Learning Outcomes: Goals & Outcomes
Define what students should understand, know, and be able to do. Start with the end in mind: transfer goals, then essential questions, then learning outcomes.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- ✓ Distinguish between transfer goals, understandings, essential questions, and knowledge/skills
- ✓ Articulate transfer goals that describe what students should be able to do independently, in unfamiliar situations
- ✓ Craft essential questions that provoke inquiry and connect to transfer goals
- ✓ Write measurable learning outcomes informed by your transfer goals and essential questions
- ✓ Use AI prompts to generate and refine Stage 1 elements for your course
Working with an Existing Course?
If you're redesigning an existing course — especially one in an accredited program — check with your program Chair or curriculum committee before modifying approved learning outcomes. In many programs, learning outcomes are tied to accreditation requirements and cannot be changed without formal approval.
This module works for both situations: if you're building a new course, you'll create outcomes from scratch. If you're revising an existing course, you can use the same process to evaluate your current outcomes, identify gaps, and propose improvements — while staying within your program's approval requirements.
Understanding Stage 1: Desired Results
Stage 1 asks the fundamental question: "What is worthy and requiring of understanding?"
Instead of starting with content or activities, UbD starts with clarifying what you want students to walk away with—not just know, but truly understand and be able to transfer to new situations.
The Four Components of Stage 1
Transfer Goals
Long-term accomplishments. What will students be able to do independently in the real world, long after the course ends?
Understandings
Big ideas and insights. What specific understandings about big ideas do you want students to develop?
Essential Questions
Provocative questions that spark inquiry and don't have a single right answer. They recur throughout the course.
Knowledge & Skills
Specific facts, concepts, and skills students will acquire. The building blocks of understanding.
Key Insight
These four components work together. Knowledge and skills are means to understanding, and understanding enables transfer. Essential questions keep the focus on inquiry rather than coverage.
Start with Your Course Context
Before diving into the components, take a moment to write (or revisit) a brief course description: 2–3 sentences describing what the course is about, who it's for, and why it matters. This description will provide essential context for every prompt you use with AI this module.
Our Approach: Start from the Furthest Goal
In true backward design fashion, we'll work from the broadest, most long-term goals inward. This means we start with transfer goals (what students can do independently, long after the course), then craft essential questions (the big questions that drive inquiry), and finally write specific, measurable learning outcomes. Each step informs the next.
Defining Transfer Goals
We begin with the most far-reaching question in backward design: "What should learners be able to do on their own, later, in unfamiliar situations?"
Transfer goals describe the long-term, real-world accomplishments you want for your students. They go beyond course content to capture what students will carry with them into their careers and lives. Everything else in your course design—essential questions, learning outcomes, assessments, and activities—should ultimately serve these transfer goals.
Characteristics of Effective Transfer Goals
Long-Term
They describe what students can do months or years after the course ends, not just at the final exam.
Real-World
They focus on authentic contexts—the workplace, community, or personal life—not just academic settings.
Independent
They describe autonomous performance—what students do on their own, without instructor guidance.
The Transfer Goal Formula
Use this format: "Students will independently use their learning to..." followed by a real-world application. For example: "Students will independently use their learning to evaluate health claims in the media using scientific reasoning."
Why Start Here?
Starting with transfer goals ensures your entire course design works backward from what truly matters. Your transfer goals will inform the essential questions you craft next, which will in turn shape your specific learning outcomes. This is backward design in action.
Crafting Essential Questions
Now that you have your transfer goals, the next step is to craft essential questions—the big, open-ended questions that will drive inquiry throughout your course. Good essential questions bridge the gap between your long-term transfer goals and the specific content students will learn.
Recur
They come up again and again throughout the course and discipline, inviting ongoing investigation.
Provoke
They spark genuine inquiry and debate, not just recall. They don't have one "right" answer.
Transfer
They point toward bigger ideas that connect to life beyond the classroom and to your transfer goals.
