Office of Faculty Development

Teaching Notes for Physicians:

medical educations’ BIG 10 objectives

Writing Effective Learning define the abilities that a graduating medical
student should posses3. Each course that the
Objectives student takes (and each learning activity
within them) will have more specific
learning objectives. Learning objectives
serve a number of important purposes:
Objectives:
Purpose of learning objectives:
By the end of these teaching notes the reader
will be able to:

1. List three purposes of learning • Determine curricular content (what

objectives in medical education. should be taught?)
2. Select appropriate verbs for • Suggest appropriate teaching
objectives using Bloom’s taxonomy methods (how should we teach it?)
3. Construct effective learning • Guide assessment of learning
objectives for their own teaching
activities using the ABCD method
Whether you are giving a talk at rounds,
leading a small series of seminars or lectures
Background
or directing a course you will need well
The emphasis on learning objectives has
written learning objectives to optimize the
been the natural product of a major
educational experience.
paradigm shift in medical education. The
idea seems simple and intuitive, start by
Bloom’s Taxonomy
focusing on what we expect the product to
An understanding of Bloom’s taxonomy can
look like. What knowledge, skills and
be useful tool in the writing of effective
attitudes will our learners possess? Over the
learning objectives. Named after Benjamin
past two decades, with this new direction the
Bloom, an educational psychologist who
emphasis has shifted from the educational
chaired the development committee, the
process as the primary focus (e.g. problem
taxonomy classifies learning objectives in
based learning) to the outcomes1. Initiatives
the cognitive, affective and psychomotor
such as the CanMEDS framework from the
domains into levels of complexity4. The
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons
cognitive domain describes intellectual skills
of Canada (RCPSC) illustrate the impact of
relevant to learning objectives in medical
this shift2.
education. This was first published in 1956.
The taxonomy was then revised 50 years
Why do we need learning objectives?
later to incorporate new insights from
The terms outcomes and objectives are
learning theory and research5,6.
sometimes used interchangeably. However,
it may be useful to think of outcomes as a
broad statements and objectives as the
individual steps required to reach these
ultimate goals. For example, undergraduate
 5. Evaluating (compare treatments /
algorithms)
Revised Taxonomy – Cognitive Domain5,6 • Sample verbs: judge,
recommend, criticize
Creating 6. Creating (generate new hypothesis)
Evaluating • Sample verbs: formulate,
Analyzing manage, compose
Applying
Understanding Tips for writing objectives
Remembering
Once the context of your learning activity
The taxonomy is typically represented as a has been considered and appropriate skills
pyramid with lower order thinking skills on identified using Blooms taxonomy you can
the bottom and more complex skills near the focus on writing your objectives. In doing
top. This illustrates the assertion that a so, the mneumonic SMART is useful in
larger number of lower order skills must be ensuring your objectives will be effective.
acquired to support higher order learning.
Thus it is important to consider your SMART objectives11
learning experience within the context of the
larger curriculum and the learners7:
S – Specific
• Is this an introductory course or a M – Measurable
more advanced learning experience?
• What is the background knowledge A – Attainable
and experience of the learners? R – Relevant
T – Time Related
Bloom’s Taxonomy è Objectives

