Setting Objectives

1. Think about how you let students know what they are supposed to learn in lessons or units, and then share with the people around you. Setting Objectives

2. Generalizations from the Research Setting instructional goals narrows what students focus on. Teachers should encourage students to personalize the learning goals the teacher has identified for them. Instructional goals should not be too specific.

3. Generalization 1: Setting instructional goals narrows what students focus on. This obviously makes sense, but it can also mean that students don’t learn other information related to the content because they ignore information that is not specifically related to the defined goals.

4. Generalization 2:Teachers should encourage students to personalize the learning goals the teacher has identified for them. Research indicates that if you provide students with opportunities to adapt the learning goals you have set for them to their personal needs and desires, they are likely to learn more.

5. Generalization 3:Instructional goals should not be too specific. Goals that are too specific can limit student learning. For example: Given 5 practice sessions, SWBAT make an organized list of 10 items of information with 80% accuracy. Can be restated as: SWBAT organize a set of items of information.

6. Recommendations for Classroom Practice Set learning objectives or goals that are specific but flexible. Contract with students to obtain specific learning objectives or goals.

7. Setting Objectives that are Specific but Flexible Too Broad: Students understand the folklore and contributions from various regions of the U.S. and how they help to form a national heritage. Too Specific: List three differences between games from the Colonial period and games from today. Specific but Flexible: Students know the differences between games that children played long ago and games of today.

8. Too Broad, Too Specific, or Specific but Flexible? Students use the general skills and strategies of the writing process. Too Broad Possible re-write: Students use pre-writing strategies to plan work.

9. Too Broad, Too Specific, orSpecific but Flexible? Students use models (e.g., number lines, two-dimensional and three-dimensional regions) to identify, order, and compare numbers. Specific but Flexible

10. Too Broad, Too Specific, orSpecific but Flexible? Students explain in three paragraphs how Daniel Boone contributed to the cultural history of the United States. Too Specific Possible re-write: Students understand how regional folk heroes and other popular figures have contributed to the cultural history of the United States.

11. Know the Difference between Learning Activities and Learning Goals Learning Activity: Prepare a timeline of European history. Learning Goal: Know key events in European history from 1800 to the current day.

12. First, Communicate Learning Goals to Students An easy way is to always have the WALT written on the board.

13. Second, Help Students Set Learning Goals Teacher-created objective: Students understand how the main organs of the body work individually and as a system. Possible goals that students could set: I want to know how a heart attack happens. I want to know more about the kidneys and how they work. I want to know if the intestines are really four miles long. KWL charts are also a good way of doing this.

14. Third, Communicate Learning Goals to Parents A way to do this is to send a short letter home for parents to sign at the beginning of each unit. Remember to keep the message simple and avoid educational jargon.

15. Contract with Students to Obtain Specific Learning Objectives Some teachers encourage students to write a “contract” for learning. Contracts can include the goals for learning as well as the grade the student will receive if he or she meets those goals. The goals for learning may include goals that the students sets as well as goals that the teacher sets.