Developing Goals Instructional Design Model Developing Course Objectives Bloom's Taxonomy Goals & Objectives Links

• Course goals describe the overall purpose of the course - what you, as an instructor, want students to walk away with when the course is completed.

• Course goals make a broad statement about the need, state or condition to be changed through instruction. For example:
  • This course provides a basic introduction to the field of psychology.

  • This course will teach advanced principles and methods of systems analysis
• Course goals are determined by the general purpose of the course within the larger curriculum and the audience for which the course is delivered.
• Goals are generated by identifying a disparity between a current state or capability and a desired state. Instruction is then designed to bridge that disparity.

• Things to consider in developing course goals:
  • Why does this course exist?
  • Where does course fit into curriculum?
  • What should be taught (learned) in this course?
  • Who takes this course?
  • When do students take the course?

• Course objectives state specific (vs. general) student learning outcomes that should be achieved upon successful completion of a course. They answer the question, "What will the student be able to do after instruction?"
• Course objectives are stated behaviorally, in "performance terms" with action verbs such as identify, define, solve, compare, describe.
• Course objectives are observable and measurable.
• Objectives are not learning actives, but learning outcomes e.g. Explain Bloom's taxonomy rather than read or study Bloom's Taxonomy.
• Objectives also specify any condition or criterion that qualifies the behavior expected.

• We can be confident that if the learning objectives are successfully accomplished, the course goals will have been achieved.
• Well written objectives help you in planning, organizing and delivering course content and help students direct and monitor their own learning.
• The objectives provide the framework for selecting and designing appropriate teaching and learning activities for each.
• Each objective designates what will be accepted as a valid demonstration of competency. Evaluation instruments and methods will be designed to assess the degree to which each objective is reached.

• Goals state the broad, overall purpose of a course in general terms.
• Objectives break goals down into explicit, observable and measurable behaviors that demonstrate competency.
• Objectives cumulatively ensure successful accomplishment of course goals.

Corresponding behavioral objectives for this goal might include being able to do the following:

1. Tack a horse and appropriately adjust the saddle for individual safety and comfort.
2. Describe and demonstrate appropriate handling of reins and seating for walk, trot and canter.
3. Demonstrate appropriate driving cues (leg positions) for walk, trot and canter.
4. Define and demonstrate "half-halts, flexion, turn-on-the-forehand."

• Objectives do not describe what the instructor is going to do, nor should they describe a learning activity.

• Poor Example: Familiarize students with English and Western tack.
  
  This is not an objective but rather a statement about what the instructor wants to do, not what the students will be able to do.  In addition, "familiarize" is a vague verb that does not tell us much about what to expect in the way of learning.

• Good Example:  Students will be able to identify the components of a standard English bridle and saddle and explain the design and purpose of each.

This is a statement about what the students will be able to do.  Also, "identify" and "explain" are concrete verbs that reflect specific outcomes.

• Each objective states what students will be able to do after instruction and the level or depth of learning expected.

• Will students be able to demonstrate knowledge alone, or knowledge and comprehension?
• Will they be able to label the parts of a saddle but not to explain the purpose of each?
• Will they be able to assess the respective advantages and disadvantages of different types of saddles and evaluate appropriateness for different tasks.

• Bloom’s Taxonomy is a tool that is used to distinguish among different levels of thinking skills. In this taxonomy, Bloom describes six levels of thinking, from the simpler or lower levels (knowledge and comprehension) to more complex levels (analysis, synthesis). Using Bloom’s Taxonomy as a tool as you develop your objectives can ensure that you are focusing on the appropriate levels of thinking skills-ones that you want students to develop during your course.

Levels of Thinking	Thought Process	Verbs
1. Knowledge	Remembering by recall or recognition: requires memory only	Define, identify, recall, recognize... Who? What? Where? When?
Example: Identify the benefits of time management skills.
2. Comprehension	Grasping the literal message; requires rephrasing or rewording	Describe, compare, contrast, in your own words
Example: Describe important goals in setting up a weekly time schedule.
3. Application	Requires use or application of knowledge to reach an answer or solve a problem	Write an example, apply, classify
Example: Develop a weekly study schedule for a one-week period.
4. Analysis	Separate a complex whole into parts; identify motives or causes; determine evidence	Analyze, support, draw conclusions
Example: Analyze a completed study schedule for its effectiveness and adaptability.
5. Synthesis	Produce original communication, solve a problem (more than one possible answer)	Write, design, predict, develop
Example: Develop a projected term study schedule.
6. Evaluation	Make judgments, offer opinions	Judge, decide, evaluate, assess
Example: Assess the effectiveness of the time schedule.

• Students will be able to identify and describe each of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development. (This objective requires Comprehension level #2 learning)
• Given responses to a moral dilemma, analyze them according to Kohlberg’s stages of development. (Analysis level #4)
• Evaluate Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development in terms of its potential validity in a non-western culture. (Evaluation level #6)