Learning outcome examples
Nursing learning outcome examples
In nursing, learning outcomes cover knowledge, skills and attitudes together: alongside cognitive outcomes, psychomotor skills (in the skills laboratory) and affective attitudes (approach to patients) are written and assessed with separate methods.
- B1 1
- B2 2
- B3 1
- B4 2
- B5 2
- B6 2
- D 1
- P 1
Year 1
Fundamentals of Nursing
| Learning outcome | Level | Suitable assessment |
|---|---|---|
| State the normal ranges of vital signs. | B1 Remember | Multiple choice, matching, fill in the blanks, short answer |
| Explain the role of hand hygiene in preventing infection. | B2 Understand | Short-answer and open-ended questions, concept map |
| Illustrate the basic principles of patient safety with case examples. | B2 Understand | Short-answer and open-ended questions, concept map |
| Perform an intramuscular injection accurately on a manikin. | P3 Precision Psychomotor domain |
Timed practical exam, criterion-based rubric |
Year 2
Medical Nursing
| Learning outcome | Level | Suitable assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Conduct a structured interview with an individual who has a chronic illness. | B3 Apply | Problem solving, practical exam, laboratory, performance task |
| Analyse the patient's priority problems from the data collected. | B4 Analyze | Case analysis, data interpretation, analytical report |
| Develop an evidence-based care plan for the identified problems. | B6 Create | Project, design product, portfolio, research proposal |
| Evaluate the effect of the interventions on the patient. | B5 Evaluate | Article critique, debate, report scored with a rubric |
Year 4
Public Health Nursing
| Learning outcome | Level | Suitable assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Analyse a community's health problems using epidemiological data. | B4 Analyze | Case analysis, data interpretation, analytical report |
| Design a health education programme for a specific risk group. | B6 Create | Project, design product, portfolio, research proposal |
| Evaluate the effectiveness of a health education programme against criteria. | B5 Evaluate | Article critique, debate, report scored with a rubric |
| Show respect for the values of individuals from different cultural backgrounds. | D3 Valuing Affective domain |
Attitude scale, reflective writing, portfolio |
Adapting these examples to your own course
- Change the topic, keep the verbWrite in your course topic; to keep the level, leave the verb as it is or choose another verb from the same level.
- Add a criterionA condition such as “for a given problem” or “against the success criteria” makes clear how the outcome will be assessed.
- Plan the assessmentThe assessment method in the table is the typical method for that level. Every outcome should be assessed by at least one exam question or task.
Other sections: Computer Engineering, Business Administration, Psychology, Turkish Language and Literature.
To write your own outcome, use the Learning Outcome Builder; to check what you have written, use the Learning Outcome Checker.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use these examples in my own course?
Yes, the examples can be adapted freely. Change the topic and the criterion to suit your course, and keep choosing the verb from the approved dictionary. If your institution has its own verb dictionary, that one applies.
How many learning outcomes should a course have?
Four to six outcomes are enough for most courses. The more outcomes there are, the harder it becomes to assess each with its own questions; an outcome that is not assessed produces no evidence for accreditation.
Who sets the level of an outcome?
The level comes from the verb the course coordinator chooses from the approved dictionary; it is recorded as a declaration. The levels on this page were not typed by hand either; they were read from the verb dictionary.
The examples are for guidance; they are not the official outcomes of any programme. Levels are read from the SixBloom verb dictionary.
Link your outcomes to assessment
In SixBloom Course Design Studio, every learning outcome is linked to the exam questions that assess it; at the end of term you see how many students achieved it.