Examples of good student learning outcomes:
Government. When given a major decision made by a governmental leader, you will be
able to identify the major factors that the leader had to consider and discuss why the
action was taken and what apparent trade-offs were made.
Economics. Demonstrate graphically and explain how a change in expectations will
affect the loanable funds market.
Management. Identify (based on readings, case studies, or personal experiences) those
activities that are most likely to distinguish effective, well-managed technology
development programs from ineffective programs.
Statistics. When given two events, you will be able to determine whether they are
independent or whether there is a relationship between them (that is, one event affects the
probability of the other). On the basis of this determination, you will be able to select
and use the appropriate rules of conditional probability to determine the probability that a
certain event will occur.
Religion. When given a definition of the term religion, students will be able to identify
which of the following characteristics is emphasized: feeling, ritual activity, belief,
monotheism, the solitary individual, social valuation, illusion, ultimate reality, and value.
Music. On hearing musical selections, you will be able to identify those that are
examples of chamber music and be able to identify the form, texture, and makeup of the
ensemble.
Art. When shown a print, students will be able to identify whether it is a woodcut, an
etching, or a lithograph, and students will be able to list the characteristics on which this
identification was based.
Psychology. When given a case study, you will be able to identify whether it describes a
case of schizophrenia, and if it does, which of the following schizophrenic reactions are
involved: hybephrenic, catatonic, or paranoid.
“Student Learning and Outcomes.” San Francisco State University, Division of
Undergraduate Education and Academic Planning.
(Examples are taken from Designing and Assessing Courses and Curricula, Third
Edition, 2008. Robert M. Diamond. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA.)