Write a learning objective

A learning objective is an important tool in teaching. It allows you to articulate what you expect from your students, which can help you when putting together lessons, tests, quizzes, and homework.

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There is a certain formula you can use when writing learning objectives. Mastering this formula can help you write excellent learning goals for yourself and your students.

Plan your goal

Distinguish between overall and specific goals

Often there is no distinction between the two, but there is a clear distinction between overarching and subordinate goals. Make sure you understand this difference before attempting to write a learning objective.

• Overarching goals are broad and often difficult to measure objectively. They tend to focus on the big picture. For example, in a university course on child psychology, the overall goal might be, “Students will learn to understand the need for clinical training in dealing with young children.” Although such a goal can be useful in setting minor goals, it is not specific enough to be considered a learning objective in itself.
• Learning objectives are much more specific. They contain measurable verbs and criteria for acceptable performance or competence on a particular topic. For example, “At the end of this unit, students will be able to name three theorists whose work on child psychology has had a profound impact on teaching methods in the United States.” Course based.

Study the Bloom taxonomy

In 1956, the psychologist Benjamin Bloom created a framework to classify the different levels of learning. Bloom’s taxonomy is widely used to create learning objectives.

• Bloom identified three domains of learning. The cognitive domain receives the most attention in the world of higher education. The cognitive domain serves as an orientation aid when writing learning objectives. It focuses on intellectual, school-based learning and is broken down into a six-level hierarchy.
• The first level is knowledge, which describes the ability to memorize, reproduce and remember the subject matter.
• Example: Memorize multiplication tables.
• Example: Remembering the year the Battle of Hastings took place.
• The second level is understanding. That means knowing the facts that you already know and arranging, interpreting, translating, or comparing them.
• Example: translate a Japanese sentence into German.
• Example: Explain why nuclear technology influenced Reagan's policy decisions.
• The third level is applied. That means solving problems by applying your knowledge to a variety of situations.
• Example: Using Pi to solve a variety of math problems.
• Example: Saying “please” when you ask people something, not just your mother, but other people as well.
• The fourth level is analysis. That means taking the facts you have learned and revisiting them to understand why they are correct. It is also expected that students will be able to find evidence of new claims or conclusions made during the training.
• Example: Understanding the concept of “fate” as a predetermined lot.
• Example: A ball thrown on the ground falls, so does a stone thrown on the ground … but what happens if you throw it into the water?
• The fifth level is synthesis. That means organizing information in a new way and finding new patterns or alternative ideas, solutions, or theories.
• Example: paint a painting.
• Example: Present a new thought on the subject of subatomic particles.
• The sixth level is evaluation. That means gaining the ability to present and defend information and to make information-based judgments about the opinions of others on certain topics.
• Example: To make a short film about the life of immigrants in your community, showing them as people and talking about why the director believes they deserve respect.
• Example: To write an essay about why it is believed that Hamlet really didn’t love Ophelia.

Learn the judgments that communicate your intentions

When writing an objective, there are three assessment criteria that you need to focus on. These will help you communicate the intent of your teaching style effectively.

• Performance is the first assessment criterion. A goal should always state what your students should be able to do at the end of a unit or lesson.
• The prerequisites are the second assessment criterion. A good learning objective should explain the conditions under which a student should complete the required task.
• The criteria, the third assessment criterion, is how good a student must be. These are the specific expectations that must be met for students to pass.
• Suppose you teach a nursing course. A good learning goal would be, “By the end of this course, students will be able to draw blood in a typical hospital setting in 2 to 3 minutes.” Criteria (a time limit of 2–3 minutes).

Write your educational goal

Write requirements

A requirement should set out the performance expected of the students. You should use measurable verbs for your requirements.

• Your requirement should start with the course or unit. For example, “After this course the students will be able to …” or “After this lesson, the students are expected to …”.
• Example: After completing this unit, students are expected to be able to use an introductory sentence to write a paragraph.
• Example: After this lesson, the students are expected to recognize three farm animals.
• Your requirement determines the period of time in which your students should acquire a certain skill. If you are writing an objective for a particular lesson, instead of writing something like “At the end of this course …”, write the unit in the objective. Instead, choose, “At the end of today’s session …”.
• Example: Halfway through the semester, all students should be able to count to 20.
• Example: At the end of the workshop, all students should be able to write a haiku.

Choose the appropriate verb

The verbs you use will depend on the level of learning from the Bloom Taxonomy you are teaching. You should write multiple learning objectives, each addressing different levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.

• For knowledge, choose words like list, reproduce, define and name.
• When it comes to understanding, words like to describe, explain, paraphrase and reformulate are ideal.
• Application goals should include verbs such as calculate, predict, explain, and apply.
• For analyzes, choose terms such as categorize, analyze, represent and map.
• When synthesizing, use words like design, formulate, build, find and create.
• When evaluating, choose terms such as choose, connect, contrast, argue, and underpin.

Determine the outcome

The result is where really delve into the performance, the circumstances, and the criteria. You express what is expected of the students at the end of a course or unit.

• What performance do you expect? Do your students just have to list and name something? Should they understand how to complete a task?
• Where and when should they provide this service?
• What criteria do you use to evaluate your students? What would you consider to be a good enough grade or achievement for your students to get through?

Bring it all together

As soon as you have formulated the requirement statement, found your verbs, and determined the result, put these parts together to get a learning objective.

• Suppose you teach German in a middle school and you teach your students symbolism in a unit. A good learning goal would be, “At the end of this unit, students should be able to analyze the symbolism in a particular section of literature and express the meaning of the work in their own words.”
• The requirement statement states that this goal should be achieved by the end of the unit.
• The verbs used are comprehension verbs, which indicate that the task belongs to the second category of the Bloom learning hierarchy.
• The expected performance is the analysis of literature. The prerequisite is probably that the text is read by the students alone. The expected result is that students read a work, analyze it, and explain it in their own words.

Review your goals

Make sure your goals are SMART

You can check whether your goals will work by comparing them to the criteria explained in the acronym SMART.

• S stands for specific. Do your learning goals formulate skills that can be measured? If they are formulated too vaguely, you should touch them up.
• M stands for measurable. Your goals should be measurable in the classroom, through testing or observed performance.
• A stands for action-oriented. All learning objectives should contain active verbs that prompt the completion of a specific task.
• R stands for reasonable. Make sure that your learning goals make realistic demands on your students in the timeframe of your course. For example, you cannot expect your students to master something like cardiopulmonary resuscitation after a session that lasted a week.
• T stands for time-bound. All learning objectives should include a specific time frame in which they should be achieved.

Assess whether goals are being achieved

Solid learning goals can help you stay on topic as a teacher. Check your students occasionally to make sure they are achieving your goals.

• Of course, tests, papers, exams, and quizzes are effective during the semester to determine whether learning objectives are being achieved. If a student is having trouble achieving the learning goal, it could be an individual performance problem. However, if all students seem to be having trouble, you may not be conveying the information effectively enough.
• Give your students questionnaires and surveys in a class where you ask them about their own assessment of their own abilities. Ask them to be honest with you about what they think you are doing right or wrong as a teacher.

Revise your goals if necessary

Learning goals are important. Many teachers resort to this during the semester when student performance seems to be deteriorating. If you have any problems in class, reach out to your goal and revise it thoroughly. Find out how you could revise them to become a better teacher.

Tips

• Fellow teachers can help you with your learning goals. Everyone who teaches has to write learning objectives. If you’re having trouble, ask a coworker to read through your goals and give you feedback.
• Look at many examples of learning objectives. They are usually included in the curriculum of courses. This will give you an idea of ​​what a solid, well-written goal looks like.