“To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.” – Stephen Covey, adapted for education.
In the realm of education, effective course design begins with a clear vision of the desired outcomes. Drawing from the established backward design framework (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005), the initial and most crucial step in crafting a course is defining its purpose and goals. While many instructors intuitively consider the skills, knowledge, and attitudes they aim for their students to acquire by the course’s conclusion, a structured approach emphasizes expressing these aspirations in specific and measurable terms. These precise statements are known as learning objectives.
Learning objectives, often used interchangeably with terms like learning outcomes or instructional objectives (Melton, 1997), are declarations that explicitly articulate what students are expected to achieve upon completing a course or module. Distinct from broader learning goals, What Are Learning Objectives designed to do is provide concrete benchmarks against which instructors can assess student progress and determine if overarching learning goals are being met.
Consider this example to understand the relationship between learning goals and learning objectives:
- Learning Goal: “Students will gain an understanding of the principles of effective communication.”
- Learning Objective: “Students will be able to articulate the five key principles of effective communication and apply them in a simulated professional scenario.”
Revised Bloom
This image illustrates the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy, a framework for classifying educational learning objectives into six levels of cognitive complexity, ranging from remembering to creating, crucial for designing effective learning objectives.
The Multifaceted Benefits of Learning Objectives
Well-crafted learning objectives serve as indispensable tools, offering significant advantages for both educators and students:
For Instructors: A Guiding Compass. Learning objectives act as a compass, directing the entire course design process. They guide the creation of fair and relevant assessment plans, inform the selection of appropriate content, learning activities, effective teaching strategies, and technology integration. By ensuring all course components are purposefully aligned with the learning objectives, instructors can guarantee a cohesive and effective learning experience that directly supports student achievement.
For Students: A Clear Roadmap to Success. For students, learning objectives function as a roadmap, providing a transparent view of the course’s direction and the expectations for success. By clearly understanding what are learning objectives for each lesson, unit, or semester, students are empowered to take ownership of their learning journey. They can proactively monitor their progress, identify areas for improvement, and focus their efforts effectively, leading to a more engaged and purposeful learning experience.
Defining Effective Learning Objectives: The SMART Framework
To ensure learning objectives are truly effective in guiding instruction and student learning, they should be student-centered and clearly describe the intended student accomplishments, rather than merely listing topics the instructor will cover. A helpful prompt to ensure student-focus is: “Upon successful completion of this course/module/unit, students will be able to ____.”
Furthermore, well-written learning objectives should adhere to the SMART criteria, making them:
- Specific: Effective learning objectives narrow down broad topics into manageable and focused components. They are explicit about the desired outcomes related to these specific elements of the course content.
- Measurable: As benchmarks for evaluation, learning objectives must enable instructors to gauge the extent to which students have achieved the intended learning. While internal student processes like perspective shifts and knowledge gains are valuable, instructors must rely on observable external indicators – what students say or do – to assess progress. Therefore, objectives should focus on actions and changes that can be objectively observed and measured, moving beyond vague terms like “learn,” “understand,” or “know.”
- Achievable: Learning objectives must be realistic and attainable given the available resources, course duration, students’ prior knowledge, and their level of preparedness. The cognitive complexity of the objectives should be appropriately matched to the course level and the students’ academic stage (e.g., introductory vs. advanced level courses).
- Result-oriented: Objectives should emphasize the outcomes of learning, focusing on the knowledge, skills, or attitudes students are expected to acquire, rather than the learning process itself or the activities they will undertake (like writing papers or taking exams). A strong learning objective clearly describes the desired result of instruction.
- Time-bound: When relevant, learning objectives should specify a timeframe for achievement. This helps in determining the expected level of competency students should reach within a particular timeframe, reinforcing accountability and progress monitoring.
Example of SMART Learning Objective Breakdown:
Let’s revisit the example: “Students will be able to describe the scientific method and provide examples of its application.”
- Specific: Focuses on “the scientific method.”
- Measurable: Uses action verbs “describe” and “provide examples,” which are observable and measurable indicators of learning.
- Achievable: Appropriate for an introductory level course.
- Result-oriented: Emphasizes the result – the ability to describe and provide examples – rather than the learning process.
- Time-bound: Implicitly time-bound to the completion of the unit or module on the scientific method.
A Step-by-Step Guide: How to Write Effective Learning Objectives
Creating impactful learning objectives involves a structured approach, breaking down the process into manageable steps:
Step 1: Pinpoint the Object of Learning.
Begin by identifying the core element of learning – the knowledge, skill, attitude, or ability students are expected to gain.
- Example 1 (Physics): Fundamental principles of thermodynamics.
- Example 2 (History): Analysis of primary source documents.
Step 2: Determine the Level of Mastery.
Selecting the appropriate action verb is crucial and often challenging. Bloom’s Taxonomy provides a valuable framework for aligning the desired level of cognitive engagement with specific action verbs. This taxonomy helps categorize learning objectives based on cognitive complexity, ensuring alignment between objectives and assessment methods.
- Example 1 (Physics): Apply.
- Example 2 (History): Critically analyze.
Step 3: Construct the Complete Learning Objective Statement.
Integrate the object of learning (Step 1) with the chosen action verb (Step 2) to form a complete learning objective statement.
- Example 1 (Physics): Students will be able to apply fundamental principles of thermodynamics to solve real-world engineering problems.
- Example 2 (History): Students will be able to critically analyze primary source documents from the American Civil War era.
Step 4: Refine and Enhance Learning Objectives.
Review and refine your drafted learning objectives for clarity, specificity, and alignment with course goals. Resources like the Learning Outcome Review Checklist from Cornell University can be invaluable in this stage.
- Example 1 (Physics – Refined): Students will be able to apply fundamental principles of thermodynamics to solve real-world engineering problems, demonstrating their reasoning both in written reports and oral presentations.
- Example 2 (History – Refined): Students will be able to critically analyze primary source documents from the American Civil War era, considering factors such as author’s bias, intended audience, and historical context.
Implementing Learning Objectives: Ensuring Alignment
Even the most meticulously written learning objectives are rendered ineffective if they are not intrinsically linked to the actual instructional content, activities, and assessments within the course. Misalignment between objectives, content, and assessments can lead to instructor challenges in accurately evaluating student learning and student confusion regarding course expectations. The action verbs chosen in your learning objectives become crucial in evaluating the alignment of your course components.
Illustrative Examples of Alignment:
Example of Misaligned Objectives and Assessments:
- Learning Objective: Students will be able to compare and contrast different economic models of market equilibrium.
- Assessment: A multiple-choice quiz defining key terms related to market equilibrium.
Example of Well-Aligned Objectives and Assessments:
- Learning Objective: Students will be able to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of different economic models in predicting market equilibrium under varying conditions.
- Assessment: Case study analysis requiring students to apply different economic models to real-world market scenarios and justify their model selection and predictions.
Notice in the first example, the assessment only requires recall of definitions, not the higher-order skill of comparison and contrast stated in the objective. In contrast, the well-aligned example directly assesses the analytical and evaluative skills targeted by the learning objective through a more complex and relevant assessment task.
By dedicating time and thoughtful consideration to crafting and implementing well-defined learning objectives, educators can significantly enhance the effectiveness of their courses, creating a more focused, engaging, and ultimately successful learning experience for their students.
References
- Anderson, L.W., & Krathwohl, D.R. (Eds.) (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. New York: Longman.
- Melton, R. (1997). Objectives, Competencies and Learning Outcomes: Developing Instructional Materials in Open and Distance Learning. London, UK: Kogan Page.
- Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
