how to make course objectives

by Maudie Jacobi 4 min read

  1. Imagine your course. Brainstorm a list of all the possible things you want to teach and might include in your course.
  2. Draft your course goals. Write at least 2-3 goals to shape your ongoing course design. “In this course, I will emphasize in…”
  3. Design Learning Objectives. Using the table above, design your Learning Objectives. Break down your goals to form more specific and measurable learning objectives.
  4. Write the Activities. For each objective of the course, write down some corresponding activities that you are planning to use to accomplish that objective.Through these activities, students will achieve ...
  5. Develop Assessments. Ideally, as you are drafting course goals and learning objectives, you are also beginning to develop the assessments for the course.
  6. Reflect. Are your course objectives achievable given the available resources? Are your course objectives in agreement with the course goals?

How to write course objective?

  • Choose an action verb that corresponds to the specific action you wish students to demonstrate
  • Explain the knowledge students are expected to acquire or construct
  • [Optional]: explain the criterion or level students are expected to reach to show mastery of knowledge

How to create learning objectives?

Lean on your core team, but acknowledge the promise your new hires offer—and don’t sleep on it. Make these three leadership objectives your priorities as your business grows. By definition, being a leader means having followers. To be the best leader ...

What you will learn course objectives?

To sum up:

  • Learning objectives are statements that tell your students what they will learn by the end of your lesson or course.
  • They should always include an observable action and a subject.
  • Start at the end — figure out what your main course objective is, and break down your lesson learning objectives from there.

More items...

What are the characteristics of good course objectives?

  • Curse objectives should identify a learning outcome;
  • Course objectives should be consistent with course goals;
  • Course objectives should be precise;
  • Course objectives should be measurable and should provide a correct mode of assessment ;
  • Course objectives should be realistic; and

More items...

What is an example of a course objective?

Objective – A course objective describes what a faculty member will cover in a course. They are generally less broad that goals and more broad than student learning outcomes. Examples of objectives include: Students will gain an understanding of the historical origins of art history.

How do you come up with course objectives?

Here are some tips to help you get started:Identify the Level of Knowledge Necessary to Achieve Your Objective. Before you begin writing objectives, stop and think about what type of change you want your training to make. ... Select an Action Verb. ... Create Your Very Own Objective. ... Check Your Objective. ... Repeat, Repeat, Repeat.

What are 3 of the course objectives?

Learning objectives can include 3 components: performance, conditions, and criteria. Performance All SMART learning objectives contain a performance component. The performance statement describes what the learner will know or be able to do in specific, measurable terms. The statement should contain an action verb.

How do you write an objectives?

Each objective should begin with a verb that describes an observable behavior, such as "describe, summarize, demonstrate, compare, plan, score", etc. You can observe the participant and measure how well the objective was met. The columns below list great verbs to use for your objectives.

What is a course objective?

A course objective specifies a behavior, skill, or action that a student can demonstrate if they have achieved mastery of the objective. As such, objectives need to be written in such a way that they are measurable by some sort of assessment. Course objectives form the foundation of the class.

What are the 4 learning objectives?

Types of Learning ObjectivesCognitive: having to do with knowledge and mental skills.Psychomotor: having to do with physical motor skills.Affective: having to do with feelings and attitudes.Interpersonal/Social: having to do with interactions with others and social skills.More items...

How do you write a smart objective?

Take your priorities and make a SMART objective from each. Make each priority into a concise statement and run it through the SMART test....For each objective ask yourself whether it is:Specific. Will everyone be able to understand it? ... Measurable. ... Agreed, attainable and achievable. ... Realistic and resourced. ... Timebound.

How do you write a course?

The following are tips for writing a course description:The course description should be no longer than 100 words.Write from a student-centered perspective.Use present tense and active voice.Use clear and simple sentence structure and language.Use gender neutral language.More items...

Presenting Engaging Course Objectives: 7 Ways

In this article, I would cover multiple interesting ways of presenting course objectives that Instructional Designers or course developers need to consider when ideating online courses. The simplest example is the bulleted list that is present at the start of many courses, it is crisp, to the point, and well summarized.

Final Thoughts

The above-mentioned points are some of the preferred and widely used ways through which course objectives can be showcased in an online course. If you know of, or have used other interesting ways to present course objectives, do share them with us.

