Goals and Objectives

Writing Instructional Objectives

Instructional objectives are statements of educational expectations for students.

Research has NOT demonstrated a strong link between writing objectives and student achievement

Writing Instructional Objectives

Nevertheless, it is still considered good educational practice to have written objectives in order to facilitate communication to students about expected outcomes.

Writing Instructional Objectives

There are a number of approaches to writing instructional objectives:

• Mager -- Behavioral objectives

Writing Instructional Objectives

Mager proposes writing specific statements about observable outcomes that can be built up to become a curriculum (an inductive approach).

• An example of a behavioral objective:

Given 3 minutes of class time, the student will solve 9 out of 10 multiplication problems of the type: 5 X 4 = _____.

Writing Instructional Objectives

There are a number of approaches to writing instructional objectives:

• Mager -- Behavioral objectives

• Gronlund -- General/specific objectives

Writing Instructional Objectives

Gronlund proposes starting with a general statement and providing specific examples of topics to be covered or behaviors to be observed (a deductive approach).

Writing Instructional Objectives

• An example of a general/specific objective:

The student can perform simple multiplication: a. can define what multiplication means, in his our her own words. b. can define relevant terms such as "multiplier" and "product”. c. can solve problems of the type 5 X 4 = ______.

Writing Instructional Objectives

There are a number of approaches to writing instructional objectives:

• Mager -- Behavioral objectives

• Gronlund -- General/specific objectives

• Eisner -- Expressive objectives

Writing Instructional Objectives

Eisner proposes that not all instructional objectives should focus on outcome; some should focus on the learning process itself (expressive objectives).

• Examples of an expressive objective:

a. Students will attend a live symphony performance.

b. Students will use multiplication in everyday activities.

Writing Instructional Objectives

While there are advantages and disadvantages to each approach, we will focus on Mager's approach, because it is the most inclusive and a good building block for the approach used in WSUV’s Education Program.

Writing Behavioral Objectives

An instructional objective is a clear and unambiguous description of educational expectations for students.

When written in behavioral terms, an objective will include three components:

• student behavior, • conditions of performance, and• performance criteria.

Writing Behavioral Objectives

Three Parts of a Behavioral Objective

Student Behavior

skill or knowledge to be gained (e.g., two digit numbers, vocabulary words)

Writing Behavioral Objectives

Three Parts of a Behavioral Objective

Student Behavior and

Writing Behavioral Objectives

Three Parts of a Behavioral Objective

Student Behavior

the action or skill the student is able TO DO (e.g., define, count, label, categorize, analyze, design, evaluate, add, multiply, etc.)

Writing Behavioral Objectives

Three Parts of a Behavioral Objective

• Students will add two-digit numbers

• Students will define the vocabulary words identified in bold print in the first story.

Student Behavior

Writing Behavioral Objectives

Three Parts of a Behavioral Objective

Conditions of Performance

Under what circumstances or context will the behavior be performed

Writing Behavioral Objectives

Three Parts of a Behavioral Objective

Conditions of Performance

• In an oral presentation

• Without the use of notes

Writing Behavioral Objectives

Three Parts of a Behavioral Objective

Performance Criteria

How well is the behavior is to done

Compared to what standard

Writing Behavioral Objectives

Three Parts of a Behavioral Objective

Performance Criteria

• 80 out of 100

• containing four of the six components discussed in class

Writing Behavioral Objectives

Three Parts of a Behavioral Objective

In an oral presentation, the student will paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream address,”mentioning at least 3 of the 5 major points discussed in class.

Writing Behavioral Objectives

When developing the behavioral objective it is best to write the student behavior first, then the condition statement and finally the criteria.

In an oral presentation, the student will paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King's “I Have a Dream address,” mentioning at least 3 of the 5 major points discussed in class.

Writing Behavioral Objectives

Write a behavioral objective for each of the following statements:

• The students will grasp the significance of civic responsibility.

• The student will learn the parts of speech.

• The teacher will cover multiplication facts.

Writing Behavioral Objectives

Are these properly written behavioral objectives?

• Given ten rocks, the student will label them as igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks.

• The student will located 12 major bones on the diagram of a skeleton.

Writing Behavioral Objectives

Are these properly written behavioral objectives?

• Given five sentences, the student will correctly classify four of them.

• Given three 7-word sentences, the student will correctly identify the parts of speech for 18 of the words.

Add Bloom’s taxonomy…

• What teachers want their students to know can be arranged in an hierarchy from less to more complex

• Bloom’s Taxonomy contains six ascending levels of complexity

• Bloom’s Taxonomy helps teachers develop objectives that guide day-to-day instruction and provide a structure for writing text questions and evaluating student progress

A mnemonic device for remembering the six levels:

Killing

Cats

Almost

Always

Seems

Evil

Knowledge

Comprehension

Application

Analysis

Synthesis

Evaluation

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Knowledge

Student recalls or recognizes information, ideas, and principles in the approximate form in which they were learned.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Knowledge

Write List Label

Name

StateDefine

Bloom’s Taxonomy

KnowledgeThe student will define the 6 levels of Bloom's taxonomy of the cognitive domain.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

ComprehensionStudent translates, comprehends, or interprets information based on prior learning.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Comprehension

ExplainSummarizeParaphrase

DescribeIllustrate

Bloom’s Taxonomy

ComprehensionThe student will explain the purpose of Bloom's taxonomy of the cognitive domain.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Application

Student selects, transfers, and uses data and principles to complete a problem or task with a minimum of direction.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Application

UseCompute

Solve Demonstrate Apply

Construct

Bloom’s Taxonomy

ApplicationThe student will write an instructional objective for each level of Bloom's taxonomy.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Analysis

Student distinguishes, classifies, and relates the assumptions, hypotheses, evidence, or structure of a statement or question.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Analysis

AnalyzeCategorizeCompare

Contrast Separate

AnalysisThe student will compare and contrast the cognitive and affective domains.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Synthesis

Student originates, integrates, and combines ideas into a product, plan or proposal that is new to him or her.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Synthesis

CreateDesign

HypothesizeInvent

Develop

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Synthesis

The student will design a classification scheme for writing educational objectives that combines the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

EvaluationStudent appraises, assesses, or critiques on a basis of specific standards and criteria.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

EvaluationJudge

RecommendCritique Justify

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Evaluation

The student will judge the effectiveness of writingobjectives using Bloom's taxonomy.

In general, research over the last 40 years has confirmed the taxonomy as a hierarchy with the exception of the last two levels.

It is uncertain at this time whether synthesis and evaluation should be reversed (i.e., evaluation is less difficult to accomplish than synthesis) or whether synthesis and evaluation are at the same level of difficulty but use different cognitive processes.

I believe the latter is more likely as it relates to the differences between creative and critical thinking.

Creative Thinking

Synthesis Evaluation

Critical Thinking

Analysis

Application

Comprehension

Knowledge

GOALS

• Teacher directed

• Reflect unit focus question

The PACKAGE

• Goals – show teacher’s desire

• Lesson Focus Questions – create interest

• Objectives – measure student learning