Learning Outcomes Best Practices

Below are a series of best practices to follow when using the Learning Outcomes tool in D2L. By following these guidelines, you can simplify and streamline the process of adding learning outcomes, as well as help ensure you get the most usable data for you and your students.

---

Before Adding Learning Outcomes to D2L

Before adding learning outcomes in D2L, create a list of all course assessments (discussions, quizzes/quiz questions, assignments, and rubric criteria) and identify the learning outcome(s) they align with. This will make the process in D2L go much quicker and smoother. Learning Outcomes cannot be aligned with D2L tools that are not assessed, such as surveys and/or self-assessments.

Organizing and Structuring Learning Outcomes

Before adding learning outcomes to a semester or master course, consider how best to organize them. Key factors to consider before setting up outcomes within D2L are:

• In the Learning Outcomes tool, outcomes will appear in alphabetical order rather than the order they were entered. If maintaining an order is important, use a numbering or letter system or use shortcodes to identify LOs.
• Only the lowest-level outcome(s) can be assessed. If you are setting up a parent/child scheme, only the child-level outcomes will be assessable.
• Example: In this setup, only the child-level outcomes (2.1, 2.2, 2.3 & 2.4) are assessable. The parent-level outcome (SLO 2 – Demonstrate safe driving practices) is not. If you need to assess a parent-level outcome, organize the outcomes so that they are all at a single level.

Using Learning Outcomes in Semester and Master Courses

Set up learning outcomes in a Master Course (either personal or program/department) due to the dynamic nature of the Learning Outcomes Tool. When learning outcomes are copied into another course, a source course/target course relationship is established. Edits made to LOs in the Source Course will automatically permeate to all Target Courses.

• Source Course: The original course where the learning outcomes were created.
• Target Course: Any course that a Source Course was copied into.

Maintaining a master course provides these benefits:

• Actively used master courses will remain available to enrolled users, while semester courses are available for up to one year after the end date of the course in Banner.
• Using a master course with Learning Outcomes in the title helps clearly identify which course is the Source Course.

Copying Learning Outcomes Between Courses

When learning outcomes are copied into another course, a source course/target course relationship is established. Edits made to Outcomes in the Source Course will automatically permeate to all Target Courses.

• Source Course: The original course where the learning outcomes were created.
• Target Course: Any course that a Source Course was copied into.

Learning outcomes in Target Courses can not be edited. Edits must be made within the Source Course.

Using Program Achievement Scales

Learning Outcomes are assessed based on the selected achievement scale. LCC’s default achievement scale is a four-level scale. Custom achievement scales can be created upon request to better align with program and/or accreditation requirements. To inquire about a custom achievement scale, contact the eLearning Department.

Aligning Outcomes to Assessment Strategies

Review your assessment strategy to ensure your assessments align with the correct learning outcomes. Also consider:

• Do I have outcomes that are under or over-assessed (too few/many assignments measuring the outcome)?
• Do the scope and complexity of the assignment(s) align with the learning outcome(s)?

Aligning Learning Outcomes to D2L Assessments

To be aligned with a learning outcome, assessments must exist in D2L. Learning outcomes cannot be directly aligned to a gradebook item. If an assessment is completed outside D2L (e.g. a presentation given in a face-to-face class), create an assignment link for it in D2L and change the submission type to On Paper Submission or Observed in Person as appropriate.

Using Outcomes on Formative and Summative Assessments

Learning outcomes can be attached to both smaller, low-stakes (formative) assessments, as well as larger (summative) assessments designed to measure student achievement like exams or projects. Attaching Learning Outcomes to different assessment types can be valuable depending on the types of data you want to gather:

Use learning outcomess on Formative Assessments to:

• Get a sense of how students are learning throughout the course.
• Identify challenging content or topics early.
• Provide students regular opportunities to assess their own learning.

Use learning outcomess on Summative Assessments to:

• Determine if learning outcomes are being met effectively.
• Compare different sections, modalities, or semesters of similar courses to determine best instructional practices.

Using Mastery View to Interpret Learning Outcomes Data

Mastery View can help you get a sense of how well your students are performing on each outcome.

• If you have multiple assessments or questions linked to a learning outcome, consider using the Most Common or Decaying Average calculation method. This can provide a clearer picture of how students have performed over multiple assessments.
• Review outcomes where multiple students are in lower achievement bands. These might be opportunities to restructure assessments, provide additional learning support such as resources, or highlight out-of-class resources like tutoring or the LCC library.
• If you teach multiple sections of the same course across different modalities (Online, F2F, etc), or the same course over multiple semesters, comparing mastery view across courses can provide insight into which teaching strategies or assessments are more effective in specific contexts.