Drafting Learning Goals for a Course on Outschool

Creating Effective Learning Goals for Outschool Courses: A Guide for Educators

As educators transition from hosting enrichment clubs to structured courses on Outschool, early data shows a promising trend: improved conversion rates. Many families were already utilizing enrichment clubs as courses, so formalizing these offerings into the course format aligns better with their needs and enhances the learning experience. To support educators in this transition, here’s a guide to crafting effective and engaging learning goals using Outschool’s updated formatting tools.

Why Learning Goals Matter

Learning goals serve as the foundation of your course, clearly outlining the skills and knowledge learners will gain. These goals help families understand the purpose of your class, set expectations, and ensure your course stands out in the marketplace.

New Formatting Features for Learning Goals

With Outschool’s updated platform, creating and organizing learning goals has never been easier. Instead of relying on bullet points or emojis to differentiate lines, educators can now use preformatted text boxes, making the process cleaner and more professional.

Key Features:

1. Customizable Text Boxes: Add or remove boxes to tailor your goals without formatting struggles.
2. Complete Sentences: Use clear, professional language to describe goals.
3. Alignment with Syllabus: Learning goals provide the overarching framework, while the syllabus connects these goals to individual lessons.

Example: Crafting Learning Goals for a Reading Course

Let’s say you’re designing a reading course, whether it’s a novel study or a broader English Language Arts (ELA) class focusing on vocabulary and grammar. Here’s how you might structure your learning goals:

1. Decoding Skills
   Example Goal:
   Learners will be able to decode a novel study to build foundational reading skills.
   • Focus on helping students understand how to read and pronounce words accurately.
2. Comprehension Strategies
   Example Goal:
   Learners will be able to apply comprehension strategies to understand the meaning of the text.
   • Encourage learners to grasp the content beyond just reading the words, focusing on understanding themes, characters, and plots.
3. Analytical Thinking
   Example Goal:
   Learners will apply analytical thinking to enhance their understanding and connections to the text.
   • Challenge learners to think critically, analyze characters’ motivations, and draw connections to broader concepts or personal experiences.

Integrating Learning Goals into the Syllabus

Once you’ve established your overarching learning goals, you can expand them within your syllabus to outline specific lesson objectives. For example:

• Lesson 1: Decoding Skills
  • Focus on phonics and word recognition techniques for the first chapters.
• Lesson 2: Comprehension Strategies
  • Teach learners how to summarize key points and identify main ideas.
• Lesson 3: Analytical Thinking
  • Guide learners through character analysis and thematic connections.

This approach ensures consistency between your learning goals and your lesson plans, offering families a clear and detailed understanding of what each class will cover.

Best Practices for Writing Learning Goals

1. Use Complete Sentences: Ensure professionalism and clarity in your goals.
2. Be Specific Yet Flexible: State what learners will achieve without being overly restrictive.
3. Ladder Goals to Lessons: Keep the goals broad but directly connected to specific lesson activities.