Along with teaching methods and evaluation means, course objectives are one of the three principal elements of a course. There are two principal types of objectives: general and specific. Pregent (2000) lists three advantages to formulate learning objectives: 1) speak more clearly about a course to students or colleagues; 2) choose teaching methods appropriate for helping students attain the targeted objectives; and 3) establish a direct relationship between the objectives and the means of evaluation.
How to Draft Objectives
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Goals/General Objectives |
Specific Objectives |
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Definition: A general objective or a goal is a statement expressing an abstract educational intention and an instructor’s expectations of lasting changes in students during the course. |
Definition: A specific objective is a statement that describes what students must achieve during or at the end of a learning unit within the limits of a course topic. |
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General objectives are short, begin with a verb, are formulated from the professor’s point of view, and describe global changes (cognitive, affective, or psychomotor) desired for students. |
Specific objectives are short, begin with an action verb, are formulated from the student’s point of view, and describe as precisely as possible the performances (cognitive, affective, or psychomotor) that students will be able to achieve in relation to each of the course themes. |
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Formulate a general objective starting with
Example: Course xxx aims to … |
Formulate a specific objective starting with
Example: After studying theme xxx of the course, students should be able to … |
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Generally, one to three general objectives are sufficient to express the general intentions of a course. |
Generally, the average number of specific objectives varies according to the themes of a course, with usually one to six per theme. |
Learning objectives describe the learning outcomes. They are often written using the ABCD format:
- Audience (who are your students?)
- Behavior or performance to be demonstrated
- Conditions under which the behavior will be observed
- Degree to which the learned skills are to be mastered (e.g., time limit, range of accuracy, proportion of correct responses required, and/or qualitative standards)
A good learning objective describes an observable, measurable behavior. It is clear and specific. Some good examples are:
Example 1: The learner will be able to answer eight out of ten questions correctly in the chapter review at the end of the lesson.
Example 2: Given a list of 35 vocabulary words, the student will be able to identify the definitions of at least 30 without using a dictionary.
Two more things to remember while writing learning objectives: 1) use action verbs; 2) sequence objectives
1) Good action verbs:
arrange in order, build, classify, compare, construct, contrast, define, demonstrate, describe, develop, diagram, differentiate, distinguish between, draw, explain, identify, label, list, make, match, recite, repair, select, solve, state, tell how to, summarize, translate, and write.
Slippery verbs to avoid:
know, appreciate, believe, understand, enjoy, grasp, realize, feel, have, sense, recognize, and develop knowledge of.
2) Sequence objectives based on two elements:
A. level of difficulty of the subject matter
B. logical steps