and ensure the CLOs align with the intended graduate competencies.
2. Use Bloom’s Taxonomy to select action verbs that reflect the desired level of learning.
3. Draft CLOs with clear, concise language, ensuring they are measurable and relevant.
4. Verify that each CLO is distinct and builds on previous courses.
5. Cross-check alignment between CLOs, assessments, and course content.

You can see below how the program’s VLOs inform the CLOs and the CLOs inform the learning objectives.