Essential vs. Leading Questions
Leading: "Why is democracy the best form of government?" (assumes an answer)
Essential: "What makes a government legitimate?" (invites exploration)
Characteristics of Good Essential Questions
- ✓ Open-ended—cannot be answered with "yes," "no," or a simple fact
- ✓ Thought-provoking—stimulate ongoing thinking and inquiry
- ✓ Point to big ideas—connect to transferable concepts and your transfer goals
- ✓ Raise more questions—lead to further inquiry
- ✓ Require support and justification—not just opinion
Writing Effective Learning Outcomes
Building on Your Transfer Goals and Essential Questions
Your learning outcomes should flow naturally from the transfer goals and essential questions you've already defined. Transfer goals describe the long-term destination; essential questions frame the inquiry; learning outcomes specify the measurable steps students will take to get there.
Learning outcomes describe what students will be able to do as a result of learning. They should be:
Outcomes vs. Objectives: A Quick Clarification
In educational development, these terms mean different things:
Learning outcomes are specific, measurable statements of what students will be able to do after learning. They are student-centered and assessable (e.g., "Students will be able to analyze primary sources for bias").
Learning objectives (or course objectives) are broader institutional or program-level goals that describe the general aims of a course or program (e.g., "Introduce students to historical methods").
Throughout AI DesignLab, we focus on learning outcomes because they are specific, measurable, and directly connected to assessment design. When you see "objectives" in a lesson-planning framework like BOPPPS, it refers to lesson-level outcomes—what students will be able to do by the end of that specific lesson.
- S Specific — Clear and unambiguous
- M Measurable — Can be assessed and observed
- A Action-oriented — Describes what students will do, understand, or value
- R Relevant — Meaningful to learners and discipline
- T Time-bound — Achievable within the course
Bloom's Taxonomy: Targeting Cognitive Complexity
Bloom's Taxonomy ↗ describes different levels of cognitive complexity. Rather than treating it as a verb-selection tool, use it to ensure your outcomes target the kinds of thinking your course requires. A strong set of outcomes typically spans multiple levels—not every outcome needs to be at the top.
Focus on Measurability, Not Just Verbs
Words like "understand," "know," and "appreciate" are difficult to assess on their own because they describe internal states. The key question is: How would a student demonstrate this? If you can answer that, your outcome is on the right track—whether you use a Bloom's verb or not. The goal is clarity about what students will be able to do, produce, or demonstrate, not just choosing the "right" action word.
Beyond Bloom's Cognitive Domain
Bloom's cognitive taxonomy is widely used, but it captures only one dimension of learning. Depending on your discipline, your outcomes may also need to address how students feel, what they value, or what they can physically do. Two additional domains from the original Bloom's framework—and a more integrated alternative—can help you write richer, more complete outcomes.
Cognitive Domain
Knowledge and intellectual skills—what students will think and know. This is the cognitive domain shown above, spanning six kinds of thinking from recalling facts to creating new work.
Example: "Analyze the relationship between supply and demand in different market structures."
Affective Domain
Attitudes, values, and dispositions—what students will value and commit to. Ranges from receiving information willingly to internalizing values that guide behavior. Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S., & Masia, B. B. (1967). Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of educational goals. Handbook 2, Affective domain. Longman.
Example: "Demonstrate a commitment to ethical practice when handling patient data."
Psychomotor Domain
Physical skills, procedures, and techniques—what students will perform and execute. Ranges from observing a skill to performing it with precision and fluency.
Example: "Perform a sterile wound dressing change following clinical protocol."
When to Think Beyond Cognitive
If your course involves professional identity, ethical reasoning, or empathy, consider the affective domain. If it involves lab skills, clinical procedures, performance techniques, or physical competencies, consider the psychomotor domain. Many courses—especially in health sciences, arts, and professional programs—benefit from outcomes that span all three domains.
Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning
L. Dee Fink proposed an alternative to Bloom's that doesn't arrange categories in a hierarchy. Instead, Fink's six categories are interactive and complementary—each one can enhance the others. This makes it especially useful when you want outcomes that address the whole learner, not just cognitive skills. Fink, L. D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. John Wiley & Sons.
Foundational Knowledge
Understanding and remembering key information, ideas, and concepts that form the basis for other kinds of learning.
Application
Developing skills in thinking (critical, creative, practical) and in managing complex projects or tasks.
Integration
Making connections between ideas, disciplines, and domains of life—seeing how things are related.
Human Dimension
Learning about oneself and others—developing new self-understanding and the ability to interact effectively.
Caring
Developing new feelings, interests, or values that energize students to learn more or engage differently.
