Module II: Lesson Organization (Cont.)

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How to Write Learning Objectives

Learning objectives are typically comprised of three elements, which can be encapsulated in the following structure:

Given (the conditions in which the objective will be performed), the student will be able to (exhibit a behavior of learning), meeting the following criteria (a degree of accuracy or a statement about how well the student should perform) (Arreola, 1998).

For example:

Given a data chart, students should be able to create a graph that accurately plots each data point.

This sentence structure implies that we want students to complete a learning behavior. By writing learning objectives with concrete and observable verbs, the instructor is able to see that the student has mastered the material.

Some verbs, such as "understand," "know," and "relate" are useful when thinking of the broad goals of a course or lesson, but do not lend themselves to observable student behaviors. What does it mean to "understand" something? How can you see a student "grasp" something? Instead, asking students to "describe" a process or "apply" a concept, for example, allows instructors to design assessments that concretely demonstrate student understanding.

Some examples of appropriate verbs for learning objectives follow. These verbs are good for learning objectives because instructors can easily design assessments that allow students to demonstrate these behaviors.

State a rule	Locate	Order	Classify
Describe	Define	Identify	Interpret
Distinguish	Estimate	Solve	.
Classify	Translate	Label	Measure
Demonstrate	Apply	Evaulate	Predict

Tips for writing learning objectives:

1. A typical lesson should have between 3-6 learning objectives, depending on the content and complexity of the lesson.
2. Ideally, each learning objective should state the conditions under which the students will perform the behavior, (i.e. "Given a diagram of a cell), include a behavioral verb (i.e. students will label the following ten components of a cell), and describe the criteria for successful completion of that objective (i.e. "at 100% accuracy). (It may be that the criterion is understood from the nature of the objective itself.)
3. Remember that your learning objective, delivery style, classroom activities, assessments should always be aligned with the level of thought you are asking of the students. We will explore this more in the next section.

http://www.adprima.com/objectives.htm

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