Creating Learning Objectives

Welcome to this web-based training titled Learning Objectives.  As you know, creating sound learning objectives is core to training success.  Together, we will explore some best practices on how to craft solid learning objectives.  By the end of this training, learners will independently be able to: Define the term learning objective; List the ABCD method components of learning objectives – Audience, Behavior, Condition, and Degree of Mastery; Identify knowledge, skills, and attitude verbs; and Apply the Bloom’s Taxonomy Wheel to create course material.  Let’s review a learning objective example next.  Within the next five minutes, the learner will be able to list the eight planets in our solar system in order from the sun.  For those of us that remember being taught nine planets in the solar system, you’re not crazy.  Thanks to Neil deGrasse Tyson, Pluto was demoted from planet status in 2006.  A quick and easy way to remember the planets in order is to use a mnemonic device.  A mnemonic device is a memory technique to help your brain better encode and recall important information.  One way involves creating a sentence or phrase with the same number of words, whose first letters correlate to that which you are trying to recall.  It just so happens there are many mnemonic devices to help us remember the order of planets.  We will use ‘My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming.’  The M in my is for Mercury, the V in very is for Venus, the E in easy is for Earth and so on.  Again, My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming.  Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune!  As you can tell, mnemonic devices help you recall important information.  This mnemonic device assisted you in completing the learning objective.  What is a learning objective?  A learning objective is a statement in specific and measurable terms that describes what the learner will know and/or be able to do and/or feel as a result of engaging in the learning activity.  Well written learning objectives are: Measurable – there must be a way to determine progress or improvement; Specific – using terms like well or proficient versus eight out of ten or one hundred percent of the time can make a big difference in your outcome; Action-oriented – highlight your observable verbs; Written for the learner – sometimes you notice things like, “the instructor will demonstrate how to enter a formula into a spreadsheet,” included in objectives; Switching this to a learner centric objective is more effective, “the learner will create a formula in an Excel spreadsheet.”  Remember to keep the focus on the learner; Behavior-based – focus on the outcome, not the in-class activity; and Achievable in class – largely passed over, yet very key.  How will you know the knowledge was transferred unless they do it in front of you?  Writing learning objectives from this perspective has its benefits.  The following benefits of having well-written learning objectives are shared from utexas.edu.  Planning instruction – once you have developed learning objectives for a course you can more rationally sequence instruction, allot time to topics, assemble materials, prepare outlines and booklists, etc.  Enhancing learning – the student can make more appropriate choices about study methods and content emphasis.  Facilitating evaluation – objectives form the basis for grading or determining levels of competence in a mastery learning system.  Designing or redesigning curriculum – guides you on what to include or omit in the training.  Does the chosen activity meet an objective?  If not, do not include it in the content.  When writing objectives, words like understand, know, learn, comprehend, and believe sometimes creep in.  These words are vague and very difficult to measure.  A learner may be able to repeat items to you, but how do you gauge understanding?  When is the learning truly completed?  The words listed are best avoided when creating learning objectives and better saved for developing high-level goals.  So, when do you write learning objectives? Many people create a training, then write objectives to match that which they created – the cart before the horse method.  Others write objectives while developing a training.  Consider this passage from Alice in Wonderland, “would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here” asked Alice.  “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.  “I don’t much care where,” said Alice.  “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.  By knowing where you intend to go and beginning with the end in mind, you increase the chances of you and the learner ending up there.  Writing clear objectives from the beginning helps the course creation process run smoothly.  There are different methods to consider when writing objectives, in this training, we will share the ABCD method.  A is for audience.  In your objective, include your audience as learners, students, participants, etc.  B, what is the action or behavior - the verb.  C is for condition.  Will your learners be provided an item to assist in reaching the objective?  For example, given a map of the United States, the learner will be able to identify Pennsylvania.  Or, given a calculator, the learner will be able to calculate a formula.  Condition can also be related to time…by the end of the session or after an hour.  D is for degree of mastery.  This can be as simple as independently, or one hundred percent of the time, or more complex like seven out of ten times.  Adding the degree of mastery helps determine the effectiveness of the training.  Going back to our example learning objective, let’s apply the ABCD method.  “Within the next five minutes, the learner will be able to list the 8 planets in our solar system in order.”  The learner is our audience.  The behavior is to list.  Within the next five minutes is our condition.  Finally, the degree of mastery is in order.  Revisiting the definition of learning objective, there are some important words that could use our attention.  Remember, well written objectives are action-oriented and behavior-based.  Again, the definition states that “a learning objective is a statement in specific and measurable terms that describes what the learner will know and/or be able to do and/or feel as a result of engaging in the learning activity.”  Our definition highlights KNOW, DO and FEEL.  Knowledge verbs are concerned with intellectual outcomes.  These words range anywhere from lower level terms like list, up to discover and compare.  It is the core learning domain.  Although many of these words are basic, we will get deeper into knowledge with Bloom’s Taxonomy.  Skills use the psychomotor domain.  These are typically performance or hands-on activities sequenced to a specific level of proficiency.  Some examples include words such as, repair, maintain, operate and execute.  Sometimes we need to train for attitude, focus on motivation, or willingness to participate.  Consider using verbs associated with attitude such as agree, support and believe.  We have one more concept to discuss before we wrap-up.  In 1956, Benjamin Bloom headed a group of educational psychologists who developed a classification of levels of intellectual behavior important in learning.  Bloom’s Taxonomy refers to a classification of the different objectives that educators set for learners.  It divides educational objectives into three “domains”: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor (sometimes loosely described as “knowing/head,” “feeling/heart,” and “doing/hands” respectively).  Let’s review the cognitive domain.  Within the domains, learning at the higher level is dependent on having attained prerequisite knowledge and skills at lower levels.  During the 1990’s, a new group of cognitive psychologists, led by Lori Anderson (a former student of Bloom), updated the taxonomy to reflect relevance to 21^st century work.  There are versions that are verb based with “creating” atop the pyramid.  Taking this concept a step further, the pyramid was transformed into a wheel.  The inner ring identifies the level of thinking and the middle ring contains verbs.  You would select a verb from the middle ring and then link the verb selected from the middle level with a product listed in the outer ring to construct questions and assignments while training.  There is an interactive flash version of this tool available on the web at West Virginia University.  Thank you!  You have now completed the Learning Objectives web-based training.  This version of the course is intended for individuals who require an accommodation for a disability.  Once you have fully reviewed the information in this training, contact your Human Resources Office to request credit for completing this course.  You will not receive credit for completing this course until you do so.