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Writing Student Learning Objective 12-06-2010

The document discusses writing student learning objectives for courses. It explains that learning objectives should describe specific expected student outcomes and performances, and that they are important for guiding course design, informing students, and assessing effectiveness. It recommends asking how students will be different after instruction. The document also outlines Mager's ABCD model for objectives, noting they should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Learning objectives should align with instructional strategies and assessments.

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Mia Amaliah
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48 views

Writing Student Learning Objective 12-06-2010

The document discusses writing student learning objectives for courses. It explains that learning objectives should describe specific expected student outcomes and performances, and that they are important for guiding course design, informing students, and assessing effectiveness. It recommends asking how students will be different after instruction. The document also outlines Mager's ABCD model for objectives, noting they should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Learning objectives should align with instructional strategies and assessments.

Uploaded by

Mia Amaliah
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning

Writing Student Learning Objectives

Course objectives are broad statements which reflect general course goals while learning objectives are
specific statements describing the expected student performance or outcome. Writing learning
objectives is probably the most important step during the planning and design phase because it will:

 Direct the overall course design through outcome-based planning


 Inform students of the expectations for the course
 Clarify the intent of the instruction
 Guide the development and selection of learning activities and materials such as textbooks,
instructional strategies, teaching resources, etc.
 Create a framework for evaluating the overall effectiveness of the course
 Provide evidence of student learning
Educational psychologist Robert Gagne wrote in his book, The Principles of Instructional Design, that we
should ask ‘What will the learner be able to do after the instruction, that they couldn’t (didn’t) do
before?’ or ‘How will the learner be different after the instruction?’ The answers to these questions will
be the foundation of the learning objectives and identify the desired outcome.
A well-written learning objective provides a clear picture of the performance you expect as a result of
the lesson. Robert Mager (1962) argued that learning objectives should be specific, measurable
objectives that both guide instructors and aid students in the learning process. Mager’s ABCD model for
learning objectives includes four elements: audience, behavior, condition, and degree. The learning
objective does not have to be written in this order and may not include all elements to be well-written.
For example; in a college level class the audience may be implied as the learner and if the performance
level is 100% the degree is often left off.
The following table illustrates Mager’s ABCD Model for instructional objectives:
Objective Part Description Example
Audience What level or ability American History 101 students
Behavior Observable verb or performance will create a timeline of the main events at
Gettysburg,
Condition Under what circumstances after generating a graphic organizer based on the
reading assignment,
Degree How well must they perform with a rubric rating of 3 (out of 5) or better.
Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning

Tips for Improving Learning Objectives:

 Learning objectives should be SMART – specific to a single outcome, measurable, acceptable to


the instructor, realistic to achieve, and time-bound with a deadline.
 Avoid using language that is unclear or cannot be objectively measured. Use action verbs that
describe what a student will be able to do after the lesson or activity.
 Include complex or higher-order learning objectives of what students should be able to
demonstrate beyond knowledge or the memorization of facts and terminology.
 Use learning objectives as a basis for course development. Learning objectives should align with
the instructional strategy and assessment methods for the course.
The following table illustrates aligning the objective statement with learning activities and assessment.
Learning Objective Learning Activities Assessment
Provided with a four-part Reading: Chapt. 1-3, PPT lectures and supplemental articles Self-evaluation: Mind Map
communication process model, on Bb site. – provide rubric
students will be able to describe
Mind Mapping: students will create mind map of Self/Peer evaluation: rate
the main characteristics of
communication process and identify effective individual and team
effective communications for each
characteristics. contribution for small
part.
group activity – provide
Small Group Project: assigned to one of the case studies
rubric
outlined in the text, students will work in small groups to
analyze the situation and provide possible solutions. They
will then write a brief communication plan for the case
study.
Tool & Resources: Group pages, wiki site.

Resources on writing Learning Objectives:


Refer to these resource links for more information or contact an Instructional Designer in the FCTL for
assistance with writing learning objectives for your course.

 Planning for Instruction – Writing Objectives


http://itc.utk.edu/~bobannon/writing_objectives.html

 A Quick Guide to Writing Learning Objectives


http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/templates/objectivetool.html

 Writing Learning Objectives using Bloom’s Taxonomy


http://www.ukcle.ac.uk/resources/personal-development-planning/table/

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