Writing Course Learning Objectives

At this point in the module, you have gathered some course conceptualization documents and shared them with your instructional design consultant. You will now have an opportunity to use those documents to help you write 5-9 course learning objectives. You may already have a set of objectives written for your course.  If that’s the case for you, we would like you to review some key ideas that may help you evaluate your learning objectives against educational guidelines.

After reviewing the information provided, please proceed to the Design Task Activity that follows. Your objectives will be reviewed with your instructional design consultant during one of your scheduled meeting times.

Our Definition of Learning Objective

A learning objective is a statement that defines something that students will learn as a result of the educational experiences they will have in the course. Learning objectives outline the knowledge, skills, attitudes, attributes, habits, etc. that students are expected to achieve or demonstrate.

Consider the following examples of learning objectives from actual online courses offered by Boise State:

• Describe the developmental physiology, normal etiology, pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of commonly found altered health states.
• Estimate the cost savings associated with an energy-saving improvement to a home.
• Evaluate the economic performance of various market structures.
• Analyze the methods used by philosophers to address philosophical problems.
• Describe how languages vary, both internally and in comparison to other languages, and the ways that language is connected to social, cultural, and historical contexts.

Well-written learning objectives help students know exactly what they must do to succeed in the course. They also help you outline the scope of the course content and suggest different types of learning activities, making it much easier to design the course.

Levels of Learning Objectives

You may have noticed that some of the learning objectives listed above are very general in nature, while others are more specific. Learning objectives may be written at various levels of generality. At Boise State University, faculty may write learning objectives at four distinct levels, each with a different purpose:

• University/Department level (very general): Boise State University has identified eleven broad learning objectives that should be achieved by the time an undergraduate student completes his/her program of study. These University Learning Outcomes are specified in the Foundational Studies program. Departments may also write general-level learning objectives that they want students to achieve. Such objectives may be based on professional standards or accreditation guidelines.
• Course level (general): Objectives at this level outline the main things you want students to know or do by the end of your course. You may write these on your own, or your department may have written them as part of a comprehensive curriculum plan for a degree or certificate program. As you proceed to design and develop the weekly modules, you will use the course-level objectives to guide your writing of more specific module-level objectives. Consider how you might distinguish course level objectives for two courses in the same subject area at lower and upper undergraduate levels.
• Module level (specific): Module learning objectives describe the expected learning for each specific module or unit. These will be related to specific subject-matter content and student learning activities. Learning objectives at this level should be (a) clearly understood by you and your students and (b) measurable through one or more relevant assessments. You can write these on your own, or you may adapt ones written in previous syllabi, textbooks, or other reference materials you have gathered. Module-level objectives should also support the achievement of the course-level objectives. Please note that there should be a clear alignment between the course learning objectives and the module learning objectives. These two types of objectives should be consistent with one another, with the module objectives playing a subordinate, supportive role in achieving the course objectives.
• Learning activity (very specific): We do not ask you to write learning objectives at this level for your online course, but you can do so if you determine there is a need for a very specific objective to be written for a particular learning activity. The transferable skills and knowledge that result from your learning activities can be encapsulated in one or more module objectives.

As you write the learning objectives for your course, we recommend you begin by examining the university/department-level objectives. Select any that seem appropriate for your course and use them to help you write 5-9 course-level objectives. You may write more than nine course-level objectives if you wish, but we have found that a limited number of course objectives helps students form a more holistic understanding of the course. You may then write any number of module-level objectives.

Qualities of Well-Written Objectives

In addition to having a limited number of course learning objectives, it is important for you to attend to the overall quality of the objectives. A well-written objective will have most, if not all, of the characteristics listed below. As you read about each characteristic, think about how you will apply this information to writing your course learning objectives.

#1 Learning objectives focus on what the students must do.

Well-written objectives do not focus on the instructional activity or how the instructor will help students learn. Avoid the trap of including your teaching procedures in the objective. Remember that the main point of a learning objective is to describe something that students should be able to do by the time they finish a module or the course. Consider the following example of a learning objective that includes information on teaching procedures:

Use a discussion board to analyze a case study given by the instructor about the four major theories of the discipline.

