Session Learning Outcomes & Objectives

What are learning outcomes & objectives?

Learning Outcomesare broad goals stated in general terms that describe what a participant is supposed to know or be better able to doas a result of attending your session. For example, “The learner will become proficient selling with storytelling”. On their own,learning outcomes cannot be observed, are not measurable and cannot be evaluated. Therefore, learning outcomes need to be supported and defined by one or more learning objectives.

Learning Objectivesare the primary building blocks of session design. They support the learning outcome in that each is a small step in arriving at what the learner is supposed to know or be better able to do. A learning objective captures the specific, measurable or observable skill, knowledge or behaviora learner should be able to exhibit following a session.

Here are examplesof possible session learning objectives:

Session Level / Session Type / Session Learning Outcome / Session Learning Objective
Foundational / Presentation / The learner will become proficient selling with storytelling / Define what are sales stories
List ten reasons why to tell sales stories
Intermediate / Presentation / The learner will become proficient selling with storytelling / Describe four elements of a great story
Explain the eight story structure components
Advanced / Workshop / The learner will become proficient selling with storytelling / Present a story using the eight story structure components

Why arelearning outcomes & objectives important?

Defining clear learning outcomes and learning objectives is key to effective session design.

The learning objective is the “north star” for your session and will guide how you will develop your content; the entire session should be designed to achieve this single objective (or set of up to three objectives).

Additionally, learning objectives set attendee expectations on specific session learning goals and provide a basis for measuring attendee learning confidence through an assessment question(s) that is asked as part of each session evaluation.

How to write learning objectives for your session

  1. Determine the specific learning objective(s) that will support your session’s desired learning outcome.
  2. Depending on the level of your session, use the table below to select a verb to formulatea learning objective that describesthe specific, measurable or observable cognitive ability someone should exhibit following a session.TIP: Avoid verbs that are difficult to measure objectively, such as know, understand, learn, and appreciate.

Session Level / Relevant verbs to use in writing your learning objective (based on Bloom’s Taxonomy)
Foundational / list, define, identify, distinguish, select, recognize, recall
Intermediate / describe, differentiate, explain, discuss, illustrate, summarize, give examples
Advanced / apply, present, demonstrate, use, choose, classify, develop
Expert / propose, solve, plan, produce, design, create, generate, appraise, assess, judge, evaluate

Important Tips:

  • Learning objectives should start with a verb and be written in the first person.
  • As a format guide, complete this sentence with your learning objective: “As a result of attending this session, I, the learner will be better able to… [Insert Learning Objective]”
  • Learning objectives should be realistic in scope. Consider what you can reasonably accomplish in a session. For a 60-minute session, one learning objective is optimal; no more than three learning objectives are recommended.
  • Learning objectives should be learner centric. They should describe what a participant will learn, not what a speaker is going to present.