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This article provides an overview of learning objectives including their benefits and the criteria for effective objectives. |
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Learning objectives define what students will learn as a result of the educational experiences they will have in your course. Well-written learning objectives clearly describe what students will learn and provide guidelines for assessing student progress.
The benefits of writing effective learning objectives include:
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Second, write down your course objectives in the form of goals. Here are a few examples…
I want students to identify geologic events that have changed the Earth,
Understand the heat engines that impact Earth’s processes, and
Develop an appreciation for the tectonic theory.
Third, revise your goal to transform it into an objective that you can observe and measure by using one action verb for the level of learning that you wants students to achieve. Refer to the objectives below that are created from the goals listed above:
Students will identify four major geologic events that have altered the Earth’s atmosphere. (In this example, “Identify” is measurable and is the correct level of learning. The instructor added more specific details like the number of major geologic events and what is altered.)
Describe the two heat engines that use gravity to drive Earth processes. (“Understand” is replaced with “Describe” because “understand” is NOT measurable.)
Explain plate tectonic theory in four sentences or less. (“Develop an appreciation” is not measurable and is replaced with “Explain” with additional details that can be observed and measured.)
The ultimate test of a learning objective is whether the student’s attainment of the objective can be observed and measured. Here are a few additional resources on writing effective learning objectives:
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