Outcome vocabulary

27. There is no set vocabulary with regard to learning outcomes. However, it is advisable to keep the following in mind.

Verbs used to describe outcomes should be active and indicative, if the outcome is to be assessed, of the capacity to measure each outcome through formative or summative assessment. For example, if students are expected to, ‘understand’ a concept, it might be preferable to state that students should be able to, ‘identify’ qualities of the concept, ‘describe’ its value in explaining a phenomenon, ‘illustrate’ application of the concept and, ‘evaluate’ its significance. These outcomes could be seen as measurable manifestations of the understanding that we would expect students to gain.
Understanding includes the very specific instances, in this example, of identification, description and illustration. However, there is a variety of intermediate levels of definition. This sort of vocabulary might include, ‘critically identify’, ‘demonstrate an ability’, ‘be able to apply/discuss’ and ‘use a range’. These might equally meet the requirements for measurement. Clearly this will vary greatly between and within disciplines.

28. The table below includes some more of the less measurable verbs and alternative terms that could be linked to assessment methods more closely. Clearly, they are context specific and some are interchangeable. This is not a definitive list.

General verb	Measurable verb
Understand	Demonstrate an understanding of
Be aware of	Describe, Illustrate, Discuss
Comprehend	Analyse, Evaluate
Assimilate	Explain, Synthesise
Establish	Demonstrate, Identify, List, State, Justify
Appreciate	Analyse, Evaluate, Compare
Make known	Communicate, Explain
Carry out	Perform
Know	Define, Discriminate, Distinguish, Evaluate

Skills for personal and professional development

Creative problem solving	Opportunities that challenge, make the student think for themselves and/or involve finding different ways of working creatively. Involves decision making, enterprising ways of thinking, alternative approaches, innovation, initiative.
Critical and analytical thinking (a questioning mindset)	Ability to gather required data quickly and comprehensively analyse and evaluate situations and information to inform decisions/thinking. Includes information literacy, ability to plan research, collate appropriate data, consider alternative perspectives and viewpoints, reach conclusions, be logical, quantitative reasoning and analysis, recognising bias and misinformation.
Adaptability and resilience	Ability to deal with changing circumstances and environments. Adapting to working with other people with different preferences and priorities. Adapting to communicating to different audiences. Includes recognition that abilities grow over time; learning through mistakes; accepting feedback positively; constructive criticism.
Digital competency	Broad based concept covering media and information literacy, digital research and problem-solving, creativity with digital tools as well as routine management of communication and social media tools. Includes willingness to try new technologies, adapt to digital methods of working, understanding of digital footprint and its impact.
Reflection (self awareness)	Through discussion and tasks, opportunities to understand own experiences, qualities and aspirations. Student led learning. Provide opportunities to identify and address strengths and weaknesses. Related to Student Experience Surveys (SES), recognising skills development and personal progress, career planning, assessing interests and values, feedback and assessment.
Professional communication	Places written, oral, visual, numerical and digital communication within the workplace context. Includes the ability to empathise by placing self in the shoes of others, to understand their feelings, and to help solve their problems, to recognise appropriate methods of communication related to different audiences, to use language and communications methods appropriately, to utilise quantitative data in appropriate ways to enhance understanding, to consider the content of communication and the tone utilised.
Real world sense	Learning based on investigating real world issues (Problem Based Learning/Case Based Learning) Contributions from alumni, practitioners & entrepreneurs. Experiential – practice based learning that is work or community based Developing skills in: initiative, independence, team working, coping with pressure, communicating effectively, managing time, taking decisions, being responsible, recognising bias and misinformation, adapting, planning, coordinating and organising, recognising the transferability of skills, translating skills labels in academia to those used in the workplace. Sometimes referred to as commercial awareness.
Collaboration	Collaborative working as a group, with a shared outcome and assessed as a whole, negotiating, influencing. Cooperative, as a group, with a shared outcome but assessed individually. Develop leadership via opportunities to: motivate and direct others take responsibility for the direction and actions of a team use initiative, take responsibility and ownership of problems.