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As you are planning your lessons, you may be wondering: Am I clear on what the class is trying to achieve? What should guide my focus and activities during the lesson? How can I make lesson time meaningful and relevant to learners?

This post provides guidance for understanding and using the lesson learning outcomes as the focal point for everything you do for students, and everything done by students, during your class lesson portions.

Important Note: This post only briefly introduces the topic of learning outcomes. Faculty are encouraged to meet with a Curriculum Consultant if developing or revising outcomes for a Program or Course Outline.

Defining Learning Outcomes 

Verby broadly, outcomes ask: What do I want the learners to achieve [be able to know, do, value] at the end of the [lesson, module, course]?”

Learning outcomes are direct statements describing the knowledge, skills, and/or attitudes students are expected to demonstrate to a minimum level by the end of a segment of learning.  

• Knowledge outcomes generally describe the theoretical knowledge gained. 
• Skill outcomes generally describe how the learner will apply knowledge. It also includes meeting specific psychomotor and/or physical standards.
• Attitude outcomes generally describe learners’ beliefs, characteristics, and dispositions concerning learning. 

In an outcomes-based education model, outcomes, assessments, and learning activities and resources should be aligned with one another. This means that learning outcomes target a certain focus and level of performance, and assessments and instructional strategies focus on achieving that level of performance (CET, 2023). Learning outcomes are measurable, achievable, and appropriate to what is being learned.

Here are some examples of learning outcomes:

• Recognize the consequences of various hazardous and health situations to recommend prevention strategies. 
• Explain the food laws that apply to various food industries and how they link to occupational health and safety laws and regulations.   
• Evaluate strategies that drive necessary change in food workplaces to comply with Health and Safety regulatory requirements. 

Understanding Lesson Outcomes and “Fit” in Your Course

A lesson outcome is a specific, measurable statement describing what learners should be able to do by the end of a lesson. (In the case of asynchronous or hybrid learning, it may be a “week” or “segment” of learning). Lesson outcome provides a “path” or guide for the class, helping you and learners understand what will be learned, and to what level, by the end of the lesson.

Lesson outcomes focus on what knowledge is essential and how the learning will connect to what will be learned or used next (i.e., course learning outcomes and program learning outcomes).

Every course has course and unit outcomes that do not change (find them on the Course Outline). See an introduction to Reading Your Course Outline. Lesson outcomes should always be aligned with and support unit and course outcomes. (Refer to Conestoga’s academic credential procedure.) So, the outcomes for a lesson are set last, not first. They are determined by the scope and level of pre-set course and unit outcomes.

The lesson outcomes can also be determined by skills and outcomes determined by the credential level of your course.

Knowledge and Skills for Working and Living 

The Ministry of Colleges and Universities has identified common skills “equally valuable for all graduates …whether they pursue a career path, or they pursue further education” (Framework for Programs of Instruction, pg 19).  

• In Ontario College Certificate, Diploma, and Advanced Diploma programs, these skills are called Essential Employability Skills (EES).  
• In Bachelor’s Degree and Honours Bachelor’s Degree (DLO) programs, these skills are called Degree Level Learning Outcomes (DLLO).  

Whereas program, course, and unit learning outcomes are vocational, EES and DLLO are non-vocational skills critical for success in the workplace, day-to-day living, and lifelong learning that students learn as part of the formal curriculum and as stipulated by the Ministry. 

Your lessons (and lesson outcomes) may include information, activities, and formative assessments to support EES and DLLOs.

Using Lesson Outcomes in Lessons

Does every lesson have to have outcomes? In an outcomes-based education model, the answer is yes!

There are a few more factors to consider when you are thinking about what lesson outcomes to include in your lesson: what information and activities will you provide to support learning of those outcomes, and how much time do you have to support learning. If there are too many outcomes and not enough time, it may be wise to reduce the number or level of outcomes.

Here are some resources you can use to understand your lesson outcomes:

• Program Outcomes (find them on the full-time programs webpage or continuing education programs webpage, where your course is listed)
• Course Outline (find in the Employee Portal) 
• Ministry’s Program Standards (for EES) or DLLOs 
• Bloom’s Taxonomy 
• Other external program requirements, as applicable
• Slides or other course resources

Checklist for lesson outcomes

The checklist for understanding your lesson outcomes below is adapted from Moodie & Gravett (2006).

• Are the lesson outcomes clearly identified for students in class (i.e., written on the board, on a slide)?
• Do the outcomes clearly state the learning that is expected to take place, providing a specific target and direction for the learners to aim for? 
• Do the lesson outcomes align with the other aspects of the course, such as assignments?
• Do I have sufficient time during the lesson to meet the lesson outcomes?
• What practice activities or scaffolding will be needed to prepare to achieve the lesson outcomes?  
• What data or feedback will I need to assess learning? How will I know learners have met the outcomes?
• Is there anything in the lesson that does not align with the lesson learning outcomes that I can move or remove?

References 

Centre for Teaching Excellence, Waterloo. (2023). Aligning Outcomes, Assessment, and Instruction. 

Moodie, U., & Gravett, S. (2006). Framework for the development of learning programmes for adult learners in outcomes based mode. Knowres Publishing. ProQuest Ebook Central.