Learning How to Learn
Becoming a better, more self-directed learner—understanding how to keep learning after the course ends.
Why Fink Works Well with UbD
Fink's categories map naturally onto UbD thinking. Foundational Knowledge and Application correspond to what students will know and do. Integration connects to transfer goals. Human Dimension and Caring address what students will come to value. And Learning How to Learn supports lifelong growth—the ultimate transfer goal.
Choosing a Framework for Your Outcomes
You don't need to pick just one framework. Many educators combine elements from several. Use this comparison to identify which frameworks best fit your course goals:
Bloom's Cognitive
Best for: Knowledge-intensive courses where you need to target specific levels of intellectual rigor (e.g., sciences, social sciences, humanities).
Focus: What students will think and know—from recall to creation.
Bloom's Affective
Best for: Courses emphasizing professional identity, ethics, civic engagement, or personal development (e.g., nursing, social work, education, counseling).
Focus: What students will value and commit to.
Bloom's Psychomotor
Best for: Courses with hands-on skills, laboratory work, clinical practice, or performance (e.g., health sciences, engineering, fine arts, trades).
Focus: What students will perform and execute.
Fink's Significant Learning
Best for: Courses aiming for transformative, holistic learning—especially interdisciplinary, capstone, or professional development courses.
Focus: The whole learner—what they know, do, value, and become.
Examples Across Disciplines
Introduction to Biology
Transfer Goal
Students will independently use scientific reasoning to make informed decisions about health, environment, and biotechnology issues in their lives.
Essential Question
How do living systems maintain balance, and what happens when that balance is disrupted?
Learning Outcome
By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze the relationships between cellular structures and functions, and predict how disruptions to these systems lead to disease.
World History Survey
Transfer Goal
Students will independently use historical thinking to understand current events, evaluate claims about the past, and participate as informed citizens.
Essential Question
Whose story gets told, and how does that shape our understanding of the past?
Learning Outcome
By the end of this course, students will be able to evaluate primary sources for bias, perspective, and reliability, and construct evidence-based historical arguments.
Principles of Marketing
Transfer Goal
Students will independently develop and implement marketing strategies that respond to market conditions, consumer behavior, and ethical considerations.
Essential Question
How do marketers create value while balancing profit and social responsibility?
Learning Outcome
By the end of this course, students will be able to design a comprehensive marketing plan that integrates market research, segmentation, positioning, and promotional strategies.
Introduction to Digital Photography
Transfer Goal
Students will independently create photographic work that communicates ideas, emotions, and perspectives through intentional technical and artistic choices.
Essential Question
How do photographers use technical skills and creative vision to tell stories and evoke emotion?
Learning Outcome
By the end of this course, students will be able to compose photographs using principles of design and justify their artistic choices using appropriate terminology.
Fundamentals of Nursing
Transfer Goal
Students will independently provide safe, patient-centered care using clinical judgment, evidence-based practice, and effective communication.
Essential Question
How do nurses balance standardized protocols with individualized patient needs?
Learning Outcome
By the end of this course, students will be able to perform comprehensive patient assessments and prioritize nursing interventions based on clinical findings.
AI-Assisted Activities
Now let's develop Stage 1 elements for your course, working in the same sequence: transfer goals first, then essential questions, then learning outcomes. Each activity follows the DesignLab Method: Reflect, Rough Draft, AI Refine, and Critically Evaluate.
Building on Module 1
Have your big ideas and essential questions from Module 1's first prompt ready. They'll serve as starting inputs for the activities below—your big ideas will inform your transfer goals, and your essential questions will be refined and connected to those goals.
Return to DesignLab After Each AI Interaction
When you copy a prompt and paste it into your AI tool, remember to come back here afterward! Copy the AI's response, return to this page, and continue with the next step. AI chatbots can easily lead you down rabbit holes—DesignLab keeps your design process structured and focused.
Define Transfer Goals
Step 1: Reflect
Start by reviewing the big ideas you explored in Module 1. Then reflect on this question: What should students be able to do on their own, in the real world, long after your course ends? How do your big ideas point toward lasting, transferable capabilities? Also think about what contexts they'll encounter this learning in.
Step 2: Rough Draft
Jot down 1–2 transfer goal ideas in your own words. Also have your course description ready. These rough notes give you a baseline for evaluating the AI's suggestions.
