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Add Learning Outcomes in myCourses


Add learning outcomes

The Learning Outcomes tool is a repository for learning outcomes; these can be linked to other tools in myCourses, including Content, Assignments, Rubrics, Discussions, and specific quiz questions. 

To access the Learning Outcomes tool, navigate to the Course Admin page in your course. The Learning Outcomes tool is located under the Assessment heading. 

You can add new learning outcomes to a course or import them from the Achievement Standards Network (ASN). The ASN is a collection of learning objectives published by education agencies and organizations. However, you can also create new learning outcomes with the Add Outcome button.

After adding initial outcomes, you can add lower-level outcomes to your broader categories and create a nested series of learning outcomes to structure and organize course goals. However, only the lowest-level outcomes can be linked to course materials or other activities.

Select the More Actions expandable menu to link, unlink, or delete learning outcomes. You can edit learning outcomes by clicking on the text.

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Add learning outcomes in content

This feature is only available in the New Content Experience and it is not visible in the Current Content Experience. See the New vs. Current Content Experience article for how to switch between Experiences. 

The coverage gauge

The coverage gauge above the Table of Contents illustrates the percentage of learning outcomes aligned with course materials.

  1. Click the gauge and a pop-up will appear with a summary of outcomes aligned with content, organized by each unit or module.

  2. Select Add or Remove Outcomes to be taken to the Learning Outcomes tool.

  3. Add outcomes one by one in myCourses:

    1. Click Add outcome and type the outcome in the textbox.

    2. Click Save.

  4. Import outcomes from a .csv file:

    1. Click Import outcomes and select Import from file. A pop-up window will show a downloadable ,csv template to create an input file.

    2. Create the file, save it, and drop it in the pop-up window.

    3. Click Import.

Align learning outcomes to specific content

You can align learning outcomes with course content when you create or add existing materials, such as .html files, weblinks, assignments, and discussions.

  1. Select the three dots to the top-right of your content, then View Outcome.

  2. Enter and edit Outcome Alignments. The coverage gauge will increase or decrease dependent on the percentage of learning outcomes selected.

The coverage gauge and learning outcomes aligned with content are not visible to students.

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Add learning outcomes to rubrics

You can add learning outcomes to rubric criteria when creating a rubric, or you can edit existing rubrics to add learning outcomes. This feature is only available in the New Rubrics Experience.

  1. Create a new rubric or select a rubric to edit.

  2. Select Outcomes on the criterion where you want to align a learning outcome. The resulting pop-up will display all outcomes added to the Learning Outcomes tool.

  3. Select which learning outcomes to align to this rubric criterion and click Add. The selected learning outcome will appear as a tag below the rubric criterion.

  4. Hover your cursor over the tag to view the full text.

Selected learning outcomes are visible to students if you set the entire rubric as visible.

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Add learning outcomes to assignments

You can link previously created learning outcomes to assignments.

To align outcomes:

  1. Under the assignment title, Select Outcomes to view the list of existing Learning Outcomes.

    To make this feature available in assignments, learning outcomes must be previously created. Otherwise, the Outcomes option will not appear under the title.

  2. Select the learning outcomes you want to align with the assignment, then click Save.

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Add learning outcomes to discussions

The Learning Outcomes tab is now visible when you create or edit a topic in the Discussions tool. It will prompt you with the statement, “Students are expected to demonstrate the following.” You can select Add Outcomes to view options from the Learning Outcomes tool.  

This page will also show any learning outcomes attached to rubric criteria if you attach a rubric to the discussion topic. Selected outcomes are visible when students view the topic.

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Add learning outcomes to quiz questions

You can also add learning outcomes to individual quiz questions. In the Quizzes tool:

  1. Open a new or existing quiz.

  2. Select Add/Edit questions under the quiz properties to access the Quiz Builder.

  3. In the Quiz Builder, select one or more questions or Question Pools to be aligned with learning outcomes, then select More Actions. The “More Actions” menu will not appear until you select one or more questions/Question Pools.

  4. Select Align to Outcomes. The resulting pop-up includes learning outcomes that can be aligned to quiz questions.

  5. Select the desired learning outcomes and then select Align to Outcomes. These selections will appear as tags below the quiz question. Hover over the tag to view the full text.

Learning Outcomes are not visible to students when taking the quiz.

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While this resource is accessible worldwide, McGill University is on land which has served and continues to serve as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations. Teaching and Learning Services acknowledges and thanks the diverse Indigenous peoples whose footsteps mark this territory on which peoples of the world now gather. This land acknowledgment is shared as a starting point to provide context for further learning and action.

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