How do we know if students are learning what we think they’re learning?
When designing your course, it’s helpful to think about the alignment between your Course Learning Outcomes, aka objectives, and your activities, assignments, and exams.
- Need outcomes? Check out some of the resources at right for developing effective, clear, and measurable outcomes.
For each section of your course, think about . . .
- what students are being asked to do
- the level of critical thinking required to do it
- its relationship to prior courses and other parts of this course
If you can identify a clear relationship between the outcomes and the rest of the course, then you’re on the right track.
In the College of Engineering, we are accredited by ABET. You can map your course learning outcomes to the applicable ABET outcomes:
- Note: ABET outcomes are changing for our next accreditation cycle. Some have been combined, and they are now numbered 1-7. The previous outcomes a-k are shown below.
Updated ABET Outcomes
- an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering
problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and
mathematics - an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet
specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and
welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and
economic factors - an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
- an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in
engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must
consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic,
environmental, and societal contexts - an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together
provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment,
establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives - an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation,
analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw
conclusions - an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using
appropriate learning strategies
Previous ABET Outcomes
(a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
(b) an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
(c) an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
(d) an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
(e) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
(f) an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
(g) an ability to communicate effectively
(h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context
(i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
(j) a knowledge of contemporary issues
(k) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.