Developing aims, objectives and learning outcomes

InfoSkills FOLIO course

What next?

So, I have completed the training needs assessment… what do I do now?

Choosing the information skills training courses… Following the training needs

assessment, you should be able to identify the types of information skills training courses that need to be provided

If you are unable to create courses for all the training needs you have identified, you must prioritise the training courses that you will develop

Creating aims, objectives and learning outcomes Now that you know which information skills

training courses to develop, you need to create aims, objectives and learning outcomes for the courses

In some cases, your organisation may have already developed aims, objectives and learning outcomes for the courses that you intend to run. However, it is important to review these to ensure that they are still valid

What are aims?

Aims are:

“The general statement by the course organisers of their intentions in designing and running the course in question. This will relate to their assessment, or estimate, of the learning needs of the participants” (1)

Examples of aims…

For a literature searching course (2)…To provide a comprehensive, introductory overview of core…databases

For a ‘searching the internet’ course (2)…To provide a comprehensive introduction to the Internet, particularly the World Wide Web and an overview of the process of finding and identifying good quality information resources

For a library induction…To provide an introduction to the resources and services that are available in the library

What are objectives?

Objectives are…

“An expression in concrete and specific terms of what will happen on the course. The specific activities which participants will undertake on the course in order to achieve the stated aims” (1).

“Note: not what will be learned, (that comes next), but what will be done” (1).

Objectives usually start with the phrase “By the end of this training course, participants will be familiar with…” (or similar)

Examples of objectives… For a literature searching course (2)…

By the end of this session, participants will be familiar with: the names, coverage and content of the core… databases

including <specify> the types of information that can be identified through

interrogation of these databases the process of developing a research question into an

effective search strategy including the identification of keywords, concepts and synonyms

the techniques and skills required to conduct a database search including the use of a controlled language thesaurus, truncation, boolean operators and explosion

Examples of objectives… For ‘searching for information on the internet’ course (2)

…By the end of this session, participants will be familiar with:

various components of the Internet, such as electronic mail and the World Wide Web

basic structure of, and methods of navigating, the World Wide Web

types of information available through the internet strengths and weaknesses of Internet as information resource criteria used to evaluate the quality of internet-based

information examples of resources used to find evidence to support

research and practice techniques and skills needed to find resources on the

internet;

Examples of objectives…

For a library inductionBy the end of this session, participants will be familiar with:

opening hours of the library resources held by the library (books, journals,

statistics etc) and how to locate them (including an introduction to the library’s classification scheme)

their borrowing rights services offered by the library (literature searching

training, inter-library loans, enquiry desk etc) contact details of the library (including email

address, telephone number, web address)

What are learning outcomes?

Learning outcomes (also known as key learning activities) are…“What will be learned. What the participants will be expected to achieve at the end of the course - knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Specifically what achieving the course objectives should have enabled the participants to learn” (1)

Writing learning outcomes (1)

Learning outcomes should specify the minimum acceptable standards for students to pass the training course (3)

Therefore, it is important that learning outcomes are expressed in terms of the essential learning for the information skills training course (3)

Each information skills training course should have between four and eight key learning outcomes (3)

Writing learning outcomes (2)

Learning outcomes should begin with the following phrase (or similar) (3):

On successful completion of this training course, students will be able to…

Writing learning outcomes (3)

Each learning outcome should be preceded by an action verb so that students are able to demonstrate that they have learned or achieved the outcome (3)

Verbs relating to knowledge outcomes such as- ‘know’, ‘understand’, ‘appreciate’- tend to be rather vague and focus on the process that students have gone through (3)

Instead, where possible, action verbs such as- ‘solve’, evaluate’, ‘use’, ‘analyse’- should be used to indicate how students can demonstrate their knowledge (3)

Writing learning outcomes (4)

o Bloom’s Taxonomy of 1956 is a good aid for writing learning outcomes (3)

o Bloom identified six categories of learning (3):1. Knowledge 2. Comprehension 3. Application 4. Analysis 5. Synthesis 6. Evaluation

o The first two relate to knowledge and understanding, while the remaining for involve intellectual skills

o It is tempting to concentrate on the first two categories for your information skills training session, but it is important to introduce the higher level activities where possible

Examples of learning outcomes: Stage 1… For an ‘information skills for students’

training course…

Upon successful completion of this training course, participants will be able to:

Examples of learning outcomes: Stage 2…

For an ‘information skills for students’ training course…Upon successful completion of this training course, participants will be able to:

Understand Develop Conduct Evaluate and select Use Use Use Understand and evaluate

Examples of learning outcomes: Stage 3…

For an ‘information skills for students’ training course [Based on (4)]…Upon successful completion of this training course, participants will be able to:

Understand the information seeking process and its role in research Develop a search strategy for your research topic(s) Conduct subject searches and other search tactics Evaluate and select information Use traditional library sources Use on-line databases Use the WWW for reliable information Understand and evaluate the range of primary resources available

to you

Linking learning outcomes to assessment

If you wish to assess students, your training session should show clear alignment between learning outcomes and assessment criteria (3)

This enables you to design appropriate tasks and to deliver the training course in a way that enables students to reach the required outcomes (3)

It also enables you to ensure that there is coherence in your training session (3)

The alignment between learning outcomes, assessment tasks and assessment criteria should be transparent to the students (3)

What are the benefits of learning outcomes? Courses which are designed using learning

outcomes are student-centred (2) Designing courses in this way marks a shift

from the content of a module or course (i.e. what trainers teach) towards its outcome (i.e. what the students are able to do upon successful completion of the course) (2)

What are the benefits of learning outcomes?

Learning outcomes can… Help to guide students in their learning

because they explain what is expected of them (3).

Help trainers to focus on what they want students to achieve as a result of the training course provide a useful guide to inform potential students and employers about the knowledge and understanding that a graduate of the training course will possess (3)

References

1. West Midlands Modular Trainers Course. 2004. Curriculum. http://www.trainer.org.uk/members/theory/planning/curriculum.htm (Accessed in March 2007, now no longer avaialble)

2. Hicks A. Developing information skills training for National Health Service personnel: experiences at the Trent Institute for Health Services Research. Program, 1998. 32 (2); 123-136

3. University of Central England in Birmingham. 2004. Guide to learning outcomes. http://lmu.uce.ac.uk/outcomes/UCE%20Guide%20to%20Learning%20Outcomes.pdf (Accessed in March 2007, now password protected and no longer available)

4. University of Strathclyde. 2004. GAELS. http://gaels.lib.strath.ac.uk/info_skills

Further reading 1. Butcher C. (2004). Bloom’s Taxonomy. SDDU University of Leeds.

http://www.ldu.leeds.ac.uk/ldu/sddu_multimedia/#2 2. Hesketh EA. (2004). Aims and objectives. NHS Education for

Scotland. http://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/nes_resources/ti/AimsObjectives.pdf

3. Peters J. (2004). Learning outcomes and information literacy. SCONUL http://www.sconul.ac.uk/groups/information_literacy/papers/outcomes.pdf

4. University of Aberdeen. 1997. Guidance on aims and objectives for teaching and learning.http://www.abdn.ac.uk/admin/aimsobs.shtml

5. Crockett M and Foster J (2005). The Archives-Skills Consultancy on behalf of the ICA Section on Archival Education and Training. Training the Trainer Resource Pack. Planning a course: Aims, objectives and learning outcomes http://www.ica-sae.org/trainer/english/p4.htm