ACADEMIC ■ IMPRESSIONS
A Comprehensive Approach to Designing
Online Courses
Developing Objectives Christina Sax
Session Goals
• Recognize the multiple roles and importance of
learning objectives
• Understand the relationship between learning goals,
objectives, and outcomes
• Explore the various factors that influence the
formulation of learning objectives
• Review the basic principles of writing learning
objectives
Learning Objectives
• What are they?
• How are they different from learning goals?
• Why are they important?
A Matter of Perspective
• Faculty member
• Instructional designer
• Support staff
• Academic administrator
• Students
• External governing bodies
All are valid and have merit
Activity 1 - The Role of Learning Objectives
• Work in teams
• Use Activity Sheet 1
• Identify the perspectives in your group
• Arrive at group answers to questions on
Activity Sheet
• Group reports (designate your spokesperson)
Activity 1 – Group Reports
• State the perspectives in your group
• State your group’s answers:
– What are LOs?
– How are LOs different from learning goals?
– Why are LOs important?
Activity 1 – Debriefing
• How easy/difficult was it to agree upon group
answers? Why?
Importance of Learning Objectives
• Common understanding between students and
faculty
• Framework for designing aligned instruction,
materials, and activities
• Vehicle to construct valid assessments
• Focus student attention & time
• Sequencing courses & content
• Internal/external assurance of course & program
integrity & quality
• Reaccredidation
Goals, Objectives, and Outcomes
• Goal
– What we strive to achieve
– “Why we do what we do”
• Objective
– Specific & measurable knowledge, skills, attributes that students
are expected to achieve and demonstrate
– What students should be able to do
• Outcome
– Students’ demonstration of the actual level of attainment of the
knowledge, skills, and attributes
Handout 1
Layering Goals and Objectives
Program Goals Broad
Course Goals
Course Objectives
Module Objectives
Weekly
Objectives
Specific
Scaffolding Goals & Objectives
Course Course
Goal 1 Goal 2
Course Course Course Course Course Course
Objective 1 Objective 2 Objective 3 Objective 4 Objective 5 Objective 6
Steps to Formulating Learning Objectives
1. Who are the students? Handout 2
2. What is the course?
3. What is important?
4. How do students process the content?
5. Who writes and approves the learning
objectives?
6. Are there any guiding standards? Handout 2B
7. Others ????
Writing the Learning Objectives
• What are the learning objectives?
• Can you determine whether students have
achieved the learning objectives?
• Using taxonomies to write the objectives:
– Bloom’s
– Marzano’s
Bloom’s Taxonomy - 1956
Higher Order Use Appropriate Verbs!
Evaluation
Synthesis
Analysis
Application
Comprehension
Knowledge
Lower Order
Handout 3
Bloom’s Taxonomy Revised - 2001
Two Matrixed Domains:
• Types of knowledge used in cognition
• Cognitive processes by which thinkers
encounter and work with knowledge
Types of Knowledge Used in Cognition
• Factual knowledge
• Conceptual knowledge
• Procedural knowledge
• Meta-cognitive knowledge
Cognitive Processing of Knowledge
Higher Order
Create
Evaluate
Analyze
Apply
Understand
Lower Order
Remember
Using Bloom’s 2001
Encyclopedia of Educational Technology
Marzano’s Taxonomy - 2000
• Three Systems When faced with option of new task …
– Self - continue current or engage in new?
– Meta-cognitive - sets goals & tracks progress to goals
– Cognitive - processes necessary information
• Knowledge Domain - provides the content
– Information
– Mental Procedures
– Physical Procedures
Activity 2 – Writing Learning Objectives
• Work in teams
• Use Activity Sheet 2
• Read the course description for NURS 246
• Select a course goal (from morning work)
• Write 2 learning objectives
– Faculty Knowledge / Remember
– Procedural Knowledge / Create
• Consider the challenges & solutions
• Group reports (designate your spokesperson)
Activity 2 – Group Reports
• State your two learning objectives.
• What challenges did you experience?
• How can you overcome these challenges?
The Students’ Perspective
Do students …
• understand the role of LOs for course,
faculty, students?
• understand the meaning/wording of each
LO?
• know how to use LOs?
How can we facilitate each?Activity Sheet 3
Learning Objectives as the Foundation
• Creating assessments
• Sequencing content
• Selecting & designing instructional strategies
• Designing the framework
• Developing instructional materials
• Guiding faculty-student engagement
• Evaluation & revision