Writing and Evaluating Student Learning Outcomes

A learning outcome has three components:

  • A phrase or sentence beginning “students can” or “students will be able to.”
  • A verb that captures the action the student will be able to take that demonstrates the knowledge or competency in question. 
  • A concluding phrase that elaborates on the verb (e.g., explain how socialization works in everyday life, analyze DNA using electrophoresis, etc.)

Here is template version of the three components above:

“Students will be able to <<verb>> <<something>>”