Generating Learning Outcomes using Generative AI

Learning outcomes are essential for orienting students, but articulating them can be hard work. Where does one even begin? This is one area where generative AI's ability to support teaching really delivers.

Using a text-producing AI tool such as the USask created tool ALDA (AI Learning Design Assistant) (USask login required), provide as many details about your course and the desired output as possible.

Here is a sample prompt you might submit to produce course-level learning outcomes:

Please create 6 learning outcomes that consider the following parameters. This is a university course at the [ordinal] year level of a [discipline] program. The course title is: “[Course Title]”. The description is: “[Custom Course Description]”. The learning outcomes should be in point-form format that begin with “By the end of this course, successful students should be able to”. There should be one learning outcome for each level of the revised Bloom's hierarchy. Do not use verbs related to understanding, learning, valuing, or anything else that cannot be measured through assessments. The learning outcomes should be achievable over [#] hours across 12 weeks. 

Adjust this formula as needed. For example, if your course uses only the first four levels of Bloom's hierarchy, or if it runs a full year. Insert any additional context you have, such as the program-level outcomes the course is expected to develop. 

This is not a final product. From here, prompt the AI to “rewrite these learning outcomes” with more specific parameters (e.g., to focus on a particular content area). Verify that the outcomes use the appropriate action verbs (AI may write “explain” when you really want “contrast”) and that they are genuinely SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. 

Further information and Resources:

• Learn about using ALDA on the LTE Toolkit

• Lamm, M. (2023, May 15). Know Where You Are Going! Simple Steps to Writing SMART Learning Objectives. CTL Blog, Johns Hopkins.

• Revised Bloom's Taxonomy action verbs, activities & assessments: JHSPH Center for Teaching and Learning (PDF) (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2002).

^{Title image credit: USask Flickr - Students-Classroom-63}

^{Updated Sept 2026. This article was created with the assistance of AI tools, as described in the GMCTL AI Disclosure Statement.}

This resource is shared by the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning (GMCTL), University of Saskatchewan, under a CC BY-NC-SA license.