11/12/2015
WRITING LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
C E N T E R F O R F AC U L T Y D E V E L O P M E N T
TODAY’S OBJECTIVES
• Upon completion of today’s seminar,
you shall be able to:
• Understand learning objectives
• Know the format of an objective
• Understand properly and poorly written
objectives
• Learn the benefits of objectives for
instructors and students
• Understand SMART objectives
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WHAT IS A LEARNING OBJECTIVE?
• Intended learning outcomes
• Behavior you expect from students by the end of
instruction
• Allows students to see what is expected of them
• Narrows their attention
• Index of learning
• A visible way to determine if students have learned
what they were suppose to learn
• You cannot see “understanding” or “learning,” so
you have to find observable elements of that
behavior
• List, explain, describe, etc.
3 MAJOR COMPONENTS
1) Condition: the conditions under which the students will
perform the task
2) Behavior: a description of what the student will be able to
do
3) Criterion: the standard for evaluating student performance
Example:
(1) Given a set of data
(2) the student will be able to compute the standard
deviation
(3) and record the correct answer.
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USE MEASURABLE VERBS FOR
BEHAVIORS
• What will the student be able to DO at the completion of
an activity or course?
• When writing your learning objectives, use “action”
verbs that demonstrate achieving the objectives.
• Action verbs result in overt behavior that can be
observed and measured.
• Avoid verbs that are unclear and call for behavior that
cannot be observed or measured.
• What are some “observable” verbs?
• Defer to Bloom’s (see file)
BLOOMS
Picture from: julietovar.edublogs.org
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TYPES OF COGNITIVE RESPONSES
For the behavioral component of the objective, we must know the
type of response in order to construct a good objective.
Most learning objectives measure cognitive responses…
Bloom’s revised taxonomy
- Remembering (define, identify, label, list, name, state)
- Understanding (classify, describe, discuss, estimate, explain, interpret)
- Applying (show, translate, produce, act, interpret, assess, chart, collect,
solve)
- Analyzing (compare, contrast, distinguish, question, diagram,
differentiate, test, criticize)
- Evaluating (critique, support, judge, defend, recommend)
- Creating (invent, compose, plan, construct, formulate, assemble)
USE MEASURABLE VERBS FOR
BEHAVIORS
Non-action verbs: know, have knowledge of,
understand, appreciate, recognize, comprehend
• These verbs describe something happening in the
learner’s head, which can’t be seen or measured.
Action verbs: define, write, list, identify, explain,
select, demonstrate, document, conduct, solve,
compute, calculate, differentiate, classify
• These verbs describe an observable way to measure
an unobservable concept like “learning.”
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TODAY’S OBJECTIVES
Poorly Written
• Understand learning
objectives
• Know the format of an
objective
• Understand properly
and poorly written
objectives.
• Learn the benefits of
objectives
• Understand SMART
objectives
REAL LOs
• Describe the term
learning objective
• Describe the format of an
objective: condition,
behavior, and criteria.
• Identifying properly and
poorly written objectives
• Discuss the benefits of
objectives
• Create SMART objectives!
SMART OBJECTIVES
Behavioral objectives should be:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Timed
Poorly written: At the completion of this course, students will be
able to understand the concept of leadership.
More effective: At the completion of this course, students will
be able to contrast the concepts of transformational and
transactional leadership in the form of a short-answer response.
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PRACTICE: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND
THE IMMEASURABLE!
Upon completion of this course, the student shall
be able to:
• Realize the significance of ethical behavior in
the business environment
•
Describe the importance of ethical behavior in
the financial industry in an essay reaching at
least a proficient level as determined by a
rubric.
• Comprehend the functions within Excel
• List the steps in conducting basic statistics (e.g. ttests, standard deviation) in excel with zero errors
PRACTICE CONTINUED
• Upon completion of the lesson, the student
shall be able to:
• Know how to be safe in a lab environment.
• List the safety protocol for working with hazardous
chemicals with zero errors
• Given a case study of a chemical lab environment ,
the student shall be able to Identify 80% of the safety
violations.
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FOUNDATION OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL
TRIAD
Clear learning objectives are the foundation of the
instructional triad:
Objectives
Activities
Assessments
With clear objectives, it is easier to design content and
activities, and also assessments to measure
achievement of the objectives—all at the appropriate
(and similar) level of Bloom’s.
WHY WRITE OBJECTIVES:
STUDENT PERSPECTIVE
Clear picture of class requirements:
• When students know what is expected of them,
they are more motivated and self-directed
• Helps to organize their study habits:
• Can use objectives to direct attention
• If its in the LO—its probably important for me to
know, right?
• Overall, increased motivation when students know
point of assignments & how to organize their efforts
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WHERE TO USE LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
Write objectives for each…
• Course:
• listed in your syllabus
• Major topic, unit, module, or week:
• list or recite at the beginning of each class
• First slide of ppt, on board, etc.
• Activity:
• You can include these at the top of
worksheet or handout for an activity
IN SUMMARY: PROPERLY WRITTEN
OBJECTIVES
• Clarify expectations
• Well-written learning objectives should leave little room for
doubt about the intended learning outcomes of a course
• Makes it clear how one will be assessed
• Are written in observable terms
• Understand vs. Describe
• Create a road map for instruction
• You should come back to objectives every time you assign,
lecture, and create exams or activates.
• Foundation for the instructional triad / Instructional
alignment
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