DeLong and Winter postulate the use of student learning objectives is especially crucial for under-prepared and math anxious students in their article “Directly You’ll Be Directed in the Right Direction Using Student Learning Objectives in Mathematics":

http://www.maa.org/t_and_l/exchange/ite10/DeLongWinter.html

“By basing the course on explicit SLOs, instructors provide students with a concrete way to take responsibility for their own learning. SLOs represent a path to success that consists of steps that are each sufficiently explicit and self-contained that they are not intimidating.  Students can perceive success in the course as the result of something they can control-the amount of time and effort that they devote to accomplishing the SLOs."

And for those of us who might not be as familiar with student learning objectives as we should be, DeLong and Winter help us get a much clearer picture of how to develop and use student learning outcomes, in addition to describing the other benefits and advantages of using learning outcomes in math classes.