Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives: The Backbone of

Instruction

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to: define learning objectives

identify ways to use learning objectives in course and lesson design

formulate appropriate learning objectives for a course in your discipline

ESED 8200: TEACHING UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERINGSUMMER 2015

Learning Objectives

Statements of what students should be able to do after receiving instruction in your course, plus (optional): Conditions under which they carry out the specific

action How well they have to do it

Must be SPECIFIC and MEASURABLE

ESED 8200 Online Summer 2015

Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy

The Knowledge Dimension

The Cognitive Process Dimension

Remember Understand Apply Analyze Evaluate Create

Factual Knowledge

List Summarize Classify Order Rank Combine

Conceptual Knowledge

Describe Interpret Experiment Explain Assess Plan

Procedural Knowledge

Tabulate Predict Calculate Differentiate Conclude Compose

Meta-Cognitive Knowledge

Appropriate Use

Execute Construct Achieve Action Actualize

From Bloom’s Taxonomy, Mary Forehand, University of Georgia http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Bloom%27s_Taxonomy


Bloom’s Cognitive Processes

Remembering: Retrieving, recognizing, and recalling relevant knowledge from long-term memory.

Understanding: Constructing meaning from oral, written, and graphic messages through interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, and explaining.

Applying: Carrying out or using a procedure through executing, or implementing.

Analyzing: Breaking material into constituent parts, determining how the parts relate to one another and to an overall structure or purpose through differentiating, organizing, and attributing.

Evaluating: Making judgments based on criteria and standards through checking and critiquing.

Creating: Putting elements together to form a coherent or functional whole; reorganizing elements into a new pattern or structure through generating, planning, or producing.

From Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of educational objectives: Complete edition, New York : Longman.


Constructing Learning Objectives

“By the end of this [section, week, lecture], the student will be able to…”

This is followed by an action wordUse action words grouped by Bloom’s taxonomy

as a guideTypically each lesson will have about 2 – 4

objectivesBe fair; if you are testing at Bloom’s “evaluate”

level, you must teach at that level (i.e. model how to do it, have students practice it, and give feedback on how well they are doing it)


Bloom’s Knowledge Dimensions

Factual Knowledge: knowledge that is basic to specific disciplines; essential facts, terminology, details or elements students must know or be familiar with in order to understand a discipline or solve a problem

Conceptual Knowledge: knowledge of classifications, principles, generalizations, theories, models, or structures pertinent to a particular disciplinary area

Procedural Knowledge: information or knowledge that helps students to do something specific to a discipline, subject, area of study; methods of inquiry, very specific or finite skills, algorithms, techniques, and particular methodologies.

Metacognitive Knowledge: awareness of one’s own cognition and particular cognitive processes; strategic or reflective knowledge about how to go about solving problems, cognitive tasks, to include contextual and conditional knowledge and knowledge of self.

From Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of educational objectives: Complete edition, New York : Longman.


Non-Learning Objectives

Know Learn Appreciate Understand

These are important course goals, but they are not measurable.


Reasons for Writing Objectives

Identify key material for the lesson Organize presentation Allot appropriate time for concepts within the lesson

Provide the basis for a study guide for students Specific learning objectives for each lesson help

students identify with they need to know and do prior to tests

Can be self-assembled by students – they review objectives as they construct their own study guides

Can be created by the instructor (study guide = compiled learning objectives)


Reasons for Writing Objectives

Identify and delete extraneous material and activities Especially important for classes that use active learning

approaches Create more time for activities that promote learning

Facilitate construction of in-class activities, out-of-class assignments, and tests Assure comprehensive instruction (exercise all

Bloom’s levels) Assure that assessments match instruction


Try it!

Individually, identify learning objectives for a lesson in a course you would like to teach in your discipline, using 4 different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Find classmates who are in the same or similar disciplines as yours. In groups of 2 - 4, review each other’s learning objectives and critique based on guidelines presented in introduction.


Can learning objectives be over-used?

Too much of a good thing? Read excerpt from Robert Boostrom’s “Levels of

thinking” in The Foundation of Critical and Creative Learning in the Classroom (on “Boostrom” handout for today’s class)

Discussion points Revisit the reasons for using learning objectives Reflect on your goals for teaching (think of the messages

you are hearing from our “ideal” professors) What uses of learning objectives support our reasons for

teaching? What uses of learning objectives are in conflict with our

reasons for teaching?


Can learning objectives be aligned with other educational criteria?

Think back to ABET criteria in our “Educational Frameworks” lesson ABET is in the process of revising its Student

Outcomes (Criterion 3 a-k) Read through proposed revisions and review current

criteria (See “ABET Revisions” handout.) Discussion points:

How do revised criteria differ from current criteria? Do revised criteria help address limitations of

formulating learning objectives? If so, how? What other observations would you want to share with

ABET about the proposed revisions?


Learning Objective Assignment

Identify the course and lesson you plan to use as the basis for your final project in this class (microteaching session and report).

Write 2 – 4 learning objectives for that lesson, taking into consideration the guidelines and in-class discussions about learning objectives. Also consider ways to help student achieve each objective.

Submit to the “Learning Objective” assignment on Blackboard (within Module 3, Lesson 1)
