The purpose of this activity if to demonstrate how curriculum designers can create module level outcomes that leave space for instructor autonomy. Start by considering examples of module outcomes that are too prescriptive and how they might be rewritten to leave space for different methods and activities for an instructor to add to.

• Too prescriptive: “Students will use ChatGPT to write three different introductions for their essay and then analyze which one is most effective using the provided checklist.”
• Leaves space: “Students will experiment with AI writing tools to generate multiple approaches to a writing challenge, then analyze and evaluate the results using criteria relevant to their rhetorical situation.”

The second example leaves space because the instructor can choose: the AI tool, the number of drafts, the specific writing challenge, and the evaluation criteria.

Specific activities might be already built into the curriculum, but the second outcome leaves space for instructors to change activities and assignments based on who they have in front of them, what contextual realities exist, and to which materials and applications students have access. If you are creating module level outcomes, check to make sure that the outcomes:

• Focus on the skills/competencies instead of specific deliverables
• Describe what students will be able to do, not how they’ll do it
• Use action verbs that allow multiple pathways (e.g., “explore,” “analyze,” “create”) rather than narrow ones (e.g., “write an introduction with ChatGPT”)
• Avoid naming specific technologies unless learning the specific technology is the outcome
• Allow instructors to choose different activities and assignments to meet the same outcome
• Are accessible through multiple types of demonstration

Remember, developing flexible module level outcomes means getting out of your own perspective and respecting/elevating the perspective, experience, and expertise of the instructors who will use the shared curriculum. Focusing module outcomes on the learning goals leaves space for instructors to develop or adapt the pathway.