Teaching and Learning for Social Impact Main Menu Introduction Introduction to the Teaching Schema Why: Teach for Social Impact How: Course Design for Social Impact What: Topics to Teach for Social Impact About this Publication Washington University in St. Louis

Creating Learning Outcomes

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Learning outcomes should be aligned to or reflect the Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions. These will be written in a way that operationalizes the understandings in order for them to be assessable during the course.

Dee Fink proposes six dimensions of learning in his Taxonomy of Significant Learning (p. 11).

Learning outcomes can be constructed to reflect these dimensions as you build a more socially conscious course.


To create your social impact outcomes, reflect on the dimensions of learning and the questions above. You can have a learning outcome that addresses all dimensions, or just a few. Then, use the following formula to create an outcome that relates to the dimensions you want to highlight in your course.
Students will be able to + Action VERB + Knowledge, Skill, or Behavior You Want Students to Learn

Further reading:
• Going beyond Bloom’s for learning outcomes and objectives. BYU Center for Teaching and Learning.
• See Bloom’s Taxonomy for levels of learning and associated verbs.
• Jeremy Branzetti, Michael A. Gisondi, Laura R. Hopson & Linda Regan (2019). Aiming Beyond Competent: The Application of the Taxonomy of Significant Learning to Medical Education. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 31:4, 466-478, DOI: 10.1080/10401334.2018.1561368

This page has paths:

  1. A Brief Introduction to Backwards Design Emily Stenberg
  2. How: Course Design for Social Impact Emily Stenberg

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