Knowledge and understanding of facts, information, concepts, ideas, issues, trends, themes etc form the curriculum content of most modules – and, whilst it is easy to express this in the form of learning outcomes (eg by using the verbs ‘know’ and ‘understand’), it is not always wise to do so.

Verbs related to knowledge outcomes can be confusing – eg ‘know’, ‘understand’, ‘have knowledge of’, ‘be acquainted with’, ‘have a grasp of’, ‘be aware of’ etc.  Such verbs do not lend themselves to measurement (how does one measure ‘acquaintance’ or ‘awareness’?) and they should be avoided.

Knowledge and understanding, insofar as they refer to substantive material, concepts, issues etc, should be covered in the module specification under the heading ‘Module Contents’ and learning outcomes relating to knowledge and understanding should focus on cognitive or intellectual abilities.