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Distance Learning Goals/Objectives

Identifying Goals and Objectives for Your Distance Learning Course

Identifying goals and objectives for your class will help you in designing and developing strategies to keep students motivated. Be sure to check out the other Available Topics in this unit (located in the left hand menu) for more information on course design.

Goals

are broad statements of instructional intent; they define the general purpose of the course
are intangible, abstract, general intentions that can't be validated
can be only one sentence long, or be the course description in the catalog
specify the Big Picture - the general direction or purpose of the course; e.g. English 1301 will prepare students to take English 1302
can help market a course by telling students why they should take your course

Objectives

are the specific steps that lead to goal attainment.
identify the skills, attitudes and knowledge that must be taught to satisfy the student’s needs and satisfy course goals
should be stated clearly and spelled out in detail.

Objectives make the curriculum visible by

Allowing students to know what’s expected of them
Allowing the instructor to see whether the instruction is effective
Providing guidelines for evaluation by providing specific desired outcomes which can be tested

Stressing the behavioral (quantifiable) changes expected, rather than the (qualitative; non-measurable) changes in attitude/insights addressed by the goals of the course or lesson

Open to Many Interpretations	Open to Fewer Interpretations
To know To contrast To see To understand To appreciate To enjoy To apply To believe	To write To compare To sort To solve To build To list To identify To recite

Objectives should

State what the student is expected to be able to do.
Include an action verb
Be specific and not open to interpretation.
Use words like “list, label, sort” rather than “fully understands” or “is aware of”
Be specific about how students will demonstrate what they know, understand, appreciate, etc.

Objectives should state the conditions under which the performance is to occur

Conditions can be identified by asking
- What will the student be allowed to/should use? (given a list of required standards…)
- What will the student not be allowed to use? (without the aid of a calculator….)
- Under what conditions should the performance occur? (given a table of figures indicating…)

Objectives should state the standard –how well you want the objectives done

The standard defines acceptable performance and lets the student know how they will be assessed
A desired performance may be expressed in terms of
- Speed – “be able to locate in 10 minutes”
- Quality—“prepare a drawing to conform to..”
- Accuracy—“be able to write 10 examples…”

Learning Levels

Objectives should be sequenced according to their learning level hierarchy so that the instruction begins with developing knowledge, then progresses to applying that knowledge (once it is clear that the material is understood)

Cognitive skills can be broken down into three categories:

Recall of information – knowledge, comprehension
Understanding – application, analysis
Problem solving – synthesis, evaluation

Objectives can be classified by associating their action verbs with learning levels, with some action overlap between levels

Cognitive Skills (knowledge/intellectual) in Ascending Order		Associated Action Verbs
Knowledge	Remember specific facts, principles and concepts. Be able to name, recall, repeat, recognize, etc.	define, describe, label, list, match, name, outline, recall, recognize, reproduce underline, select, state, write
Comprehension	Organize facts in such a way as to make sense of them. Be able to describe, explain, define, etc.	contrast, classify, explain, formulate, identify, illustrate, indicate, judge, justify, name, represent, select
Application	Apply known concepts or principles to solving problems in new situations. Be able to solve, apply, interpret, etc.	assess, choose, compute, construct, demonstrate, explain, find, perform, predict, select, show, use
Analysis	Analyze information into its constituent elements. Be able to identify interrelatedness and key concepts.	analyze, break down, compare, contrast, conclude, criticize, differentiate, identify, justify, resolve, select, separate
Synthesis	Synthesize or put together information in new or original ways. Be able to produce a unique solution or original plan.	argue, combine, conclude, derive, discuss, generalize, organize, relate, restate, select, summarize
Evaluation	Make critical judgments regarding the value of knowledge to specific situations. Be able to compare explanations or theories.	attack, avoid, choose, criticize, defend, determine, evaluate, identify, judge, recognize, select, support

Ready to test your recall? Click on the compass to take an interactive self-assessment made with FREE HotPotatoes software. Close the quiz window to return to this page.

Ready to begin mapping out your course objectives? Click on the compass to download the Building Course Objectives Worksheet in PDF format. Print it out and start filling in the blanks, referring back to this page as necessary.

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Explore Further

Understanding Objectives offers a great tutorial on objectives.

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