Dr. Barbara Wheeling
Coordinator for Institutional Assessment
Montana State University Billings
September 1, 2010
Primary Concepts
The learning objectives should clearly
state what the learner should be able to
do.
 The assessment should measure if they
can, in fact, do that.

Patti Shank, "Online Teaching Fundamentals: To
Plan Good Instruction, Teach to the Test", Online
Classroom, June, 2006, P. 4.
Tips on Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives have two parts: a
verb and a content area.
2. Keep statements short and focused.
3. Avoid verbs that are vague or cannot
be objectively assessed.
4. Learning objectives should be studentfocused.
1.
http://captain.park.edu/facultydevelopment/writing_l
earning_objectives.htm.
Key Questions for Writing
Learning Objectives

1. Is it specific?
 An objective is written too broadly if
○ It cannot be reasonably assessed with just
one or two assessments
○ It covers several different elements of the
subject matter from a course or semester

2. Is it observable and measurable?
 Examples, not measurable:
○ “Students will understand how to divide two-digit
numbers.”
○ “Students will develop an appreciation of cultural
diversity in the workplace.”
 Example, measurable:
○ “Students will correctly divide two-digit numbers.”
○ “Students will summarize in writing their feelings
about cultural diversity in the workplace.”
 Avoid phrases such as,
○ “have an understanding”, “have an
appreciation for”, “be knowledgeable about”
 Be careful of modifiers such as,
○ “will effectively”, “can accurately”, “should
completely”
○ These can make measurement impossible

3. Is it actually a teaching outcome?
 Avoid phrases such as:
○ “will be taught”, “will learn how to”, “will be
evaluated on”

4. Does the objective include action
verbs?
 Overt behavior that can be observed and
measured
 Examples: compile, create, plan, revise,
analyze, design, select, utilize, apply,
prepare, use, compute, discuss, explain,
predict, assess, compare, rate, critique.
Using Bloom’s Taxonomy

The taxonomy provides a useful
structure in which to develop learning
objectives.
 Primarily useful for deciding on action verbs
Assurance of Learning Blackboard site: The
Assurance of Learning Initiative
The Process

Step 1: What should students be able to
do?
 These are the objectives.

Step 2: What indicates students have
met the objective?
 These are authentic tasks.

Step 3: What does good performance on
the task look like?
 These are the criteria to assess.

Step 4: How well did the students
perform?
 Use a rubric with the criteria or
 Compile a score for each objective

Step 5: How well should most students
perform?
 The minimum level at which you would want
students to perform is a benchmark.

Step 6: What do students need to
improve upon?
 Information from the rubric will provide
feedback and ideas for improving
instruction.
Q&A