Learning Objectives

Core Learning Outcomes (CLOs) articulate what a student should be able to do after successful completion of a course. At Frederick Community College the CLOs are approved by the Curriculum Committee and cannot be changed by individual instructors to ensure consistency between course sections. This may differ from curriculum policies at other colleges.

A learning objective or outcome is a short statement of the goals and objectives that students should know or be able to put into practice after a lesson. Focusing on what students should know is frequently called the “cognitive” approach, focusing on what students should be able to do the “behavioral” approach. While most teachers are, by temperament, drawn to one of the two approaches, in practices most teachers often combine the two, perhaps without knowing it.

Core Learning Outcomes are articulated in the course syllabus. Module or weekly objectives need to be written by the instructor. When designing a course instructors use the CLOs as a guide when writing the more specific, granular module/weekly learning objectives. Many instructors previously relied on outcomes provided by the publisher textbook selected for the course. When removing the textbook and implementing OER, the instructor must construct these objectives. While this task may sound cumbersome, it actually allows the instructor to customize the learning experience. Rather than following the outcomes prescribed by the publisher, the instructor can make sure students are exposed to content that closely aligns with the CLOs.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

In the middle of the twentieth century, a committee chaired by Benjamin Bloom created a well-known taxonomy of learning objectives. His learning objectives are built on the following template: VERB [which refers to a particular cognitive process] + OBJECT [which refers to the knowledge students are expected to acquire or construct]. The verbs themselves form a series which moves from relatively low-level cognitive processes like “remembering” toward high-level processes like “creating. ” A low-order learning objective, then, would be formed by joining a verb associated with “remembering” to the content to be acquired: “identify [VERB] the five major steps of photosynthesis [OBJECT]. ” A high-order learning objective, by contrast, would be formed by joining a verb associated with “creating” to the content to be acquired: “generate [VERB] a visual representation of photosynthesis within a plant cell [OBJECT]. ”

As is evident from the above example, Bloom’s taxonomy includes verbs associated with both the “cognitive” and “behavioral” approach. The committee Bloom chaired, in fact, created the taxonomy with the aim of designing a more holistic form of education.

Source: Boundless. “Creating Learning Objectives.” Boundless Education. Boundless, 08 Aug. 2016. Retrieved 21 Nov. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/education/textbooks/boundless-education-textbook/curriculum-and-instructional-design-3/lesson-plans-and-learning-objectives-16/creating-learning-objectives-52-12982/