Writing Objectives: Instructional Targets to Aim For! Anitra E. Butler Associate Professor Dept. of Teacher Education

It is objectives that define the true purpose of the curriculum. Objectives are detailed goal statements.

Objectives 1.Identify specific student behaviors to be changed by designed experiences. 2.Increase communication among teachers about purpose and specific activities. 3.Direct and order instructional activities at the school and classroom level. 4.Provide a meaningful basis and focus for program evaluation. Objectives can do the following for curriculum developers:

Behavioral Objectives Behavioral objectives can be broken down into three domains. Cognitive Domain : Represents intellectual abilities and skills. Affective Domain: Represents attitudes, beliefs, and values. Psychomotor Domain: Represents bodily movement and physical performance.

Cognitive Domain There are six levels in the cognitive domain. Knowledge: ability to recall; to bring to mind the appropriate material. Comprehension: ability to comprehend what is being communicated and make use of the idea without relating it to other ideas or material or seeing fullest meaning. Application: ability to use ideas, principles, theories in new particular and concentrated situations. Analysis: ability to break down a communication into constituent parts in order to make organization of the whole clear. Synthesis: ability to put together parts and elements into a unified organization or whole. Evaluation: ability to judge the value of ideas, procedures, methods, using appropriate criteria.

Affective Domain There are five levels in the affective domain. Receive: attending; becomes aware of an idea, process, or thing; is willing to notice a particular phenomenon. Respond: makes response at first with compliance, later willingly and with satisfaction. Value: accepts worth of a thing, an idea or a behavior; prefers it; consistent in responding; develops a commitment to it. Organization: organizes values; determines interrelationships; adapts behavior to value system. Characterization: generalizes certain values into controlling tendencies; emphasis on internal consistency; later integrates these into a total philosophy of life or world view.

Psychomotor Domain There are four levels in the psychomotor domain. Observing: watches process; pays attention to steps or techniques and to finish product or behavior; may read directions. Imitating: follows directions; carries out steps with conscious awareness of efforts, performs hesitantly. Practicing: repeats steps until some or all aspects of process become habitual, requiring little conscious effort, performs smoothly. Adapting: makes individual modifications and adaptations in the process to suit the worker and/or the situation.

Cognitive and Affective Learning Objectives Effect Student Behavior It is widely accepted that “feelings” influence “thinking”. At the higher-level combinations of behavioral objectives, the student gets involved, then takes charge of his or her learning, and finally becomes an advocate of the lesson.

Objectives Behavioral objectives are always

Descriptive Verbs for Writing Cognitive Learning Objectives Identified behaviors help curriculum developers identify the specific behavior they are seeking as well as to think about the instructional process as a continuum or hierarchy of development.

Objectives The ABCD rule can assist you in writing useful objectives at the classroom level. A- Audience B- Behavior C- Condition D- Degree

Sample Objective Given equations containing two unknowns (condition), the learner (audience) will solve nine out of ten (behavior) problems within twenty minutes (degree).