Writing good learning objectives
Learning objectives
Learning objectives define which knowledge, skills and attitudes students should have acquired by the end of a learning activity. They are essential in education; they communicate the lecturer’s expectations and help students direct their efforts and monitor their own progress. For the lecturer, they are a tool to organise course content and decide upon appropriate teaching and assessment methods.
The use of learning objectives fits within the educational design principle of constructive alignment (Biggs & Tang, 2011). According to this empirically-based concept, learning objectives, learning activities and assessment must be aligned with each other.
Criteria
Effective learning objectives meet four key criteria:
- They are student-focused: they specify what students need to be able to do,
- They split tasks into separate cognitive processes, breaking down complex skills into smaller parts that can be practiced,
- They use action verbs to express tangible actions and behaviours,
- They are measurable or observable. That way, teachers can assess whether students have achieved an objective.
If your learning objectives meet these criteria, you can easily decide on suitable assessment methods. The achievement (or non-achievement) of the learning objectives thus becomes visible.
How do you formulate learning objectives?
- Analyse the course content: make a list of the most important concepts, themes and competencies you want to address in the course.
- Form an impression of your students: are they beginners or do they already have some prior knowledge? This influences the complexity of your learning objectives.
- Use an action verb: use the formula ‘After this course, the student will be able to…’ and use action verbs linked to one of the cognitive levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy to finish the sentence.
- Ask a colleague to review your learning objectives: this can help to identify any ambiguities or gaps.
- Integrate your learning objectives in your course: communicate the learning objectives in the syllabus and make sure that they are aligned with your learning activities and assessment methods.
- Evaluate: review, after your course, whether the learning objectives have been achieved and use this evaluation to improve future courses.
Examples of well formulated learning objectives
- After this course, the student is able to:
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- Identify and describe the most important political developments of Egyptian civilization.
- Analyse and interpret these developments in their historical context, using both primary and secondary sources.
- Present their analysis in writing, in a well-structured and academically sound essay.
Checklist for learning objectives
The learning objective is focused on:
Learning outcomes, not on learning activities or -processes
Knowledge, skills or attitudes
The learning objective contains:
Verbs that describe observable tasks
The learning goal is:
Measurable/observable
Assessable
Going deeper
It is important to not confuse learning objectives with course content or learning activities. For example, a text like “In the course Ancient Civilizations II, we cover the political history of the Egyptian civilization” describes course content, while “In this course, students will write an essay on…” describes a learning activity, functioning as a task description. These examples are focused on activities during the course, not on the outcomes of the learning process. In contrast, an effective learning objective focuses on the knowledge or skills that students should have acquired at the end of the course.
Action verbs address tangible tasks, like describing, designing, enumerating, etc. Ambiguous terms like ‘understanding’, ‘seeing’ of ‘getting acquainted with’ are not suitable action verbs in learning objectives, because they do not address concrete actions or behaviours that are measurable. They can, however, be assessed through an observable task, like ‘explaining’ or ‘comparing’.
Formulating learning objectives is simplified by ‘Bloom’s Taxonomy’ (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). This classifies the cognitive domain in six levels, varying from remembering facts to generating new knowledge. For each level, there are suggestions for suitable action verbs.
A good example. More elaborate versions of Bloom’s Taxonomy contain the so-called affective domain, which includes values and attitudes.
The terms ‘knowledge of’ and ‘insight into’ are often used in learning objectives. Not only are these not action verbs, they also are often mixed up or considered interchangeable. However, they represent different levels of learning. ‘Knowledge of’ concerns factual information, for example: ‘Italian Neorealism started in 1944.’ This information can be reproduced as it was learned. ‘Insight into’, on the other hand, concerns a deeper understanding of knowledge. It assumes establishing connections, interpreting facts and describing knowledge in one’s own words. For example: ‘explain why there is no clear end date of Italian Neorealism.’ This difference is crucial; while ‘knowledge of’ requires reproduction, ‘insight in’ asks for application and interpretation, which implies a different approach to teaching and assessment.
Examples
X After this course, the student has knowledge of Italian Neorealism.
V After this course, the student will able to identify characteristics of Italian Neorealism.
X After this course, the student has insight into Italian Neorealism.
V After this course, the student will able to take a stand on different historiographical positions on Italian Neorealism.
In addition to knowledge and skills, attitudes and values also play a role in education. Think, for example, of ‘cooperation’ and ‘ethical awareness’. Learning objectives concerning attitudes can also meet the criteria for effective learning objectives:
- They are student-focused. For example: “After this course, the student will be able to reflect on the importance of ethical conduct in professional practice.”
- They split tasks in separate processes, like showing empathy or analysing ethical dilemmas.
- They use action verbs to express the attitude, like ‘valuing’ or ‘respecting’.
- They are measurable or observable.
Although measuring attitudes can be complex, it is possible in most cases – sometimes indirectly – via behaviour, discussions or reflection assignments.
Example
After this course, the student values the importance of sustainability.
After this course, the student will be able to articulate and apply arguments for sustainable conduct in a professional context.
Sources
Anderson, L.W. & Krathwohl, D.R., eds. (2001). A Taxonomy for Teaching, Learning, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Longman.
Biggs, J. & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for Quality Learning at University (4th ed). McGraw Hill.
Do you need more tips or support on setting learning objectives? Then contact the TLC Humanities Assessment Experts
Would you like to attend a workshop with your team to fine-tune learning objectives within subjects? Then contact us at tlc-fgw@uva.nl