Learning Outcomes

Definition

Measurable statements describing what students will know or be able to do after a course, written primarily to satisfy accreditors and ignored by everyone else. They are to teaching what terms and conditions are to software -- technically important, universally unread.

Example Usage

"By the end of this course, students will be able to critically analyze 18th-century literature, or at least identify it as old."

Related Terms

Intermediate

stealth assessment

Evaluation methods disguised as regular learning activities, where students don't realize they're being formally assessed. This pedagogical technique aims to reduce test anxiety and capture more authentic demonstrations of competence.

🎓 Education / Academia

Intermediate

department chair

A faculty member who draws the short straw and becomes responsible for administrative duties, budget battles, and mediating colleague disputes while still expected to teach and research. It's middle management with none of the corporate perks and all of the academic egos.

🎓 Education / Academia

Intermediate

independent study

A customized course where students work one-on-one with a faculty member on a specialized topic not covered by regular offerings, theoretically allowing deep exploration of niche interests. In practice, often used to fulfill requirements when schedules don't align or to give star students special treatment.

🎓 Education / Academia

Advanced

supremum

The mathematical equivalent of 'as good as it gets without actually getting there'—the smallest upper bound of a set. Basically, it's the ceiling you can approach infinitely closely but might never actually touch. Math's way of saying 'close enough counts, but we'll be pedantic about it.'

🎓 Education / Academia

Advanced

Mistake Daily

Affectionate yet critical nickname for Cal Poly's student newspaper, coined by readers who've spotted one too many typos or geographical blunders. Every campus has that one publication where the corrections section could be its own supplement.

🎓 Education / Academia

Advanced

chronostratigraphy

The fancy geological practice of determining when rock layers were formed and arranging them in chronological order, essentially creating a timeline written in stone. It's how geologists play detective with the Earth's history, using rocks as their primary witnesses to reconstruct events that happened millions of years ago. Think of it as carbon dating's more sophisticated older sibling who works with entire mountain ranges.

🎓 Education / Academia

Translate This Term

See “Learning Outcomes” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on X Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Beginner

PERSTAT

Personnel Status Report—an accounting of all personnel showing who's present, absent, on leave, injured, or otherwise ...