Understanding the Learning Outcomes workflow

The Learning Outcomes solution in Brightspace Learning Environment supports instructors who want to use outcomes-based education methodology in their courses. The Learning Outcomes tool provides this ability by using the settings and options you can configure in other Brightspace Learning Environment tools, such as Rubrics, Assignments, and User Progress, to create an overarching solution. At a high level, the solution uses the following workflow:

• Define an achievement scale (see Create an achievement scale)
• Create a Program and program-level outcomes, if needed (see Create a learning outcome at the organization (program) level)
• Populate a course with outcomes imported from a program, from ASN, or manually created (see Populate a course with outcomes)
• Align outcomes to course activities and content (see Align learning outcomes to course activities and content)
• Assess learner work against outcomes (see Assess learner work against learning outcomes)
• Track learner progress against outcomes as the course progresses (see Track learner progress against learning outcomes)

There are additional standards and achievement features you can use to more closely tie outcomes to learner achievement. The following features fit into the workflow described above at a more granular level.

Achievement Scales

Achievement Scales are set in the Learning Outcomes tool. They define a learner's performance using terms such as Does not meet Expectations, Approaching Expectations, and Exceeds Expectations. Performance scales can be defined by both words, colors to be used in learner outcome graphs, and percentages. For more information about setting Scales, see Create an achievement scale.

Note: While it is possible to create more than one achievement scale, it is only possible to use one in your organization. You must specifically identify a default scale that represents the currently active scale within your organization.

After you define your achievement scale, you can adjust how they are mapped to rubric criteria, if appropriate.

Rubrics

Rubrics provide a scoring guide that instructors can use to evaluate a learner's success with Assignments, Discussions, and grade items. The criteria on a rubric can align with learning outcomes, and the scores can map to achievement scales. Based on the assessed scores, the rubrics can generate suggestions for learning outcome achievement. For more information about using Rubrics with Learning Outcomes, see Using Learning Outcomes with Rubrics.