Topic 5

Writing Aims and Objectives

 Contents 

Overview

Source materials for this topic

The relationship between aims and objectives

            Aims

            Objectives

The elements of a learning objective

What are learning objectives?

Task analysis

Performance

Conditions

Standards

Advantages of objectives-based materials

Problems with learning objectives

Incorporating constructivist frameworks

The use of action verbs

The domains of learning objectives

The cognitive domain

The affective domain

The psychomotor domain

Appropriate assessment

Terminology

Pre-test or entry-level assessment

Objective versus subjective testing

Practice exercise

Developing course objectives

 1. Overview 

These materials support a discussion on the topic of writing aims and objectives for open and distance learning materials. 

1.1 Source materials for this topic

Gachuhi, D., and B. Matiru (eds.). Handbook for designing and writing distance education materials. Bonn: zed, 1989.

Mager, R. Preparing instructional objectives. 2nd ed. London: Kogan Page, 1990.

Morgan, A. Improving your students’ learning. London: Kogan Page, 1993.

Rowntree, D. Developing courses for students. London: Paul Chapman, 1985.

Rowntree, D. Preparing materials for open, distance, and flexible learning. London: Kogan Page, 1994.

 2. The relationship between aims and objectives 

2.1 Aims

An aim is a broad, general statement of either what the learner might learn from a piece of instruction; or what the teacher will do.

2.2 Objectives

An objective is a more specific statement about what the learner will be able to do as a result of working through the materials.

Example: The following aims and objectives come from a course on ‘Diet and Nutrition’.

Aims of this course:

·         Students will learn about healthy eating habits.

or

·         This course will introduce learners to healthy eating habits.

The objectives of this course:

Upon completing this course, learners should be able to

·         list the principal components of a balanced diet;

·         describe the function of each component in the body;

·         calculate the composition of a given diet given food composition tables; and

·         suggest ways to improve their diet.

 3. The elements of a learning objective 

3.1 What are learning objectives?

A learning objective is a statement that describes

·         what learners should be able to do when they complete a learning activity;

·         the conditions under which learners will demonstrate their competency; and

·         how this competency will be measured.

These are often called behavioural objectives because they indicate the expected changes of behaviour in learners who complete a course of instruction to reach those objectives.

Learning objectives are not descriptions of how the learning will take place. They tell you expected outcomes, not how learners will get to them.

3.2 Task analysis

Doing a task analysis

Worthwhile objectives can only be written after a task analysis has been done. Until you know what needs to be taught, you cannot describe the outcomes expected of the teaching.

A task analysis is the process whereby the skills and knowledge needed by a competent person to complete the task in question are identified to ensure that they are included in the learning process.

Ask yourself what knowledge, skills, and attitudes someone must have or someone would have to acquire in order to be considered competent at doing the task.

Sequencing objectives

It is important to determine the main or terminal skill, and then the skills subordinate to it. For example, people learning to perform appendectomies must first be able to do other tasks: decide where to cut, select appropriate instruments, suture blood vessels, and stitch up incisions. Try to write main objectives rather than subordinate objectives; that is, write about the meaningful skills themselves rather than about the steps taken to acquire those skills. Looking at main objectives avoids becoming overwhelmed by objectives and having your objectives called trivial.

To determine the main and subordinate objectives, do the following: after drafting an objective, ask yourself what someone would need to know or be able to do in order to practise the performance stated in the objective. For example, in order to make a pizza, a person must first be able to read a recipe and then make the dough and the sauce, each of which involve skills such as kneading and simmering.

3.3 Performance

The performance part of an objective tells you what the learner should be able to do as an outcome of a learning process.

Performance should be written in words that describe an activity and not a state of mind.

Mind processes such as knowing, understanding, and appreciating are important, but, because they cannot be made visible, they are not helpful in writing objectives. In addition, what is meant by knowing, understanding, and appreciating may be different for different people.

Performance statements say what learners should be able to do.

3.4 Conditions

Condition statements describe the conditions under which the performance required is to take place.

Examples: Some examples of ‘condition’ statements:

Using specified equipment or materials:

·      without supervision;

·      within a specified time limit;

·      from the samples provided; and

·      based on particular case studies.

Ask yourself the following questions when writing conditions statements:

·         under what conditions do I expect the performance to occur?

·         what will the learner be able to use when demonstrating achievement of the objective? For example, drafting tools, logarithmic tables

·         what will learners not be able to use or have available? For example, books or notes

3.5 Standards

Standards statements describe how well the learner will be expected to perform. Standards may be expressed in terms of

·         accuracy (for example, 100 percent, within 0.5 mm of the specified size);

·         speed (for example, 60 words per minute); and

·         quality (for example, to the specifications of a company or professional association).

3.6 Advantages of objectives-based materials

·       Writing objectives requires teachers to have a thorough understanding of the value and relevance of what will be taught in the course.

·       The content can be evaluated to verify that it reflects the needs of the learners doing or intending to do the course.

·       Designers have a clear indication of the outcomes expected from the learning materials and procedures they are developing.

·       Objectives give a basis for updating and making improvements to a course.

·       Teachers and instructors are informed about what must be achieved and assessed.

·       Learners can determine what is required of them to successfully complete each part of a course and are able to direct their own activities toward achieving the course objectives.

·       Clearly stated objectives allow the development of tests that tell teachers, instructors, and learners whether the objectives have been achieved.

3.7 Problems with learning objectives

·         In order to reduce ambiguity objectives tend to be expressed in very narrow terms.