Help me articulate transfer goals for [Course Name]. Course description: [Paste your 2-3 sentence course description] Transfer goals describe what students will be able to do independently, in the real world, long after the course ends. Course focus: [Brief description] Future contexts: [Where might students use this learning?] Please generate 2-3 transfer goals using this format: "Students will independently use their learning to..." These should be: - Long-term and enduring - Applicable beyond the classroom - Focused on autonomous performance - Connected to real-world situations
Step 4: Critically Evaluate
Compare the AI's transfer goals with your rough draft. Do these capture the lasting impact you envision for your course? Are they aspirational yet realistic? Do they reflect what practitioners in your field actually need? Revise until they feel authentic to your course vision. Your transfer goals will guide the next two activities.
Craft Essential Questions
Step 1: Reflect
Pull out the essential questions you explored in Module 1 and review the transfer goals you just defined. Think about: How do your Module 1 questions hold up now that you have transfer goals? What big, open-ended questions do you want students wrestling with all semester? What questions connect directly to your transfer goals?
Step 2: Rough Draft
Using your Module 1 essential questions as a starting point, draft 2–3 refined essential questions that connect to your new transfer goals. Some of your Module 1 questions may still work well; others may need revision or replacement. These rough drafts give you a benchmark for comparing against the AI's suggestions.
Now use this prompt to generate essential questions informed by your transfer goals:
I need essential questions for my [Course Name] course. Course description: [Paste your course description] Transfer goals: [Paste the transfer goals you defined in Activity 1] Big ideas/themes: [List 2-3 central concepts] Please generate 3-5 essential questions that: 1. Are open-ended (no single right answer) 2. Are thought-provoking and spark genuine inquiry 3. Recur throughout the course 4. Connect directly to my transfer goals 5. Could be explored from multiple perspectives For each question, briefly explain how it connects to my transfer goals and why it qualifies as "essential" rather than just topical.
Step 4: Critically Evaluate
Compare AI's essential questions with your rough draft. Are they truly open-ended and thought-provoking, or do they feel generic? Do they connect meaningfully to your transfer goals? Do they reflect the unique perspective and emphasis of your course? Revise, combine, or reject as your expertise guides you.
Generate Learning Outcomes
Step 1: Reflect
Review your transfer goals and essential questions. Think about: What specific, measurable steps will move students toward your transfer goals? What skills and knowledge do students need to engage with your essential questions? How would you know if they’ve achieved these outcomes?
Step 2: Rough Draft
Draft 3–5 learning outcomes on your own. They don’t need to be perfect—rough drafts give you a baseline to compare against the AI’s suggestions.
Now use this prompt to have AI generate learning outcomes informed by your transfer goals and essential questions:
Why Include Both a Course Description and Key Topics?
Your course description tells AI the broader intent, scope, and audience of your course—the "why" and "for whom." Your key topics tell AI what content you plan to cover—the "what." Together, they produce much better-aligned outcomes than either one alone. Topics without a description often generate generic outcomes; a description without topics can miss the specific content you need to address.
I'm designing learning outcomes for my course: [Course Name] Course description: [Paste your course description] Transfer goals: [Paste your transfer goals from Activity 1] Essential questions: [Paste your essential questions from Activity 2] Course level: [Introductory/Intermediate/Advanced] Duration: [e.g., 15 weeks] Key topics: [List 3-5 main topics] Please generate 5-7 learning outcomes that: 1. Support my transfer goals and connect to my essential questions 2. Are measurable—it's clear how a student would demonstrate each one 3. Address different dimensions of learning where appropriate (cognitive skills, practical/physical skills, attitudes or values) 4. Are specific and achievable within the course timeframe 5. Follow this format: "By the end of this course, students will be able to [VERB] + [WHAT] + [CONTEXT/CONDITION]" After generating, please identify which learning domain each outcome addresses (cognitive, affective, or psychomotor) and explain how it connects to my transfer goals.
Step 4: Critically Evaluate
Compare the AI-generated outcomes with your rough drafts. Ask yourself:
• Do these outcomes support your transfer goals and connect to your essential questions?
• Are they measurable and realistic for your course timeframe?
• Did the AI suggest anything you hadn’t considered—or miss something important?
