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Learning Objectives. "Targets for Instruction". Learning Objectives. Are statements of expected learning outcomes Communicate those expected learning outcomes to students Assist students in their learning processes Assist teachers in their planning for instruction
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Learning Objectives • "Targets for Instruction"
Learning Objectives • Are statements of expected learning outcomes • Communicate those expected learning outcomes to students • Assist students in their learning processes • Assist teachers in their planning for instruction • Assist teachers in planning assessments
Three Levels of Objectives • Global (Goals) • Semester, quarter, year • Not content-specific ("Improve critical thinking skills") • Educational (Unit) • Week, month • Content-specific • Instructional (Lesson) • Class period • Tied to specific activities
Levels of Objectives Year, semester Global Objectives Unit Unit Unit Educational Objectives Lessons Instructional Objectives
Objectives should be Explicit, Clear, and Measurable • It is very difficult, if not impossible, to measure "states of mind" such as appreciates, understands, realizes, etc., unless those states of mind can be behaviorally demonstrated. • How could a student demonstrate that he/she appreciates classical music? • How could a student demonstrate that he/she understands the Pythagorean Theorem? • Without behavioral demonstrations, there is nothing to assess.
Objectives Describe Students’ Learning, Not Teachers' Plans • Not: The learning theory of Lev Vygotsky will be presented. • Instead: Students will be able to explain Lev Vygotsky's learning theory.
Objectives versus Activities • Objectives are "ends" • "Following instruction, students will be able to..." • Activities are "means" (to the ends) • "During instruction, students will..."
Possible confusion... • Sometimes activities are used to measure learning outcomes, and... • Sometimes the same or similar activities are used during instruction. • What is the purpose of the activity-- instruction or assessment? • Students will solve 10 multiplication problems with 80% accuracy (assessment) • Students will divide into groups and construct collages (instruction)
Part 1 of the Objective (the verb) • Following the (year, unit, lesson), students will be able to... • What will they be able to DO to demonstrate their learning? • What they DO will depend on the level of learning that is expected of them. • Memorize facts, solve problems, construct something, judge something • Levels of learning are expressed in Bloom'sTaxonomy of Learning
Knowledge (facts/information) • List, name, identify, define, etc. • Comprehension (understanding of facts/information) • Discuss, explain, interpret, summarize, etc. • Application (use of facts/information) • Demonstrate, construct, solve, etc. • Analysis (analyze information) • Separate, break down, diagram, differentiate, etc. • Synthesis (generalize information) • Combine, create, group, organize, etc. • Evaluation (critique information) • Criticize, judge, grade, appraise, etc.
For example: • Following the unit, students will be able to EXPLAIN... • Following the lesson, students will be able to NAME... • Following the year, students will be able to DEMONSTRATE...
Part 2 of the Objective (the noun phrase) • What will they be able to explain, name, or demonstrate? • Add the course learning content or skill that students are expected to learn
For example: • Following the unit, students will be able to EXPLAIN how hurricanes are formed. • Following the lesson, students will be able to NAME the three branches of our government. • Following the year, students will be able to DEMONSTRATE improvement in their general writing ability.
Hints for Writing Objectives • 1. Use verbs from Bloom’s Taxonomy on page 69 of Airasian text • 2. Do not use Bloom’s category words (know, comprehend, apply, analyze, synthesize, evaluate) • 3. Do not use “states of mind” verbs for educational or instructional objectives
...more hints • 4. Make objectives describe learning outcomes, not instructional activities • 5. Use only one verb per objective (not list and explain, or define and interpret) • 6. Global objectives may be less measurable and may contain “states of mind” words • 7. Make educational and instructional objectives explicit, clear and measurable
Evaluate these 10 objectives...(they ALL have a problem) • 1. Students will learn to play an instrument. • “Learn” is a state of mind that can’t be seen. • 2. Students will grasp the concept of photosynthesis. • “Grasp” is a state of mind that can’t be seen. • 3. Students will appreciate the value of life-long recreation. • “Appreciate” is a state of mind that can’t be seen, although this objective would work as a Global objective.
4. Given 30 algebra problems, students will work in pairs to solve them all. • This is an instructional activity, not an activity that will measure a learning outcome • 5. Students will understand how to search for online journal articles. • “Understand” is a state of mind • 6. Students will critique current literature. • Unclear--What current literature?
7. Students will be given instructions about how to write an APA reference. • Not a learning outcome--tells the teacher what to do. • 8. Students will be able to dribble a basketball with both hands. • Unclear--both hands at the same time or each hand separately? • 9. Students will analyze a list of learning objectives. • “Analyze” is a Bloom’s category • 10. Students will write without grammatical or spelling errors. • Unclear--will write what? Noun phrase is omitted