·         Narrow objectives often identify very limited and at times trivial aspects of learning.

·         Attempts to deal with broader, less trivial issues usually lead to general statements of intent which are much less precise.

·         Learners often find they can get a better idea of what they have to do by looking at past examination questions rather than at published objectives.

·         A statement of objectives is a clear way of letting learners know what is expected of them. They can also be a very dull way of introducing a topic, however.

·         In some cases, such as when important new terminology is to be introduced, defined, and discussed, learners will not be able to understand the objectives until after they have studied the materials.

·         Narrowly written objectives do not provide much scope for learner creativity or encourage learners to go beyond the material at hand.

3.8 Incorporating constructivist frameworks

The preceding discussion has focused on the writing of behavioural objectives, that is, objectives that state clearly the measurable change in behaviour the learner is to be able to demonstrate upon completing the sequence of instruction provided.

Constructivist frameworks for learning take a different approach, one in which learners and teachers work together to construct meanings, rather than having these meanings pre-determined or prescribed in advance for the learner by the teacher.

Even within constructivist frameworks, however, behavioural objectives can have their uses. For example, assuming frequent and continuous communication between learners and teachers and among learners themselves, learners through this ongoing dialogue can work toward setting their own learning objectives; that is, performance statements with conditions appropriate to their own needs and situations.

Involving the learners in constructing their own learning objectives, within a set of broad goals and aims for the course overall, means enabling them to do their own task analyses and setting their own performance conditions and standards, in collaboration with the instructor and with each other.

Such a process offers the advantages of using learning objectives as a measure of learning performance and overcomes the disadvantages of prescriptiveness and one-way transmission for which behavioural objectives have been criticised.

Discussion: Encourage your participants to provide examples from their own contexts and experience. Have sample course materials available from which to draw examples.

 4. The use of action verbs 

When writing objectives, learners will more clearly know what is expected of them if this expectation is stated as an action they can perform. Preferably, this action is readily evaluated as having been performed, and to the standard of performance specified. This entails using ‘action verbs’ in the objective statement.

Some examples follow. You will encounter these verbs, and others, in a slightly different listing at a later point in this section.

Some Common Action Verbs

arrange	relate	estimate	discriminate
cite	reproduce	illustrate	complete
classify	repeat	infer	manipulate
convert	report	modify	move
copy	restate	operate	pick up
define	rewrite	predict	point to
describe	specify	prepare	press
distinguish	summarise	produce	set up
explain	tell	select	activate
express	translate	show	adjust
give examples	underline	sketch	disconnect
identify	apply	use	execute
indicate	assemble	appraise	measure
label	change	assemble	rotate
list	choose	categorise	devise
locate	defend	contrast	fix
match	demonstrate	compare	modify
name	draft	defend	organise
order	draw	devise	plan
outline	employ	differentiate	complete

 5. The domains of learning objectives 

To help us design objectives appropriate to the kind of material our learners are being given, and the kind of activity in which they are engaging, psychologists of learning have divided learning into a number of ‘domains’ and ‘levels’.

Discussion: Encourage your participants to provide examples from their own contexts and experience. Have sample course materials available from which to draw examples.

5.1 The cognitive domain

The cognitive domain is the domain of activities related to perceiving the world and knowing about it or understanding it. This domain contains six levels:

·       knowledge: recalling previously learned material;

·       comprehension: grasping the meaning of material or restating previously learned material in one’s own words;

·       application: using knowledge in concrete situations;

·       analysis: breaking down material into its meaningful parts so that the relationship among the parts can be determined;

·       synthesis: combining parts to form a new whole; and

·       evaluation: judging the value of the material.

In many cases, it is easier to think of these levels as three broad cognitive categories:

·       knowledge and comprehension;

·       application; and

·       problem solving, including:

analysis;

synthesis; and

evaluation.

The following table lists some ‘action’ verbs according to learning level and domain of learning. The table is taken from D. Gachuhi and B. Matiru, eds. (1989), Handbook for designing and writing distance education materials, p. 46.

Action Words for Domains and Levels of Learning

	Knowledge level		Application level		Problem solving level
Cognitive Domain	arrange cite classify convert copy define describe discuss distinguish explain express give example identify indicate label list locate match	name order outline recall recite record relate reproduce repeat report restate review rewrite specify summarise tell translate underline	apply assemble calculate change choose compute defend demonstrate discover draft dramatise draw employ estimate explain	illustrate infer interpret modify operate practise predict prepare produce relate schedule select show sketch use	analyse appraise argue arrange assemble assess categorise choose combine compare compose conclude construct contrast convert create criticise debate defend devise differentiate discriminate distinguish estimate evaluate examine	experiment explain formulate illustrate infer inspect judge justify manage modify organise plan predict prepare propose question rate relate recognise score select solve support test value write
Affective Domain	accept accumulate ask describe follow give identify	locate name point to respond to select sensitise to use	affirm approve assist choose complete conform describe discuss follow initiate invite	join justify perform practise propose select share study subscribe to work	act adapt change defend display influence	integrate mediate organise revise solve verify
Psychomotor Domain	complete demonstrate distinguish hear identify locate manipulate move pick up point to practise	press pull push see select set up show sort specify touch transport	activate adjust assemble build construct copy demonstrate disassemble disconnect draw duplicate execute load	locate loosen manipulate measure open operate perform remove replace rotate select set slide	adapt combine compose construct convert create design devise	fix generate illustrate modify organise plan repair service