Post on 18-Aug-2015
Learning Objectives: The Backbone of
Instruction
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to: define learning objectives
identify ways to use learning objectives in course and lesson design
formulate appropriate learning objectives for a course in your discipline
ESED 8200: TEACHING UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERINGSUMMER 2015
Learning Objectives
Statements of what students should be able to do after receiving instruction in your course, plus (optional): Conditions under which they carry out the specific
action How well they have to do it
Must be SPECIFIC and MEASURABLE
ESED 8200 Online Summer 2015
Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy
The Knowledge Dimension
The Cognitive Process Dimension
Remember Understand Apply Analyze Evaluate Create
Factual Knowledge
List Summarize Classify Order Rank Combine
Conceptual Knowledge
Describe Interpret Experiment Explain Assess Plan
Procedural Knowledge
Tabulate Predict Calculate Differentiate Conclude Compose
Meta-Cognitive Knowledge
Appropriate Use
Execute Construct Achieve Action Actualize
From Bloom’s Taxonomy, Mary Forehand, University of Georgia http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Bloom%27s_Taxonomy
ESED 8200 Online Summer 2015
Bloom’s Cognitive Processes
Remembering: Retrieving, recognizing, and recalling relevant knowledge from long-term memory.
Understanding: Constructing meaning from oral, written, and graphic messages through interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, and explaining.
Applying: Carrying out or using a procedure through executing, or implementing.
Analyzing: Breaking material into constituent parts, determining how the parts relate to one another and to an overall structure or purpose through differentiating, organizing, and attributing.
Evaluating: Making judgments based on criteria and standards through checking and critiquing.
Creating: Putting elements together to form a coherent or functional whole; reorganizing elements into a new pattern or structure through generating, planning, or producing.
From Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of educational objectives: Complete edition, New York : Longman.
ESED 8200 Online Summer 2015
Constructing Learning Objectives
“By the end of this [section, week, lecture], the student will be able to…”
This is followed by an action wordUse action words grouped by Bloom’s taxonomy
as a guideTypically each lesson will have about 2 – 4
objectivesBe fair; if you are testing at Bloom’s “evaluate”
level, you must teach at that level (i.e. model how to do it, have students practice it, and give feedback on how well they are doing it)
ESED 8200 Online Summer 2015
Bloom’s Knowledge Dimensions
Factual Knowledge: knowledge that is basic to specific disciplines; essential facts, terminology, details or elements students must know or be familiar with in order to understand a discipline or solve a problem
Conceptual Knowledge: knowledge of classifications, principles, generalizations, theories, models, or structures pertinent to a particular disciplinary area
Procedural Knowledge: information or knowledge that helps students to do something specific to a discipline, subject, area of study; methods of inquiry, very specific or finite skills, algorithms, techniques, and particular methodologies.
Metacognitive Knowledge: awareness of one’s own cognition and particular cognitive processes; strategic or reflective knowledge about how to go about solving problems, cognitive tasks, to include contextual and conditional knowledge and knowledge of self.
From Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of educational objectives: Complete edition, New York : Longman.
ESED 8200 Online Summer 2015
Non-Learning Objectives
Know Learn Appreciate Understand
These are important course goals, but they are not measurable.
ESED 8200 Online Summer 2015
Reasons for Writing Objectives
Identify key material for the lesson Organize presentation Allot appropriate time for concepts within the lesson
Provide the basis for a study guide for students Specific learning objectives for each lesson help
students identify with they need to know and do prior to tests
Can be self-assembled by students – they review objectives as they construct their own study guides
Can be created by the instructor (study guide = compiled learning objectives)
ESED 8200 Online Summer 2015
Reasons for Writing Objectives
Identify and delete extraneous material and activities Especially important for classes that use active learning
approaches Create more time for activities that promote learning
Facilitate construction of in-class activities, out-of-class assignments, and tests Assure comprehensive instruction (exercise all
Bloom’s levels) Assure that assessments match instruction
ESED 8200 Online Summer 2015
Try it!
Individually, identify learning objectives for a lesson in a course you would like to teach in your discipline, using 4 different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Find classmates who are in the same or similar disciplines as yours. In groups of 2 - 4, review each other’s learning objectives and critique based on guidelines presented in introduction.
ESED 8200 Online Summer 2015
Can learning objectives be over-used?
Too much of a good thing? Read excerpt from Robert Boostrom’s “Levels of
thinking” in The Foundation of Critical and Creative Learning in the Classroom (on “Boostrom” handout for today’s class)
Discussion points Revisit the reasons for using learning objectives Reflect on your goals for teaching (think of the messages
you are hearing from our “ideal” professors) What uses of learning objectives support our reasons for
teaching? What uses of learning objectives are in conflict with our
reasons for teaching?
ESED 8200 Online Summer 2015
Can learning objectives be aligned with other educational criteria?
Think back to ABET criteria in our “Educational Frameworks” lesson ABET is in the process of revising its Student
Outcomes (Criterion 3 a-k) Read through proposed revisions and review current
criteria (See “ABET Revisions” handout.) Discussion points:
How do revised criteria differ from current criteria? Do revised criteria help address limitations of
formulating learning objectives? If so, how? What other observations would you want to share with
ABET about the proposed revisions?
ESED 8200 Online Summer 2015
Learning Objective Assignment
Identify the course and lesson you plan to use as the basis for your final project in this class (microteaching session and report).
Write 2 – 4 learning objectives for that lesson, taking into consideration the guidelines and in-class discussions about learning objectives. Also consider ways to help student achieve each objective.
Submit to the “Learning Objective” assignment on Blackboard (within Module 3, Lesson 1)
ESED 8200 Online Summer 2015