Best Way to Create Learning Objectives [2023]

Introduction

Learning objectives are an essential component of any training. They explain what the students will be able to do after completing the course. This article will explain to you about the importance of learning objectives in course design as well as the A-B-C-D learning objective format.

You’ll also learn how to set up a SMART terminal and set goals. In addition, we will discuss Bloom’s Taxonomy, learning domains, and the five phases of comprehension. We’ll talk about the new approach to writing learning objectives at the conclusion of the article. Let’s get started!

A-B-C-D Format while creating Learning Objective

Robert Mager has made major contributions to instructional design and overall objectives. He thought that all goals should be measurable and observable because goals that cannot be measured or observed have little chance of being evaluated. They should all have four components, known as the A-B-C-D structure.

These elements are as follows: Audience, Behavior, Condition and Degree. These elements are major key holder while creating Learning Objectives. Let’s talk about each one of them separately.

• Audience: When writing goals, you must be aware of your intended audience. Assume you’re developing a course on Teaching English as a Second Language. The English Language student is the objective’s target audience.
• Behavior: The objective’s Behavior part should emphasize what the learner will do. It is critical to explain the behavior using action verbs. Most behavior assertions are phrased in such a way that they should be able to. Many instructional designers, however, opt to use will be able to. While both are correct, using “should be able to” in your objectives is suggested. The ‘will be able’ assertion makes a promise to the learner, whereas the ‘should be able’ statement makes no guarantees. Whether or not learners accomplish the goals is determined by a variety of factors that are not always within your control. For example, your students may become sidetracked while taking your course. As a result, it is best not to make any promises to them. Avoid using verbs like know and comprehend when writing behavioral statements because they are not observable. Consider the verbs apply, classify, and clarify instead.
• Condition: Make certain that your objectives include the Situation in which the tasks are done. Conditions should provide contexts for all other aspects of the goal. As an example:

– received a desk reference book, or

– completed a real-life simulation

• Degree: The degree or level at which learners must execute the task is the final element of functional objectives. Degree statements include:

– without error

– successfully five times

 – within one hour

 – on two separate issues

Did you observe that every single one of these degree statements is measurable and observable? Following their viewing, learners should be clear on what they need to do to achieve the objectives.

Terminal Goal & Enabling Objective while creating Learning Objective

Each training you create should include both terminal and enabling goals. The terminal objectives define what the students should be able to do by the conclusion of the course. They are concerned with the outcome rather than the procedure. You should keep in mind what your terminal goal in while creating Learning Objective. Here’s an example of a terminal goal:

You should be able to compose essays without errors given realistic scenarios depicting the most prevalent writing problems of high school graduates.

Enabling targets helps to achieve terminal goals while creating Learning Objective. They specify the skills, knowledge, or attitudes that students must acquire in order to accomplish terminal objectives. Furthermore, enabling goals are more precise than terminal goals. Here’s an example of an enabling goal:

Given essay-writing handouts and videos, you should be able to complete essay-writing tasks with 100% accuracy.

SMART Objectives while creating Learning Objective

You should also ensure that all your goals are SMART. SMART objectives emphasize the outcome rather than the activities and enable students to track their progress. SMART is an acronym that means for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. Let’s talk about these components individually.

Specifics: Training objectives should clearly state the information or skill that learners must show. Specific objectives define what needs to be done by answering the queries What, Why, and How. Individuals with no prior knowledge of the subject should be able to read and interpret the objective accurately. Here’s an example: increase the customer satisfaction scores for X number of employees by product knowledge refresher training.

Measurable: Following that, your goals must be quantifiable. They should concentrate on the assessment criteria and include some measurements such as standards. This element should be assessed by instructional designers. For example, : increase the customer satisfaction scores for X number of employees by 15% through product knowledge refresher training

Attainable: Even if your goal is both specific and measurable, it may not be feasible in the time frame you’ve established or with the resources you have available. The attainable portion of your goal oversees meeting the promise. Using action verbs like watch, participate, demonstrate, and communicate can help represent the behavior being measured. For example, increase the customer satisfaction score.

Relevant: The Relevant section emphasizes the practicality of the goal and explains why something should be done. Increase the number of medical students enrolled at X University over the next three months, for example, through product knowledge refresher training.

Timely: Finally, goals should be time-bound, which means they should specify when something will be completed. For instance, over the next three months.

Bloom’s Taxonomy while creating Learning Objective

Benjamin Bloom, an educational psychologist, defined three learning domains in 1956.

They are as follows:

• Cognitive domain or expertise
• Affective domain or mindset
• Psychomotor domain or behavior (skills)

When writing objectives for any of the three domains, always strive for the most complex behavior. Please go over the document in this session to understand the verbs for each domain. Bloom’s former student recently revised the cognitive domain to represent a more active form of thinking and to make it more pertinent to contemporary needs. He made two significant changes: changing the titles from noun to verb forms and rearranging the levels. Please examine the document that depicts the most recent version of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Conclusion

The foundation of any good learning experience is the development of effective learning objectives. In today’s world, where the demand for online learning is growing at an unprecedented rate, developing clear, concise, and measurable learning objectives is more important than ever.

The most effective method to establish learning objectives is to use a structured approach that includes understanding the learners’ needs, analyzing the content, and breaking it down into small, manageable chunks. This method guarantees that the learning objectives are relevant, practical, and attainable, and that they are aligned with the learning outcomes.