Writing Objectives
Jones, 1997 – "Clear objectives can help the
instructor design lessons that will be easier for the student tocomprehend and
the teacher to evaluate".
Lohr, no date – "A properly written objective tells you what
specific knowledge, skill, or attitude is desired and what method of
instruction and criteria for learner achievement are required."
Rationale
Writing clear course objectives is important because:
- Objectives define what you
will have the students do.
- Objectives provide a link
between expectations, teaching and grading.
Basic Information
Questions you need to think about
- Who are your students?
Freshman? Senior? A mix of different prior knowledge and experience?
- Is this course a general
education course or a course required for the major?
The A.B.C.D. method
The ABCD method of writing objectives is an excellent starting point for
writing objectives (Heinich, et al., 1996). In this system, "A" is
for audience, "B" is for behavior, "C" for conditions and
"D" for degree of mastery needed.
- Audience
(A) – Who? Who are your learners?
- Behavior
(B) – What? What do you expect them to be able to do? This
should be an overt, observable behavior, even if the actual behavior is
covert or mental in nature. If you can't see it, hear it, touch it, taste
it, or smell it, you can't be sure your audience really learned it.
- Condition
(C) – How? Under what circumstances or context will the
learning occur? What will the student be given or already be expected to
know to accomplish the learning?
- Degree
(D) – How much? How much will be accomplished, how well will
the behavior need to be performed, and to what level? Do you want total
mastery (100%), do you want them to respond correctly 80% of the time,
etc. A common (and totally non-scientific) setting is 80% of the time.
Examples of Well-Written Objectives
Below are some example objectives which include
Audience
(A),
Behavior (B),
Condition (C), and
Degree
of Mastery (D). Note that many objectives actually put the
condition first.
Cognitive (comprehension level) -"C: Given
examples and non-examples of constructivist activities in a college classroom,
A: the student B: will
be able to accurately identify the constructivist examples and explain why each
example is or isn't a constructivist activity D: in 20 words or less."
Cognitive (application level) -"C: Given
a sentence written in the past or present tense, A: the student B: will be
able to re-write the sentence in future tense D: with no errors in tense or tense contradiction (i.e., I will
see her yesterday.)."
Cognitive (problem solving/synthesis level) -"C: Given two cartoon characters of the student's choice,
A: the student B: will
be able to list five major personality traits of each of the two characters,
combine these traits (either by melding traits together, multiplying together
complimentary traits, or negating opposing traits) into a composite character,
and develop a short (no more than 20 frames) storyboard for a cartoon D:
that illustrates three to five of the major
personality traits of the composite character."
Psychomotor - "C: Given a standard
balance beam raised to a standard height, A: the
student C: (attired in standard balance beam
usage attire) B: will be able to walk the
entire length of the balance beam (from one end to the other) D: steadily, without falling off, and within a six second
time span.
"
Affective - "C: Given the opportunity
to work in a team with several people of different races, A: the student B: will
demonstrate an positive increase in attitude towards non-discrimination of race,
D: as measured by a checklist utilized/completed by
non-team members."
Notes on Objective Writing
When reviewing example objectives above, you may notice a few things.
- As you move up the
"cognitive ladder," it can be increasingly difficult to precisely
specify the degree of mastery required.
- Affective objectives are
difficult for many instructors to write and assess. They deal almost
exclusively with internal feelings and conditions that can be difficult to
observe externally.
- It's important to choose the
correct key verbs to express the desired behavior you want students to
produce. See the pages on a page on cognitive objectives (Blooms'
Taxonomy), affective
objectives and psychomotor
objectives to see examples of key words for each level.
Typical Problems Encountered When Writing Objectives
Objective Writing
Problems with Solutions
Problems
Error Types
Solutions
Too vast/complex
The objective is too broad in scope or is actually more
than one objective.
Use the ABCD method to identify each desired behavior or
skill in order to break objectives apart.
No behavior to evaluate
No true overt, observable performance listed. Many
objectives using verbs like "comprehend" or "understand"
may not include behaviors to observe.
Determine what actions a student should demonstrate in
order for you to know of the material has been learned.
Only topics are listed
Describes instruction, not conditions. That is, the
instructor may list the topic but not how he or she expects the students to
use the information.
Determine how students should use the information
presented. Should it be memorized? Used as background knowledge? Applied in a
later project? What skills will students need?
Vague Assignment Outcomes
The objective does not list the correct behavior,
condition, and/or degree, or they are missing. Students may not sure of how
to complete assignments because they are lacking specifics.
Determine parameters for your assignments and specify them
for your students.
Tying Objectives to Assessment
Once you establish all the behaviors, conditions and degrees of mastery for
each objective, you can use them to determine what types of assignments, tests
or alternative assessment (e.g. a portfolio) you should use in the course.
The
Assessment
section discusses how to design methods to evaluate student performance and
includes examples using different types of learning objectives.
http://ets.tlt.psu.edu/learningdesign/objectives/writingobjectives
