How+to+Write+Clear+Objectives

= How to Write Clear Objectives =

The Best Choice .... according to the experts
“Clear objectives can help the instructor design lessons that will be easier for the student to comprehend and the teacher to evaluate” (Jones,1997). “A properly written objective tells you what specific knowledge, skill, or attitude is desired and what method of instruction and criteria for learner achievement are required” (Lohr, no date).

Rationale
Writing clear course objectives is important because:
 * Objectives define what you will have the students do.
 * Objectives provide a link between expectations, teaching and grading.

Basic Information

 * Questions you need to think about**
 * Who are your students? Freshman? Senior? A mix of different prior knowledge and experience?
 * Is this course a general education course or a course required for the major?
 * The ABCD method**

The ABCD method of writing objectives is an excellent starting point for writing objectives (Heinich, et al., 1996):
 * **Audience** – Who? Who are your learners?
 * **Behavior** – What? What do you expect them to be able to do? This should be an overt, observable behavior, even if the actual behavior is covert or mental in nature. If you can't see it, hear it, touch it, taste it, or smell it, you can't be sure your audience really learned it.
 * **Condition** – How? Under what circumstances or context will the learning occur? What will the student be given or already be expected to know to accomplish the learning?
 * **Degree** – How much? How much will be accomplished, how well will the behavior need to be performed, and to what level? Do you want total mastery (100%), do you want them to respond correctly 80% of the time, etc. A common (and totally non-scientific) setting is 80% of the time.

__ Behavior __ – Bold Underlined
 * Examples of Well-Written Objectives**
 * Audience - Bold **
 * // Condition - Italic //**
 * Degree - **** Regular **

Psychomotor //- "// // Given a standard balance beam raised to a standard height, //** the student **// (attired in standard balance beam usage attire) // **__ will be able to walk the entire length of the balance beam (from one end to the other) __** steadily, without falling off, and within a six second time span."

Cognitive (comprehension level) - // "Given examples and non-examples of constructivist activities in a college classroom, // ** the student ** **__will be able to accurately identify the constructivist examples and explain why each example is or isn't a constructivist activity__** in 20 words or less."

Cognitive (application level) - // "Given a sentence written in the past or present tense //, ** the student ** **__will be able to rewrite the sentence in future tense__** with no errors in tense or tense contradiction (i.e., I will see her yesterday.)." Cognitive (problem solving/synthesis level) - // "Given two cartoon characters of the student's choice //, ** the student ** **__will be able to list five major personality traits of each of the two characters, combine these traits (either by melding traits together, multiplying together complementary traits, or negating opposing traits) into a composite character, and develop a short (no more than 20 frames) storyboard for a cartoon__** that illustrates three to five of the major personality traits of the composite character."

Affective - // "Given the opportunity to work in a team with several people of different races //, ** the student ** **__ will demonstrate a positive increase in attitude towards non-discrimination of race __** , as measured by a checklist utilized/completed by non-team members."

If you're paying attention here, you'll notice two things:
 * As you move up the "cognitive ladder," it becomes increasingly difficult to precisely specify the degree.
 * Affective objectives are the hardest objectives for most people to write and assess. They deal almost exclusively with internal feelings and conditions that can only be artificially observed externally.
 * The verbs you use to describe the overt, measurable activity can be tricky to write. Fortunately, a page on __psychomotor objectives__, a page on cognitive objectives __(Blooms' Taxonomy)__, and a page on __affective objectives__ exists to assist you.