Taken from http://under30ceo.com/goals-vs-outcomes-youre-confusing-matters-lot/
Developing Goals and Learning Outcomes By Prof. Jonathan Acuña-Solano School of English Faculty of Social Sciences Universidad Latina de Costa Rica Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Post 235
Working on the right development of teaching goals and their corresponding learning outcomes is no easy task for a neophyte in teaching, but it is indeed a skill that is developed through one’s professional teaching life. It requires lots of reflective teaching to find the best way to do it. To what extent is one stating specific goals and learning outcomes for one’s lessons? Every moment a teacher steps into the teaching ground, s/he is supposed to be prepared with a set of goals and outcomes for that lesson or period of time in which course objectives need to be covered. Lacking this sense of direction can prove to be futile when one realizes that learners are not accomplishing what was planned for them. For this very reason any teacher must have very specific goals and outcomes for his/her teaching sessions, which need to be communicated to students so they also know what
the lesson is aiming at and what is meant for them to have achieved at the end of it. Lacking specific goals and learning outcomes mean that though learning can happen, it will rather erratic than deep. How is one currently assessing one’s students’ learning? This is the kind of question all teachers must ask themselves to be certain than some sort of formative or summative assessment is aligned with one’s teaching goals and learning outcomes. Just because a quiz is designed, developed, and applied, it does not mean that it is the only way of giving learners a grade. There are other ways of doing it in which more practical (hands-on) experiences can help the teacher see student development in terms of expected behaviors s/he is supposed to replicate. Assessment, as stated before, must also be aligned with course content and objectives, but it is the instructor the one who needs to come up with good assessing practices to foster and reinforce deep learning. How might technology tools be used to increase student participation in class? Dealing with the Generation Y and the way they learn by means of technological gadgets is one of those factors that faculty members or school teaching staff must keep in mind to guarantee that learners will achieve goals and outcomes. Participation, as well as engagement, can be created and fostered when technology tools such as chats and social media can be incorporated into one’s teaching and planning. Moving from a mere F2F class where most activities take place can have an interesting shift if one moves the class onto the web my means of IBL (Internet-Based Learning). And since the Internet is one of the most common resources for students to work on their learning tasks, why not to take it into account when it comes to assessing students’ learning? Education has indeed been evolving exponentially in the last few years, and then one thinks, “What is in store for us educators in the near future?” Though it is difficult to provide an answer, what is certain is that more changes are coming our way. Teaching needs to be adapted to new circumstances, and though student learning can
change, the setting of learning goals and outcomes is something that has to be present in today’s or in the future’s way of teaching.