Keep the best of both, revise as needed, and ask AI to iterate on any outcomes that need refinement.
Check for Diverse Perspectives and Positionality
Before finalizing your outcomes, take a moment to consider: Whose perspectives, experiences, and ways of knowing are centered in these outcomes? Are there voices or viewpoints that are missing? Could your outcomes be broadened to value diverse forms of expertise and expression? Inclusive outcomes don't just add content—they invite students from different backgrounds to see themselves in the learning and contribute from their own experience.
Dexi Says:
Notice how each step builds on the last? Your transfer goals shaped your essential questions, which now inform your learning outcomes. That’s backward design in action—and it’s why AI outputs get better when you feed your earlier work forward!
👩🏫 Exemplar Spotlight: Stage 1 in Action
Here's how Dr. Sarah Chen and Prof. Marcus Rivera completed Stage 1 for their courses. Notice how their transfer goals, essential questions, and learning outcomes connect—and where they departed from AI suggestions.
Dr. Sarah Chen — Foundations of Patient-Centered Care
Transfer Goal
Students will independently use their learning to provide safe, empathetic, patient-centered care by integrating clinical knowledge with effective communication and ethical reasoning—even in unfamiliar or ambiguous clinical situations.
Essential Questions
• How do nurses balance standardized clinical protocols with the unique needs of individual patients?
• What does it mean to truly "center" the patient when institutional pressures push toward efficiency?
Sample Learning Outcomes
• Perform a comprehensive patient assessment integrating physical findings with the patient's self-reported concerns and cultural context. (psychomotor + affective)
• Analyze a clinical scenario to identify potential safety risks and prioritize nursing interventions using evidence-based reasoning. (cognitive)
• Demonstrate therapeutic communication techniques when delivering difficult news to patients and families. (psychomotor + affective)
What Sarah Changed from AI Output
AI initially suggested generic transfer goals about "applying nursing knowledge." Sarah pushed for specificity, adding the emphasis on ambiguous situations and the tension between empathy and efficiency—because that's what her graduates actually struggle with. She also rejected an AI-suggested outcome about "listing patient rights" as too low-level for a 2nd-year course.
Prof. Marcus Rivera — Social Inequality and Justice
Transfer Goal
Students will independently use their learning to analyze how structural forces produce and sustain social inequality—and to advocate for evidence-based change within their communities and professional contexts.
Essential Questions
• Whose interests are served by the way social institutions are currently structured?
• What is the relationship between individual experience and structural inequality—and why does that distinction matter for action?
Sample Learning Outcomes
• Evaluate sociological theories of inequality by applying them to contemporary case studies and assessing their explanatory power and limitations. (cognitive)
• Construct an evidence-based argument connecting a specific form of inequality to its structural causes, drawing on at least three scholarly sources. (cognitive)
• Demonstrate a commitment to reflexive practice by critically examining how their own social position shapes their understanding of inequality. (affective)
What Marcus Changed from AI Output
AI generated essential questions that were too neutral—"What causes inequality?"—which Marcus felt let students off the hook. He rewrote them to foreground power and positionality. For outcomes, AI suggested "describe types of inequality," which Marcus replaced with higher-order outcomes requiring evaluation and construction. He also added the reflexive practice outcome, which AI hadn't considered at all.
Module 2 Reflection & Checklist
✅ Module 2 Completion Checklist
- Wrote a course description for context
- Defined 2-3 transfer goals
- Crafted 3-5 essential questions connected to transfer goals
- Generated 5-7 learning outcomes informed by transfer goals and essential questions
- Reviewed outcomes for appropriate learning domains and complexity levels
- Saved my work to the workbook
Your Reflection
📖 Further Reading for This Module
Want to go deeper into the frameworks and concepts introduced this module? These scholarly sources provide the foundation for the ideas in this module.
Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Ascd.
Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives: complete edition. Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.
Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S., & Masia, B. B. (1967). Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of educational goals. Handbook 2, Affective domain. Longman.
Fink, L. D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. John Wiley & Sons.
🎉 Module 2 Complete!
Excellent work! You've defined the desired results for your course—the foundation of backward design.
Coming up in Module 3: We'll design assessments that actually measure whether students have achieved your learning outcomes. This is Stage 2 of UbD!