Why are the learning objectives so important?
Generally, the trainees will commit to taking your course, and they allocate time and money in order to reach their goal and learn something that works for them. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on meeting learners’ needs and goals. They may be aiming to get a job, improve their existing skills, or want to add a skill set to help them accomplish a particular task.
The term Learning Objectives is a definition of what the learner students will be able to do after taking your course. These outcomes must be demonstrable, which means that the learner demonstrates that he or she has achieved a measurable learning objective by being evaluated.
For example, “You will be able to use the SBI framework to provide constructive feedback to your colleagues.” The learner can demonstrate that they have achieved this goal by writing comments using the framework, and the teacher can measure this by reading the written comments.
Guide to writing your learning objectives
When starting to write your learning objectives, you should consider the key concepts that learners need to understand or skills that they need to develop in order to gain sufficient knowledge of the course topic.
In the second step, determine the level of understanding you want learners to demonstrate for your course concepts and skills.
Next, use the descriptive verb that corresponds to the level of understanding, to explain what the learners will be able to do and write your learning objective.
To help you get started, follow this formula when writing your learning objectives:
- Determine the concept or skill you want the learners to learn. Example: Addition function in Excel
- Determine the level of understanding you want the learners to demonstrate.
- Use appropriate verbs such as those that can be demonstrated and measured to describe behavior at the appropriate learning level. Like using the verb: use the sum function.
- Add additional criteria to indicate how and when the score will be demonstrated to add context to the learner. Example: Using the sum function in Excel to add up your quarterly sales.
Use learning objectives to structure your course
Learning objectives should not be thought of as action items of the concepts you will cover in your course. Rather, they are actions that the learner can take to demonstrate that they have learned something.
Set several learning objectives that describe what the learners will be able to do after taking your course. Be realistic in your choice of goals. Your goals should accurately describe the content you cover in your course. Then, you will select your course based on these goals.
