ABSTRACT
Aims are broad and general statements of educational intent and should inform students of the overall purpose of a course, programme, module or session. In essence learning outcomes tell us what a successful student of a course will be able to demonstrate on completion of the learning opportunities provided. Aims and learning outcomes provide students with a guideline of their teachers’ expectations and also provide, when linked to assessment criteria, an idea of the standards demanded of them. Learning outcomes can be achieved at a range of levels and, perhaps, in different ways: there is not just one way to get to a destination. Some critics of learning outcomes consider they are used to monitor and audit rather than support learning. Some colleagues question the difference and value of learning outcomes compared to a list of content headings, because it is the content that they will be covering in their lectures and classes.
