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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