Each level of the taxonomy describes the

type of skill a learner should be able to Learning objectives should be specific.
demonstrate. Placing each within a level of This provides clear expectations and guides
the taxonomy will help to guide the verbs learning. For example, compare the
used to write objectives7,8,9,10: following objectives:
1. Remembering (recall facts & 1. “By the end of this lecture students
terminology) will be familiar with the causes of
• Sample verbs: list, recall, define pneumonia”
2. Understanding (grasps meaning, can 2. “By the end of this lecture students
summarize or explain in own words) will be able to list the three most
• Sample verbs: explain, common organisms causing
summarize community acquired pneumonia”
3. Applying (Solve problems in similar
situations using 1&2) To guide assessment objectives must also be
• Sample verbs: demonstrate, measurable. Avoid using verbs such as
produce, solve appreciate or understand which are vague
4. Analyzing (recognize hidden and difficult to measure. It is important that
assumptions & generalize to other the objectives laid out are also attainable.
situations) This of course must take into account the
• Sample verbs: contrast, context of the learning experience and
examine, select Bloom’s Taxonomy. For example,
following a one-hour introductory lecture on typing/keyboarding class learners might be
thyroid physiology the outcome “…learners expected to: “complete a standard
will be able to manage patients with paragraph in less than 60 seconds with no
complex thyroid pathology” is likely more than 3 errors”. In more complex
unattainable. settings (including clinical practice) this is
more difficult but one should strive to be a
Objectives should be relevant to the learner specific as possible. For example, a clinical
and the educational experience. Is this clerk might be expected to generate: “an
something the learner needs to know? Is appropriate differential including the three
this something that fits into the larger most likely diagnoses”.
educational goals of the current course or
degree? Finally, objectives should be Time Use the ABCD tool to evaluate learning
Related. Terms such as “by the end of this objectives you have written. For example,
lecture” or “at the conclusion of this the third learning objective of these teaching
course” define when it is expected that the notes reads: “By the end of these teaching
learner will have acquired the described notes the reader (A) will be able to
skills. construct (B) effective (D) learning
objectives for their own teaching activities
Constructing Objectives – ABCD Method9,11 using the ABCD method (C)”

A Audience Enjoy your teaching!

B Behaviour
C Condition For further information or confidential no-
D Degree charge teaching consultations, contact us:

Any learning objective must first identify Office of Faculty Development

the audience to which it applies. Depending G22 HMRB, Foothills Campus
on the learning activity this may be quite Website: [Link]
specific or more general (e.g. “students in
the internal medicine clerkship” vs. ___________________________________
“participants in this workshop”). The
second necessary component of a learning
objective specifies the behaviour to be References
observed. Recall that attention to Bloom’s
taxonomy and the context of learning will (1) Cooke M, Irby DM, O'Brien BC.
guide this process. Educating physicians : a call for
reform of medical schools and
The condition specifies the context (setting residency, San Fransicsco 2010
& resources) in which the skill (behaviour) Jossey-Bass
should be observed. This could include
states such as: (2) Frank JR, Danoff D. The
CanMEDS initiative:
1. “…on a test” implementing an outcomes-based
2. “…using ____(a tool or reference)” framework of physician
3. “…evaluating patients in the competencies Medical Teacher
emergency room” 2007 29(7):642-647

Finally, a learning objective should indicate (3) Big 10 Graduations Objectives,

the level (degree) of performance expected. Undergraduate Medical
In more simple tasks this can be quite Education, Cumming School of
specific. For example, after a Medicine, University of Calgary
 retrieved Jan 28, 2016 from: Annals RCPSC (1998) 31(7): 327-
[Link] 332
m/about-us/big-10-graduation-
educational-objectives (11) Nicholson K Ontario Universities
Council on Quality Assurance:
(4) Bloom BS. Taxonomy of Writing Learning Outcomes,
educational objectives: the McMaster University retrieved on
classification of educational goals. Jan 28,2016 from:
New York, NY: Longmans, Green [Link]
1956 rief%201%20Learning%20Outco
[Link]
(5) Anderson LW, Krathwohl DR. A
taxonomy for learning, teaching
and assessing: a revision of
Bloom's taxonomy of educational
objectives. New York, NY
Longmans 2001

(6) Adams NE. Bloom's taxonomy of

cognitive learning objectives.
Journal of the Medical Library
Association 2015 103(3):152

(7) Quick tips for writing goals and

objectives, Office of Continuing
Educaiton and Professional
Development, Faculty of
Medicine, University of Toronto
retrieved Jan 28 ,2016 from:
[Link]
etter/2009_fall/Quick_Tips_Writi
ng_Goals_Objectives.pdf

(8) List of verbs for formulating

educational objectives, Royal
College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Canada. Retrieved
Jan 28, 2016 from:
[Link]
page/portal/rc/common/document
s/cpd_accreditation/verbs_educati
onal_objectives_e.pdf

(9) Ferguson LM. Writing Learning

Objectives. Journal of Nursing
Staff Development (1998) 14(2):87-
94

(10) Houlden RL, Frid PJ, Collier CP.

Learning Outcome Objectives