This statement includes information about the learning activity and the instructor. The following revision keeps the learning objective focused on what the students should be able to do:

Analyze the four major theories of the discipline.

A well-written learning objective may provide the instructor with an appropriate direction in the planning of a course learning activity, but it should not describe the activity itself. Learning objectives should focus on intended end results, pointing students toward the knowledge and skills needed to move further in the course, to prepare for another course later in the program of study, or succeed in the real world after graduation.

#2 Learning objectives should be suited to the level of the course.

The learning objectives should reflect your expectations for the level of mastery of the course content. Students in introductory or lower-division courses would not be expected to achieve the same level of mastery as students in upper-division or graduate courses. Your content mastery expectations will greatly influence the wording of the learning objectives, and you may find that you will need to revise the objectives several times before you are satisfied that your expectations are clearly communicated.

#3 Learning objectives should be clear.

Students need to understand the objectives so that they know what is expected of them. Avoid vague terms and complicated sentences. It helps if you begin the statement with an action verb that clearly indicates what students will be able to do. Take time to select the right verb to begin each learning objective and write the objective in a way that is understandable to students.

#4 Learning objectives should be measurable.

The ultimate test of a learning objective–at least in terms of its clarity and effectiveness–is whether the student’s attainment of the objective can be measured. Whenever possible, avoid using verbs that are so general in nature that you really cannot observe what students will do. For example, many instructors struggle with the verb “understand.” It can be difficult to measure whether or not students “understand” something. Consider the following course learning objective:

Understand the causes of the American Civil War.

How would you measure whether or not students understand the causes of the Civil War? Would you ask them to write an essay? Would they explain it aloud in their own words to a classmate? Would they compose a song? Would they choreograph an interpretive dance? All of these are legitimate ways of measuring some aspect of a student’s understanding. The problem is that the word “understand” is open to a wide variety of interpretations, which can lead to student confusion about what they need to do to achieve the objective. Consider this alternative that has a more specific interpretation:

Explain in writing the causes of the American Civil War.

By incorporating the more specific verb phrase “explain in writing,” this learning objective helps us see how a student would demonstrate an understanding of the causes of the Civil War.

#5 Learning objectives can optionally include conditions under which the outcome may be achieved.

Conditions help make an objective less ambiguous as to how the student will achieve the desired result. The following example is an objective without a condition:

Describe the four major theories of the discipline.

In the next example, a condition is added to the end.

Describe the four major theories of the discipline without the use of outside references.

The phrase “without the use of outside references” explains what the student will or will not use to meet the objective. You do not need to be too concerned about adding conditions to course-level objectives. Conditions are more useful for learning objectives written at the module level. Still, you should feel free to use conditions whenever they make sense to you.

#6 Learning objectives can optionally include criteria that define the degree to which the student must demonstrate mastery of the objective.

Criteria define how well the student must meet the objective. The types of criteria can include quality, accuracy, time, speed, etc. The following example adds a criterion to the end of the learning objective statement:

Describe the four major theories of the discipline without use of outside references and with no more than three errors in spelling or grammar.

Adding conditional criteria may not be as useful when writing course learning objectives as it is when writing learning objectives at the more specific module level. Still, adding criteria can be a very helpful way to clarify your thinking about a learning objective that you are struggling with. By adding a criterion to a learning objective you create a very specific, measurable target. The criteria let you know precisely how achievement of the learning objective will be measured. You are welcome to use criteria in both the course-level and module-level objectives whenever it makes sense for you to do so.

Learning Objective Resources

The following optional resources may help when writing objectives, but first, a word of caution is in order: some of these resources are based on particular taxonomies of learning and/or learning theories. However, even though some of these taxonomies are very popular and enjoy widespread use by educators–such as Bloom’s taxonomy–they do not reflect how human cognition actually works. (The SOLO Taxonomy is closer to the mark.) Consequently, you should be cautious about using them as a guide for sequencing your course content or learning activities. Your instructional design consultant can assist you with using these taxonomies, as well as provide you with other taxonomies that may be more appropriate to your subject matter area and your students.

