Educational Goals and
Objectives
A GUIDE TO DEVELOPING LEARNER BASED
INSTRUCTION
Educational Objectives for this Presentation
At the end of this presentation you will be able to:
‰ Compare and contrast educational goals vs. educational
objectives
‰ Write an educational objective using the ABCD model
‰ Develop educational objectives that focus on the learner
or participant as the intended audience
‰ List three adult learning preferences
A Brief History of Educational Goals
The development of
educational goals and
objectives began in WWII
as a way of conceptualizing
instruction and training
programs in the military.
Educational psychologists
and educators jumped on
the concept!
1956
Benjamin Bloom and his
colleagues published a
taxonomy of learner
behaviors which was taken
into the public schools and
eventually adopted in the
health profession schools .
It has influenced
curriculum development
and driven the movement
towards competency based
instruction for health
professionals.
Bloom. B. and Krathwolh,D. (1956)
Taxonomy of Educational
Objectives:The Classification of
Educational Goals , New
York,Longmans
TodayEducational goals and
objectives are widely
used and required for
the development of
continuing professional
education activities that
award continuing
education credit.
Bloom’s original work
has been revised and
updated.
Educational Objectives
are also called:
Learning Objectives
Outcomes
Terminal Objectives
Enabling Objectives
Performance Objectives
Aims
Competencies
Instructional Objectives
Behavioral Objectives
The use of the terms “goals” and
“objectives” can be confusing!
Let’s clarify the differences.
The Difference Between Goals and Objectives
GOALS
OBJECTIVES
y Broad statements
y Specific
y General intentions
y Precise
y Intangible
y Tangible
y Abstract
y Generally hard to
measure
y Concrete
y Measureable
Goal
The goal of a
learning
activity is like
a target
Objectives
The objectives
are the arrows
that help the
learner reach
the target and
demonstrate
mastery
Can you identify the Goals?
A. State the definition of a complimentary medical
intervention or therapy.
B.
Provide the health professional with the latest
information about over the counter (OTC) antihistamines and their side effects.
C.
Introduce the reader to a new development in the early
detection of oral cancer.
D. Be exposed to a new way of organizing paperwork.
Clue:
There is only one objective on the previous slide-
A.State the definition of a complimentary medical
intervention or therapy.
The rest are all broad based goals!
Common Pitfalls in Writing Goals
‰ Focus on the instructor actions-not the learner
“Provide an overview of the latest site research.”
The purpose of this course is to provide the participant with print and web
references regarding site research”.
“Dispel common myths about hand washing.”
The goal of this course is to provide the health care professional with a
review of the history and origin of common myths about hand washing .
‰ Confusing a goal (broad) with an objective (specific)
“How to turn just ten minutes a day into a revenue stream.”
To clarify this example the author or presenter needs to decide what is the
overall goal-then what specific behaviors the learners need to do to
demonstrate mastery of the information or skill.
A few things to remember about goals
y Every educational
activity should have a
goal
y The goal focuses on what
the learner will
experience, rather than
what the instructor will
share or do
y It is a broad statement of
purpose
In general terms
what is the overall
purpose of the
educational
activity?
What is the main
intention?
Example:
The purpose of this article is to
provide health care professionals
with new information on MRSA
screening.
Writing educational
goals and
objectives does not
have to be a
struggle.
Mastering the basic
components will help
you to zero in on what
you want the learners or
participants to gain from
the experience .
Goals and objectives
help to focus your
presentation!
Clearly written objectives help to
define the outcome of the activity.
The Components of an
Educational Objective
ALWAYS BEGIN WITH THE END RESULT IN MIND!
THE ABCD APPROACH
Who is this activity
intended for? Be
specific!
At the end of the
webinar the participants
will be able to…..
At the conclusion of the
conference presentation
the attendees will be
able to…
A=Audience (the learners, readers
or participants, not the instructor)
What exactly is it that
you want the learner to
be able to do as a result
of your …
Journal article
Webinar
Self Study Module
Conference presentation
Hands on Workshop
B=BEHAVIOR
(what the participants will do)
What type of behavior do you want?
Behaviors for educational objectives fall into three
categories, called domains
Think of them as three flavors of ice cream!
Dealing with intellectual
abilities
Approximately 80% of
educational objectives
fall into this domain
Most familiar to both
instructors, authors and
learners
“Head” objectives
Cognitive Domain
Relating to the
expression of feelings ,
including emotions,
fears, interests,
attitudes, beliefs, values
and appreciations
Often the most difficult
objectives to develop
Sometimes called
“heart” objectives
Affective Domain
Motor Skills
The easiest objectives to
write as the behavior is
easily observed and
monitored. Psychomotor
skills often involve the
use of tools or
instruments.
“ Hands On” courses will
contain psychomotor
objectives
Psychomotor Domain
“Hand” Objectives
All three domains are hierarchical
More complex and higher
level skills are at the top
Each level builds on itself
and assumes mastery at
the lower levels
Fundamentals are at the
earliest levels
States what conditions
the instructor will
impose when the
learners are
demonstrating mastery
of a skill.
