Writing Learning Objectives 101
A fundamental part of creating effective instructor-led training, VILT, or eLearning, is to ensure we have learning objectives that delineate what we want the learner to achieve.
What is a Learning Objective?
A learning objective is the specific and measurable steps the learner needs to take to achieve the goal. It should describe the results the learner will be able to accomplish at the end of the training; learning objectives do NOT describe the process. In Making Instruction Work, Robert F. Mager states:
“An objective is about end rather than means. It describes a product of instruction rather than the process of instruction. It describes what students will be able to do when they are competent, rather than describing how they will be made competent.”
There are two types of learning objectives, terminal and enabling. Terminal objectives are the behaviors the learners need to demonstrate to achieve the goal(s) of the course. The enabling objectives are the supporting/ancillary behaviors necessary to reach the terminal objectives. This is about breaking the objective down into small, manageable and measurable behaviors.
Breaking the objective down into smaller pieces makes the development phase easier because we already have the foundational structure in place.
Knowledge, Skill & Attitude
Not all objectives measure the same thing. We need to determine whether we are working in the domain of Knowledge, Skill, or Attitude. Or if you like fancier terms Cognitive, Psychomotor or Affective.
Each domain has its taxonomy with learning levels to help describe the actions needed for measurable outcomes for the learner. The taxonomies and corresponding learning levels are:
Blooms Original (1956)
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
Blooms Revised (2001)
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Evaluation
Evaluation
The significant difference in the revised version of Bloom's Taxonomy is the reordering of the fifth and sixth levels.
Skill – Dave (1975)
Imitation
Manipulation
Precision
Articulation
Naturalization
Attitude – Krathwohl (1964)
Responding
Valuing
Organizing
Characterizing
Each domain and its corresponding learning level uses specific action verbs to measure success at that particular level.
Download the Taxonomical Action Verbs
Get all the action verbs for Knowledge, Skill, and Attitude with their corresponding learning levels with our free resource below.
Know Your ABC’s & D
The structure of a well-crafted learning objective is as simple as ABCD.
Audience
Who is the intended audience for the objective? In many cases, this will be the learner or the participant.
Behavior
Using the appropriate action verb for the level of Knowledge, Skill, or Attitude, identify what the audience will be doing.
Condition
What is the situation or environment in which the audience will perform the intended behavior?
Degree of Mastery
How will we measure the success of the audience's behavior within the bounds of their condition?
More often than not, the structure of your learning objective will look like CABD instead of ABCD.
Example
After reading Writing Learning Objectives 101, the learners will write an effective learning objective with 100% accuracy.
A Piece of the Puzzle
An important thing to keep in mind is that learning objectives are just a piece of the design puzzle. They are the blueprints for the steps the participant will be taking in their learning journey. They are neither the beginning nor the end
Before writing objectives, we must analyze the problem and determine the best way to fix it. Later on, we need to start addressing
How are we going to involve the learner?
How do we make the instruction problem-centered versus content-oriented?
How do we show the material's relevance and its impact on the learner?
How do we integrate the learner's background and experience?
This does not even get into figuring out the most effective delivery method to reach the course goal or develop the learner's achievements.
As important as learning objectives are, we have much more to consider and include in our design documents.
The Learning Design Tool
Did you know there is a software tool that will help you craft your learning objectives and integrate them into a consistent design document that includes the following:
Automation to insert your analysis information
An interface to construct your learning objectives with all the learning levels of Knowledge, Skill, and Attitude with the corresponding action verbs
How do you want to incorporate adult learning strategies
Help you craft your Learner Achievement Activities
Generate your Evaluation Plan
Build the Course Structure and Sequencing
Export to build your facilitator guide, eLearning, and PowerPoints