When designing courses, it is helpful to ask, 'What real-world action is an outcome of this course?' 'What one observable behaviour should a learner do as a consequence of what they are learning in this course?'
“It is always legitimate to ask of any theory which claims to be true, what practical difference it would make if we believed it.” (John Macmurray, The Self as Agent, 23)
The observable behaviour is sometimes also known as a psychomotor outcome; it is an action that another person can see happening.
Let's consider the example of designing a biblical-theological course on the theme of the temple. This course may look at the temple in Genesis 1-2, at the tabernacle in the midst of the people of Israel, at the temple planned by David and built by Solomon. This content relates to events thousands of years ago and seems remote from the experience of the church today. But let's ask, 'In what way does the OT teaching about the temple impact what we, as the temple of God in Christ, do today?' 'What practical difference does it make in the lives of these learners if they believe that they are the temple, the fulfillment in Christ of all that went before in the OT?' And one answer might be that it leads them into prayer and worship of God in all kinds of circumstances and situations.
The whole course, in a sense, supports acts of worship because it gives their rationale, namely that in our worship and praise God becomes manifest in a place. So, for example, we can help the learner locate themselves with Abraham as he worshipped God at the oak of Moreh. And in that place, sacred to other peoples, the presence of God became manifest to Abraham (Gen. 12.7). By indwelling Abraham's story and this event, inspiration and encouragement is given to the learner's own worship of God. We can help the learner understand that in our acts of praise and worship, in even the most unlikely of places, the presence of God becomes manifest. And in this way, the learners are building a sense of themselves and their actions that is deeply rooted in the story of the Bible. This motivates, inspires and encourages their own actions of praise and thanksgiving because it gives them a sense of context for what they are doing: 'In worshipping God here, I am doing what Abraham did.' And it gives them a sense of expectation: 'In worshipping God here the presence of God is becoming manifest in this place.'
As we have briefly seen, having a clear and specific behavioural course outcome (in addition to the various other outcomes) can give a perspective from which to look at the content of the course and can help ensure that the course as a whole is formative and transformational.
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