Usually a WHEN or
WHILE statement
“when given a set of five
unlabeled slides”
“when given a list of
common over the
counter drugs”
C= Condition
“while working
independently”
(imposed by the instructor)
The standard or
criterion for judging the
behavioral performance.
What has to happen for
the learner to succeed?
It might be:
Speed
Accuracy
Quality
D=Degree
Quantity
What is “Good Enough”?
Putting It All Together
Getting Started
First develop the overall
broad goal for your
educational activity.
o
“The purpose of this
activity (lecture, article,
etc) is to……..
A=Audience
Next
o Define your AUDIENCE
o If possible, identify what
level they are..novice,
intermediate, advanced or
mixed?
Remember, the
audience is always the
learner, not the instructor
B=Behaviors the learners will demonstrate
• What does a participant
have to do to
demonstrate they have
mastered the material?
• Are those behaviors
cognitive, affective or
psychomotor?
• This will influence your
word choice.
Cognitive Domain
Because educational objectives frequently target the cognitive
domain, examples of the levels and sample action verbs will be
helpful in developing your educational objectives.
These examples are based on
the revised version of Bloom’s
work.
Anderson, L.W. and Krathwohl(Eds.) 2001 A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching and Assessing: A Revision of
Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.New York, Longman
Level One Cognitive Domain
REMEMBERING
Recall of information
Action Verbs
match
list
define
arrange
label
name
order
remember
memorize
recognize
relate
recall
repeat
reproduce
Level Two Cognitive Domain
UNDERSTANDING
Interpret information in
one’s own words
Action Verbs
classify
discuss
express
indicate
recognize
restate
select
tell
describe
explain
identify
locate
report
review
sort
translate
Level Three Cognitive Domain
APPLYING
Use knowledge or
generalization in a new
situation
Action Verbs
demonstrate
dramatize
apply
choose
employ
illustrate
interpret
operate
prepare
practice
schedule
sketch
solve
use
Level Four Cognitive Domain
ANALYSING
Break down knowledge
into parts and show
relationships among
parts
Action Verbs
discriminate
differentiate
analyze
appraise
calculate
categorize
compare
contrast
criticize
diagram
distinguish examine
inventory
question
experiment test
Level Five Cognitive Domain
EVALUATING
Making judgments based
on criteria and
standards
Action Verbs
appraise
assess
choose
defend
evaluate
predict
score
support
argue
attack
compare
estimate
judge
rate
select
value
Level Six Cognitive Domain
CREATING
Bring together parts of
knowledge to form a
whole and build
relationships for new
situations
Action Verbs
arrange
collect
construct
design
manage
plan
propose
synthesize
assemble
compose
create
formulate
organize
prepare
set up
write
C=Condition
The condition(s )imposed
on the learner
Examples:
“when given a list of 20 words”
“within one hour”
“independently”
“while working in a small group”
D=Degree
The criterion for success!
Examples:
“select the correct one”
“with 80% accuracy”
“4 out of 5 times
“three”
How do you evaluate if the
learner “got it”?
Examples of Objectives Using ABCD
“At the end of this webinar the participant will be
able to recall the three most common types of
personal protection in breaking the chain of
transmission for effective infection control.
Audience
Behavior
Condition
Degree
“the participant”
“recall” (Level One Cognitive)
“the end of this webinar”
“three”
Example
“When given a list of 20 words, the learner will be able
to identify correctly all the cognitive action verbs”.
Audience
Behavior
Condition
Degree
“the learner”
“identify” (Level Two Cognitive)
“when given a list of 20 words”
“all” (100%)
Common Pitfalls When Writing Objectives
‰ Not using measurable action verbs in the educational
objective
“to be knowledgeable out the rates of osteoporosis”
Know, learn, understand, be aware of, be exposed to are
too general to be effectively measured
‰ Not listing the degree required for mastery
“At the conclusion of this presentation the learner will be
able to list (how many) common side effects of low dose
aspirin therapy”.
Thoughts on Adult Learning Preferences
‰ Adults seek information to
solve problems-more than
acquiring new knowledge
‰ Presenting solutions and
potential strategies for
solving problems
increases the probability
of success for your
educational activity
Adult Learning Preferences
y Adults are engaged
when learning builds
on real life
experiences and prefer
case studies, role play,
simulations, hands on
components and
other interactive
methods
Adult Learning Preferences
y Adults want reference
materials and “quick
guides” to take away
from a learning
experience and use in
their daily work life
Summary
y Educational goals are general
statements of intent and
purpose
y Every educational activity
y The ABCD method of writing
educational objectives helps
to assure that all the critical
components are included
should have a goal
y Adult learners select
y Educational objectives are
specific, measureable and
precise
educational activities to solve
problems
y Adult learners prefer to have
y The cognitive domain is most
frequently used in developing
educational objectives
interactive, real life scenarios,
role play and references
For more information:
Additional resources for
exploring the affective
and psychomotor
domains and key words
are easily found on the
web.
Congratulations! Good luck and
thank you for completing this
presentation!