What is it and why should I care?

Composite and Component Outcomes…

Consider the curriculum as your learners’ journey. They have a destination to get to, and you hold the map. If that map is messy, how can they articulate where they have been and where they are going next?

Our learning outcomes should create a clear journey towards success. Each outcome should be planned to be the next step towards their ultimate goal of success. What learners need to know and do at the end of their learning journey are composite outcomes. It takes many years for them to acquire the knowledge and skills to reach their final endpoint effectively.

The steps that learners take towards that end goal are their component outcomes. If you don’t want them to get lost, confused or turned around, you need to plan each step of their journey clearly. Each lesson should be a clear route towards that final destination. All points on the map should be coherent to avoid them getting turned around, lost or confused. Look at any lesson that you are going to teach this week.

Do you know why you are teaching this, at this time, to these students? Can students articulate where they are on their learning journey and how this particular lesson will get them towards their end goal?

Learning outcomes are more than just what students will learn in a single lesson. If carefully plotted, they are the building blocks of your curriculum and the key to your learners’ final success.

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Written by Lisa Jane Ashes
Lead Teaching & Learning Trainer at Veema.

About Lisa Jane Ashes: Lisa Jane Ashes is a teacher, author, English subject specialist and curriculum consultant who believes in developing future-ready learners through whole-school collaboration. Lisa works with teachers across departments to create joined-up approaches to teaching and learning. Her books, including Teacher in the Cupboard and Manglish, offer practical strategies for reflective practice and cross-curricular thinking. Lisa also supports global education projects in Ghana and Nepal through her work with the charity Reach Out to Schools.