What are Learning Goals

Learning goals are broad, general statements of what we want our students to learn and provide:

What are Learning Objectives

The best way to use goals as a roadmap for a course design is to make them more clear and concise by determining specific learning objectives.

What is the Difference Between Goals and Objectives?

Many people confuse the definitions of goals and objectives and often confuse the terms.

How Should Objectives be Formed?

Objectives should be specific, concise, observable, and measurable. Each learning objective should target one particular aspect of student performance and be expressed with a single action verb.

Designing Your Course Using Learning Objectives

Let’s suppose you have chosen your topic and you are determined about what to teach in your course. When in the process of completing these steps, it is optimal either to use a pen and paper or a concept map application to create connections between your ideas.

What if I Have Already Created My Course?

You may argue with the above if you have already created your course without having formed clear goals and objectives. But imagine how much you could improve your material by reviewing what you want to achieve and also how happy your old or new learners will be if you add this information to your course.

Further Reading

To prepare quality educational materials using learning goals, objectives and outcomes is a challenge worth pursuing. It will translate into a higher valued course, an optimized level of learning, satisfied students, and will help you in the process of creating your own course.

What are Learning Outcomes?

Learning outcomes are specific statements of what students will be able to do when they successfully complete a learning experience (whether it's a project, course or program). They are always written in a student-centered, measurable fashion that is concise, meaningful, and achievable.

How are Learning Outcomes Different from Learning Goals or Learning Objectives?

These terms are often used interchangeably and they are all related to the teaching and learning that is expected to take place in the classroom.

Why Write Learning Outcomes?

Identifying the desired results of a learning experience is the first step of backward design.Learning outcomes are used for this purpose. Learning outcomes are also valuable in these ways:

Elements of Effective Learning Outcomes

Clearly written course-level and module-level outcomes are the foundation upon which effective courses are designed. Outcomes inform both the way students are evaluated in a course and the way a course will be organized.

Writing Learning Outcomes

While designing a course, instructors are most likely to develop course-level outcomes, which is to say the level of analysis is the course as opposed to the program of study (at a higher level) or module/week (at a lower level)

Concrete Action Verbs

The following list includes concrete action verbs that correspond with each level of Bloom's taxonomy for the cognitive domain. To ensure outcomes are measurable, you might find it helpful to start each one with a verb from this list.

What about Hard-to-Measure Outcomes?

Some faculty find it stifling to only include measurable outcomes in their course-planning process. You might have learning goals in mind that are valuable but more difficult to measure in a quarter, such as

Overview

Writing clear course objectives help define specific competencies and outcomes that will allow students to achieve a specific set of skills, knowledge, attitudes or values. Objectives should be observable, measurable, and valid. Objectives should also be aligned with course expectations.

Strategies

Well developed course objectives are specific, measurable, and written from the learner’s perspective. Use Bloom’s Taxonomy during this process to identify specific skills you want the student to demonstrate. Try to cover the different levels of each learning domain.

image

Curriculum

Image
Learning outcomes describe the learning that will take place across the curriculum through concise statements, made in specific and measurable terms, of what students will know and/or be able to do as the result of having successfully completed a course. 
See more on resources.depaul.edu

Goals

  • These terms are often used interchangeably and they are all related to the teaching and learning that is expected to take place in the classroom. However, the difference between goals or objectives and outcomes lies in the emphasis on who will be performing the activities. Learning goals and objectives generally describe what an instructor or program aims to do; i.e., This cour…
See more on resources.depaul.edu

Introduction

  • Writing learning outcomes should be a reflective process. Many departments find the following steps to be helpful as they begin the process of creating learning outcomes for their courses.
See more on resources.depaul.edu

Characteristics

  • If your department already has learning goals that it would like to develop into outcomes or is examining its current learning outcomes there are several characteristics to look for:
See more on resources.depaul.edu

Availability

  • The Center for Teaching & Learning is available to consult with departments and individual faculty members on developing learning outcomes.
See more on resources.depaul.edu

Assessment

  • As mentioned, identifying the most important things students should learn within your course is the first step in deciding what should be assessed, but learning outcomes have other uses as well; they:
See more on resources.depaul.edu