From Program Goals and Objectives to Course Objectives
or Learning Outcomes
If the syllabi in your program reflect the broad goals of the program by specifying what the students are expected to do, know, or develop as values, then each course clearly lets students know what the expectations are that faculty have for them.
[What are your teaching goals for your courses? Go here for a tool developed by Thomas Angelo and Patricia Cross, designed to help you think through your purposes for teaching any of your courses. This material has been provided by the University of Iowa.]
A. From a Kinesiology program:
One of the broad program goals is:
Students will be able to
develop, implement, and evaluate health promotion programs for specific target
programs.
One course syllabus translates that broad goal into specific learning outcomes:
By the end
of this course, each student will be able to:
1.
explain models currently used in health promotion
programming;
2.
conduct a needs assessment;
3.
develop a program rationale;
4.
specify how to recruit and select advisory committee
members;
5.
write program goals and objectives;
6.
create a marketing brochure;
7.
predict factors that may prevent program success;
8.
develop methods to evaluate program success.
B. From a Business program:
One of the broad program goals is:
Students
will understand financial management principles and practices.
One course syllabus translates that broad goal into specific learning outcomes:
By the end
of this course, you should be able to:
1.
Analyze and interpret changes in the operating profitability of
a
firm using the rate of return on assets and its components,
profit margin and total assets turnover.
2. Analyze and interpret changes in the rate of return on
common shareholders' equity, including the conditions when a
firm uses financial leverage successfully.
3.
Understand the importance of effective working capital
management and apply analytical tools for assessing
short-term liquidity risk.
4.
Understand the benefits and risks of financial leverage and
apply analytical tools for assessing long-term solvency risk.
C. From a Communications program:
One of the broad program goals is:
Students will understand the
major developments in the history of communication technology so that they
understand how innovation and institutionalization occur in different settings.
One course syllabus translates that broad goal into specific learning outcomes:
1. You will be able to write an
analysis comparing, contrasting, and evaluating different technologies across
different cultural contexts.
2. You will be able to summarize
the major technological developments in communication from prehistory to the
present.
3. You will write a research paper on the uses, strengths, and weaknesses of one modern communication technology.
D. From an English literature program:
One of the broad program goals is:
Students
will be able to analyze literature.
One course syllabus translates that broad goal into specific learning outcomes:
1. You will be able to explain the themes, symbols, metrics, and other conventions common to this period of literature.
2. You will be able to describe how the historical and social context of the times influenced the literature.
3.
You will develop a research project that analyzes a
work from this period or a theme exemplified by several authors and works.
E. An example from Skidmore:
A Social Work program goal:
Apply critical thinking skills within the context of professional social work practice.
How that goal is applied in Social Work 338, examples:
Students will analyze media coverage for information regarding social problems, policies, and programs.
Students will describe various programs in public assistance, social insurance, and social services.
Students will identify the personal, professional and political values that influence policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation.