Learning Outcomes
When briefing a new unit, the section where I introduce the learning outcomes and assessment criteria is often met with blank stares and the sound of crickets chirping in the distance. Students frequently appear uncertain about their meaning and make little attempt to engage with them. The statements are often perceived as ambiguous, abstract and complex which can make them difficult for students to understand, let alone apply to their work.
Learning Outcomes ‘Circular Footwear Design’
UAL (2025)
During Workshop 2, I encountered Allan Davies’ text Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria in Art and Design: What’s the Recurring Problem? (2012), which critically examines the role of learning outcomes and assessment criteria, particularly in relation to the student experience. Davies argues that while it is important for students to understand expectations, overly specific learning outcomes can limit creativity and exploration. He continues that in creative disciplines, learning often involves students identifying and developing their own direction rather than simply meeting narrowly defined objectives. As a result, Davies suggests that expectations may be communicated more effectively through broader frameworks such as project briefs and tutorials, which outline the boundaries of the learning context while still allowing for individual interpretation and experimentation. This aligns with Teaching for Quality Learning at University (2003), quoted in Davies’ text, in which John B. Biggs emphasizes that clear expectations should be closely aligned with teaching activities and assessment, guiding students toward the intended learning outcomes.
Hand-In Checklist
In my own teaching experience, learning outcomes rarely appear to play an active role in how students approach their work. Students seldom ask questions about them, even when it is evident that their meaning may not be fully understood. Instead, students tend to rely heavily on the hand-in checklist, which outlines the practical requirements for the final submission. While this checklist is useful, it is a perfect example of a “overly specific learning outcome”, with the above-mentioned risk that introducing it too early can limit exploration and creative freedom. For this reason, the hand-in checklist needs to be introduced later in the project where it can serve as a checklist indeed, and not a ‘to-do’ list.
Detail of Hand-In Checklist ‘Future Footwear’
UAL (2026)
Meaningful Learning Outcomes
From a student perspective, learning outcomes often become clearer in hindsight, which is not necessarily negative. In creative disciplines, learning frequently emerges through practice, experimentation, and reflection, meaning that students may only fully recognise how their work relates to the intended outcomes after the project has been completed.
Reflecting on Davies’s arguments has made me reconsider how I introduce learning outcomes and assessment criteria in my teaching. Instead of mainly presenting them as formal declarations, it might be more helpful to bring them into tutorials, and regular conversations with students. This could make them feel less like abstract statements and more a part of the ongoing dialogue around the project. In that way, learning outcomes and assessment criteria could better support students in understanding their own creative development.
References
Biggs, JB (2003) Teaching for Quality Learning at University, SRHE & OU Press.
Davies, A. (2012) Learning outcomes and assessment criteria in art and design. What’s the recurring problem? Available at: https://www.academia.edu/2515225/Learning_outcomes_and_assessment_criteria_in_art_and_design_What_s_the_recurring_problem (Accessed 15 March 2026)