What are instructional
objectives?
Instructional objectives are
specific, measurable, short-term, observable student behaviors.
Objectives provide an
organized means to meet the higher learning goals.
Types of objectives
- Cognitive:
understandings, awareness, insight (e.g., "List and explain..."). This
includes information recall, conceptual understanding, and
problem-solving.
- Psychomotor: special
skills (e.g., "dissect a frog so that the following organs are clearly
displayed..."; "take a replicable blood pressure reading by appropriately
using a sphygmomanometer").
- Affective:
attitudes, appreciations, relationships.
Writing objectives
- How specific and
detailed should objectives be?
It depends on what they are used for! Objectives for sequencing a unit
plan will be more general than for specifying a lesson plan.
- Don't make writing
objectives tedious, trivial, time-consuming, or mechanical. Keep them
simple, clear, and focused as a guide to learning.
- The purpose of objectives
is not to restrict spontaneity or constrain the vision of education in the
discipline; but to ensure that learning is focused clearly enough that
both students and teacher know what is going on.
- Express them in terms of
student performance, behavior, and achievement, not teacher activity.
- Three components of an
instructional objective:
- Identify the type of
activity in which competence is required (e.g., "Write").
- Specify the criteria or
standards by which competence in the activity will be assessed (e.g., "a
frog so that the following organs are clearly displayed...").
-
List any conditions or
circumstances required for students to meet the objective (e.g.,
"...given two class periods working with the materials at your lab
station"). You are not required to do this step for the objectives
written for this course.
Where do objectives
come from?
- Objectives come from
state
standards and/or district curriculum.
- Select objectives at the
correct level of difficulty. Be prepared to adjust the
level of difficulty in either direction to meet the needs of YOUR
students.
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