Learning objectives are the specific measures used to determine the success of your course. What must the learner be able to do? Good objectives use action verbs and include specific conditions (how well or how many) that describe to what degree the learners will be able to demonstrate mastery of the task. You may want to think of what material you would put on a final test for your course and use that information to create your objectives. A well written objective is observable and measurable.
Tips for Writing Objectives
- Focus on student achievement
- Do not focus on the instructor’s actions
- Focus on the end product
- Focus on the end behavior
- Use only one outcome per objective
Parts of an Objective
An objective contains three parts:
- Condition – Under what circumstances will the behavior occur?
- Observable Behavior – Use an action verb to describe the behavior the learner will be able to exhibit
- Criteria – To what degree will the learner be able to demonstrate mastery of the task?
- Example: Given a stethoscope and normal clinical environment (conditions), the medical student will be able to diagnose a heart arrhythmia (observable behavior) in 90% of affected patients (criteria).
Action Verb Examples
The verb that you choose to use will depend on the level of mastery you want your learner to exhibit. For example, do you want your learner to be able to recall facts, or do you want your learner to be able to apply the information to perform a particular task or create something? The verbs below are examples of words that you may use for the observable behavior. | ||||
Recall | Identify | Discuss | Describe | List |
Diagnose | Compare | Interpret | Explain | Outline |
Differentiate | Use | Solve | Distinguish | Categorize |
Plan | Design | Create | Formulate | Analyze |
Assess | Judge | Critique | Rank | Select |
Words to Avoid
The following words should be avoided when writing learning objectives. Remember, if it is something that cannot be observed or measured, you cannot use it in a learning objective.
- Know
- Understand
- Learn
- Believe
- Think
Write Your Course Objectives Please write learning objectives for your course. If you have multiple versions of your content, please write specific objectives for each version. | ||
Upon successful completion of this course, the learner will be able to: | ||
1. | ||
2. | ||
3. | ||
4. | ||
5. | ||
Course Outline
The purpose of creating an outline is for you to organize and list all of the topics and subtopics that will be covered in your course.
- Begin with your objectives.
- Think about what information the learner will need to be taught in order to accomplish each objective.
- Then, organize the tasks in a logical order. You may order the tasks in chronological order, from easy to hard, in sequential order, etc.
- As you create your outline, think about how you can break your course down into logical chunks of information.
If your course will be more than 30 minutes, consider chunking your course into smaller self-contained segments of no more than 10 – 15 minutes each.
Beyond 15 minutes of instruction, you may lose your learner’s interest. Therefore, we suggest that an individual module be no more than 30 minutes.
Objectives | Content (Topics) | Measurement |
List all learner’s objectives in behavioral terms | Provide an outline of the content for each objective. It must be more than a restatement of the objective. | Describe how the objective will be measured. |