Smart Talk: Writing Objectives

     Congratulations — you’ve just finished conducting your needs assessment. What comes next? Action items should focus on determining what information needs to be taught and how to teach it. Learning is defined as a change in behavior — thus, learning objectives are a central component of planning because they describe observable and measurable behaviors that allow the educator to make judgments about the learning.

      As you plan your session, begin by writing a list of concepts that need to be covered and determine what the learners need to know about these concepts. Will learners need to demonstrate basic knowledge (definitions) or be able to apply concepts to a specific situation? Whatever your goals, the instructional plan should ensure that your objectives comprise the domains of learning.

The Domains of Learning

     The three domains of learning include cognitive, psychomotor, and affective; objectives should be written in each of these domains. Cognitive objectives involve the acquisition of knowledge and mental skill (to define, recall). Psychomotor objectives relate to specific manual or motor abilities (to assemble, display). Affective objectives comprise values, feeling, and attitudes (to listen, share).

      The purpose of the objective is to communicate the intended outcome of the learning — the participant should have little doubt about what needs to be achieved. A well-written objective in each domain contains three parts: the conditions under which the participant must perform the action, a verb that describes the action itself, and the degree to which a participant must perform the action.

Language

     Conditions. The conditions specify the circumstances, commands, or directions that the participant is given to initiate the action. In most educational offerings, objectives are worded: “At the end of this offering (session, class, presentation), the participant will be able to…” This implies that the participant must attend the entire offering to achieve the learning objective.

     Verbs. Verbs are action words that connote observable behaviors. Examples are differentiate, state, or demonstrate. Because objectives are not always measurable, learning also can be inferred.

     Criteria. The criteria of objectives are statements that describe how well the action must be performed to satisfy the intent of the objective. Students know that at the end of a mathematics class, they must pass a test with an 80%. Professionals must identify the stages of pressure ulcer formation with 100% accuracy.

Summary

     Taking the time to write specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-focused (SMART) behavioral objectives will make your educational offerings more worthwhile for all involved. Googling writing learning objectives provides numerous websites that can guide you in your composing objectives that convey your intent and prepare learners to foster appropriate expectations about what to expect from your instruction.