⭐ The Art of Introducing a Learning Outcome

Helping pupils tune into what really matters in the lesson

💡 Let’s get stuck in

We’ve all been told at some point in our careers to ‘make sure the learning objective is on the board.’ But here’s the truth: not every lesson needs a neat, written outcome at the start.

All that really matters is that novice learners understand what’s important within the lesson. Imagine a new tennis player being taught how to serve, but never being told that foot position affects power and balance. They might practise for hours without ever correcting that key detail.

It’s the same in primary classrooms. Without signposting what matters, children won’t know what to look for, what to focus on, or what success looks like. But if that focus is dumped on them as an abstract sentence before learning starts, it often goes straight over their heads, especially in Early Years and KS1.

So, instead of always starting with a written learning objective, we can introduce the focus through experience, through modelling and examples.

🛠️ Let’s Break It Down

Research from cognitive science tells us that attention is selective, and we only process what we attend to. We attend to what our prior experiences have told us is important.

For children, who have limited prior experiences, we need to teach them what is important. And a well-framed learning outcome (whether it’s written, spoken, or shown) helps children tune in to what’s important.

A displayed written outcome doesn’t necessarily do any harm, but if that outcome is too vague, too technical, or too far ahead of their current understanding, it very quickly becomes redundant information. So, how and when can we introduce a learning outcome (written or not) so it lands well?

Here are four classroom-ready ways to do it right.

🧠 1. Weave It into Modelling

If the learning outcome is procedural, model first, LO later.

🕹️ The Move

1. Start by modelling a process slowly and clearly.

2. Narrate your thinking aloud: “Watch how I…” or “Notice what I’m doing when…”

3. Name the key process partway through: “This is called…”

4. Revisit it at the end: “Today we were learning to…”

This approach grounds the learning outcome in a concrete example.

🍿 How I’ve Seen It Done:

In maths, one teacher models a calculation without stating the LO. Afterwards, they pause and ask, “What did I just show you how to do?”

🕵️ 2. Co-create the Learning Focus

Turn the learning outcome into a co-created statement with the children.

🕹️ The Move

1. Share examples, images, or worked solutions.

2. Ask questions like: “What’s similar about these?” or “What can you see again and again?”

3. Invite predictions: “So, what do you think we should be learning about today?”

4. Confirm the focus together: “Exactly, let’s learn to…”

It ask children to think about what is important. Noticing, categorising, and hypothesising, before they state the intended learning.

🍿 How I’ve Seen It Done:

In geography, a teacher shows pupils three striking images of volcanoes, one erupting, one dormant, and one extinct. Pupils are asked: “What do these all have in common?” and “What do you think today’s learning could be about?” Together, they construct the learning outcome: “We’re learning to describe different stages of volcanoes and how they change over time.”

🧪 3. Show Bad Examples of the Outcome