Defining Terms

In educational settings, a variety of terms are often used to describe the knowledge or skills students will learn or be able to do by the end of a course or program. Some of these terms include: objectives, goals, outcomes, competencies, and so on.

At MHSL and in resources provided we will use the following nomenclature:

Outcomes: Outcomes will be used to broadly describe what students will learn at the institutional, programmatic, and course level. At the course level, course outcomes will be located on your course syllabus. Note: See below for the Mitchell Hamline JD Program outcomes.
Objectives: Objectives will be used to specifically describe what students should know or be able to do for a particular lesson or module.

Examples

JD Program Outcome: Explain and apply rules, principles, and procedures in foundational areas of law.

Sample Course-level Outcome: By the end of this course, students will be able to recognize the evidentiary rules applicable to basic problems of proof and testimony.

Module-level Objective: By the end of this module, students will be able to explain the concepts of the hearsay rule and its principal exceptions.

MHSL JD Program Outcomes

Outcome 1: Knowledge and Analysis: Explain and apply rules, principles, and procedures in foundational areas of law.
Outcome 2: Problem Solving: Develop and implement strategies for solving law-related problems.
Outcome 3: Communication: Communicate effectively in a professional manner appropriate for the audience, circumstances, and setting.
Outcome 4: Research and Investigation: Design and carry out a plan for legal research and factual investigation.
Outcome 5: Professional and Ethical Responsibility: Recognize and act consistently with the ethical norms of the legal profession.

The MHSL JD Program Outcomes are also listed at the bottom of the Academics page on the MHSL website.

Purpose of Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Learning outcomes at a course-level serve several purposes, including, but not limited to:

Provide a roadmap and scope for course design and assessment design.
Provide clarity and transparency for students on what they are expected to get out of the class and what knowledge or skills they are expected to demonstrate.
- Outcomes and objectives will clearly outline what the students should know or be able to do by the end of the course.

Creating Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Expand each section below to learn more.

Drafting SMART Outcomes/Objectives

The acronym SMART is often used to describe characteristics of effective learning outcomes/objectives. SMART stands for:

SMART goal graphic

Specific: be sure the outcome/objective is clearly stated and specifies exactly what you expect the student to know or be able to do.
Measureable: Ensure that the outcome/objective is framed in a way that will allow you to actually measure whether or not competency has been met.
Attainable: Be sure the outcome/objective can be achieved and the level of taxonomy is appropriate for the level of the course.
Relevant: Be sure the outcome/objective is relevant to what you will assess and teach in the course.
Time Based: Set a deadline for completion. Typically, for MHSL courses, this is "by the end of the course" for course-level outcomes or "by the end of this week" for module-level objectives

When drafting learning outcomes/objectives for your course, use the SMART framework to guide you.

When drafting outcomes, the main question you should ask yourself is: "What are the key knowledge and skills that are critical for students to take away from your course?"

When drafting your outcomes, you should also be thinking about how that outcome will be assessed, and how competency will be demonstrated. The verbs used in your outcomes should be carefully chosen. Use the taxonomies below to help guide you.

Tip: Having trouble getting started? Consider using ChatGPT to generate an initial list of outcomes for you, which you can then review and refine. Be sure to be specific in your prompt to ChatGPT in order to get a higher quality output. An ID can also provide ideas and support during any step of the process.

Learning Taxonomies

Reviewing learning taxonomies can also help you draft effective outcomes. Learning taxonomies articulate how a learner's understanding of a concept develops from simple (example: defining) to complex (example: creating). You can use these taxonomies to help you draft learning outcomes that appropriately reflect what you expect of students. While there are many learning taxonomies to help with this, we will focus on the two below:

Blooms Taxonomy is one model that demonstrates learning hierarchically.
- Download a verb list
- Blooms quick guide
- A Professor's Guide to Bloom's Taxonomy
- Blooms Taxonomy + AI
Taxonomy of Significant Learning is another model in which learning is considered holistically rather than hierarchical.
- Download a verb list

Using Outcomes to Design your Course Assessments and Curate Supporting Materials

Once you have your course level outcomes in place, you should work on creating a course overview and alignment map to begin structuring your course.

The alignment map will help you identify key pieces of course design and consider how the pieces fit together. How will the course outcomes be assessed? How will course topics be sequenced? What are the objectives for each module and do those objectives (a) support/relate to the course-level outcomes and (b) are the objectives written in a way that clearly articulates what competency means and how it will be assessed in that module? For example, if you use the verb "identify" in your objective, but are expecting students to write an analytical research paper to demonstrate competency of that objective, there is misalignment between the objective and your expectation for how the student will need to demonstrate competency of that outcome.

Remember that your course learning outcomes will serve as the framework for course and assessment design. They will also define the scope of the materials or activities you provide in the modules. For example, if materials don't align to a specific learning outcome in your syllabus, ask yourself why you are including it and if it is truly necessary to include in the course. If it is necessary, consider drafting a course outcome to include it. Outcomes can help act as bumpers to make sure you're not including additional unnecessary information in the course that may detract from key course goals.

The course overview and alignment map linked above is exceptionally helpful when you are developing a course for the first time as it allows you to create a blue print for the course all within one document. Alternatively, if you already have a designed and developed course and you prefer a more simplified alignment map to confirm course alignment, you could use this assessment map template. Professor Sharon Press has kindly shared an example of this version of an alignment map that she uses (and provides to students in her syllabus) for Negotiation. View Professor Press' example assessment map.

Four Steps to Check Course Alignment

Consider the requirements and level of the course in the curriculum and assess “dominant” Bloom’s level.
Do Course Assessments (as a group) mostly fit that same Bloom’s level?
Check Alignment of Module Objectives and Course Assessments.
Check Alignment of Module Objectives with Course Outcomes.

Example

Below are some syllabus outcomes for a blended section of Evidence. Note how the related module-level objectives (1.1-1.7) are nested beneath the associated course level outcome. This same formatting would be applied to all course level outcomes and module level objectives. Completing the alignment map will help you to organize all of your course level outcomes and module level objectives.

Course Competencies/Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, you should be able to:

1. 1. 1. Recognize the evidentiary rules applicable to basic problems of proof and testimony.

- - - 1.1 Explain the concepts of relevance.
    - 1.2 Demonstrate an understanding of the rules related to foundation for and impeachment of witness testimony.
    - 1.3 Explain the concepts of the hearsay rule and the principal non-truth uses.
    - 1.4 Articulate the rules governing expert and lay opinion evidence.
    - 1.5 Demonstrate an understanding of the use of non-testimonial evidence.
    - 1.6 Articulate relevant case law and commentary underlying each of these areas.
    - 1.7 Articulate the policy rationales underlying each of these areas.

Next we have a screenshot to demonstrate how the objectives in the weekly overview pages can be formatted. Notice how objective 1.3 from the syllabus above is called out in the module overview using parentheses. This allows students to clearly see how module content aligns to the course outcomes.

graphic of Week 8 overview page, containing module objective 1.3

In this example, module objective 1.3 was assessed that week via a quiz on Hearsay. Bigger picture, we see alignment in the following way:

Graphic showing relationship between MHSL JD Program Outcome, course outcome, module objective, and assessment.

Resources

See the learning outcome section of the faculty handbook (starting on page 29) for the list of MHSL JD Program Outcomes and the list of learning outcomes for required first-year courses.
See the ID Workshop content on "Assessments in Learning," which includes content on creating and measuring course outcomes.
Writing Course-Level Student Learning Outcomes (Quality Matters).
course overview and alignment map template
Basic assessment map template