Course-level versus supporting outcomes

In brief

Learning outcomes describe what you expect your students to achieve from a single class, a chapter, a course or an entire program.

Course-level learning outcomes are broad and describe what a student will be able to do as a culmination of their learning at the end of a course.

Supporting outcomes are descriptions of more discrete learning that builds up the knowledge, skills and attitudes students need to reach the course learning outcomes.

You can define supporting outcomes at the level of the or lesson.

Course-level outcomes tell the student what they will achieve with the course. Supporting outcomes help you, as Instructor, attend to the important foundations of your course-level outcomes. Clearly defined outcomes (course and supporting) help you select the most effective learning content, activities, and assessments for your course curriculum.

Infographic represents the cyclical process that involves course design: Course outcomes (by the end of the course...); Supporting outcomes (by the end of the module...); learning content, activities & assessments
Watch this video to learn more about distinguishing course-level outcomes and supporting outcomes.

Download the learning outcomes video transcript (docx).

The next section will provide best practices for writing learning outcomes.

License

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Course Design by Centre for Teaching and Learning, Concordia University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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