Broad statements that describe what learners should know or care about by the end of a course or curriculum. Learning goals indicate the course or curriculum's intended purpose and desired achievements and identify "big picture" knowledge, skills, and capacities students should achieve by its conclusion.

In contrast to course learning outcomes, goals are "fuzzy" because they describe how students should change internally as the result of a course; learning goals often begin with imprecise verbs that cannot be observed, such as “know” and “understand.”