Learning Solutions Magazine: A Learning Science Alternative to Bloom’s Taxonomy

John Biggs: SOLO Taxonomy

University of South Australia: SOLO Taxonomy

PamHook.com: SOLO Learning Intention Generator

TeachThought: The TeachThought Learning Taxonomy

Albuquerque Public Schools: Webb’s Depth of Knowledge Guide

TeachThought: Depth of Knowledge Taxonomy

Arizona State University: Objectives Builder

Byrdseed.com: The Differentiator

Brett Bixler: The ABCDs of Writing Instructional Objectives

Wor-Wic Community College: Roles, Process Verbs & Products from Bloom’s Taxonomy

Design Task: Write 5-9 Clear and Measurable Course Objectives

The key to writing clear and measurable course objectives is to select the right verbs. However, finding the right verbs can sometimes be a difficult and time-consuming task. Fortunately, we’ve got some tips (and a few tricks) that will help you find the right verbs and make the process of writing course objectives much easier. Please consider using the following steps as you write and revise a list of 5-9 course objectives. You may complete these steps on your own, or you may work with your instructional design consultant on any or all of the steps. Your instructional design consultant will be happy to work with you to ensure that your learning objectives are clear and measurable.

Step 01. Open the appropriate course design document, 01 (7 or 15 wk) Objectives, Pattern, and Alternative Map located in the course folder that has been shared with you by your Instructional Design Consultant. Please use this Google document to write your course learning objectives.

Before you begin writing, remind yourself that this list is just a draft and that you can always revise these objectives. Over time, you’ll refine the wording. For now, the goal is just to get the basic ideas written down.

Consider the following suggestions to help you with this task:

• Review any previously collected materials that may already contain written objectives–course syllabus, textbook, instructor manuals, etc. It is much easier to revise an existing objective than it is to write one from scratch. If you have a textbook, the table of contents can also be very helpful.
• Think about the knowledge, skills, and attitudes you want students to acquire as part of your course. It’s okay to dream big and write down your ideal course outcomes. Write down as many of these as you can. If you feel stuck, but you have a list of topics or a textbook table of contents, you can try putting verbs in front of the topics or chapter headings that explain what you want students to learn or do with those topics. Don’t worry about finding the perfect verbs right away. It’s okay to write down general, vague verbs at this point. You should only spend about five to ten minutes doing this.
• From the list you just drafted, select 5-9 objectives that you would like to refine. Ask yourself if the verbs being used will clearly communicate to the students what they are expected to learn. Also, ask yourself if the verbs indicate something that can be measured. If the verbs and objectives are clear and measurable, you’re done! If they aren’t, then complete the remaining steps.
• Look up the synonyms for the verbs that are vague or not measurable such as “understand”, or “discuss”. This can be done using an online thesaurus or dictionary of synonyms, or you can use the thesaurus tool in your word-processing program.
• If you still can’t find the right verbs using those tools, you may want to use one or more of the optional resources, above, or work in partnership with your instructional design consultant.

Step 02. Paste your list of 5-9 course objectives in the “01 Objectives, Pattern, and Map” Course Design document for your course.

Step 03. For all design tasks in this seminar, we’d like you to use the Blackboard Assignment links associated with each Design Task in Blackboard to help us track your progress.

Click the assignment link, below, then do one of the following:

• Write a note for your instructional design consultant that your objectives are ready to review, or
• Click Write Submission, then copy and paste the web link to the Google document where you wrote your objectives in the Text submission box,
• Click Write Submission, then copy and paste your course objectives in the Text submission text box.

Step 09. Your instructional design consultant will review these and provide feedback. You may also want to share your objectives with other colleagues to get their suggestions for improvement and confirm that your objectives are written at an appropriate level. You may continue revising the course objectives until you are satisfied with them.