Course learning objectives (CLOs) create the foundation of the class and specify the workforce-relevant knowledge, skills, or behaviors that students demonstrate mastery of through assessments. Course learning objectives communicate to the student how this course will contribute to the program goals and help them persist through the program. Thoughtfully crafted, student-centered objectives speak to the students’ needs as they identify a gap in their learning and are beginning to fill it. Course learning objectives require higher-level thinking and are specific and measurable, such as “analyze the impact of price on supply and demand in various markets.”
Be sure to create student-centered course objectives that are specific and measurable, such as “analyze the impact of price on supply and demand in various markets.”
Course learning objectives form the foundation of the course and determine what will be learned and assessed. To properly determine if students understand the content, the course learning objectives must be measurable.
QM Standard 2.1 states, “Measurable course learning objectives/outcomes precisely and clearly describe what learners will learn and be able to do if they successfully complete the course.” QM suggests that the learning outcomes “check for clear indications that the learning objective can be meaningfully assessed.” In other words, how are students going to demonstrate that they understand the concepts?
Well-written course learning objectives can serve as a self-check and study guide for students as they progress through the course,—and they can help you, as the instructor, quickly select content and determine appropriate assessments. Crafting measurable learning objectives can help you and the students connect content back to key concepts, skills, attitudes, beliefs, etc. that you want students to walk away from the course having acquired.
If you do not have course learning objectives already determined by your program, consider creating broad overarching objectives that form enduring understandings. For example, “Analyze the social and cultural impact of the Great Depression.” Working from your course learning objectives, you will create specific topics and then module learning objectives that will align back to a course learning objective.
Creating broad, but specific, course learning objectives will allow you to align each module objective to one course objective. If the course learning objectives are too broad—“Analyze the impact of major historical events” and “Explain how societal norms changed over the 19th century”—you may have module learning objectives that fit into both categories, which will not provide a clear picture of how objectives, activities, and assessments align. (QM 2.1 and QM 2.3)
The following video will teach you how to add course objectives.
Well-written course learning objectives can help you quickly select content and determine appropriate assessments for your course. For students, course learning objectives serve as a checklist of skills or knowledge they will acquire throughout the course. Objectives need to be measurable and student-centered—at the heart of this is the need for students to take action so the concept or skill can be measured. It is very difficult to measure understanding or knowledge; we tend to measure understanding by asking students to do something or produce something that illustrates that understanding. Course learning objectives should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound (SMART).
Let’s take a look at some example course objectives:
Using the SMART formula will help you to create measurable objectives, but you still need to be careful when choosing your words.
The graphic below provides even more active verbs to help you craft the perfect objective! It also helps you to see how the action aligns with a course assessment.
This open resource provides an objective builder tool you may find helpful:
Objective Builder Tool
Course objectives specify the knowledge, skills, or behaviors that students must demonstrate mastery of by the end of the course. In crafting your course objectives, considering the verb choice is critical. Bloom’s Taxonomy is a tool you can use to determine the complexity of your objectives and aligned assessments, which will help learners achieve higher levels of critical thinking and skill application. The original Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956) and it’s revised version (2002) define cognitive levels from higher- to lower-order thinking.
When constructing your learning objectives, you can refer to Bloom’s Taxonomy to select the action verbs such as describe, explain, and create, which define your educational goals. Seery, Barreda, Hein, and Hilller (2021) provide a comprehensive review of factors impacting retention and
strategies for increasing student persistence and motivation. They noted how
connecting curriculum to past experiences and future learning goals is a common
course development strategy that supports persistence among learners.
Bloom, B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives. Vol. 1: Cognitive domain. New York: McKay, 20(24), 1.
Krathwohl, D. R. (2002). A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy: An overview. Theory into practice, 41(4), 212-218.
Seery, K., Barreda, A. A., Hein, S. G., & Hiller, J. L. (2021). Retention strategies
for online students: A systematic literature review. Journal of Global
Education and Research, 5(1), 72-84. https://www.doi.org/10.5038/2577-509X.5.1.1105
Marzano, R. J., & Kendall, J. S. (Eds.). (2006). The new taxonomy of educational objectives. Corwin Press.
Measurable, well-written course learning objectives can help students to self-check their progress towards course goals. For faculty members, well-written course learning objectives can provide a pathway toward the selection of appropriate assessments. Lewis & Lunde (2001) discuss eight distinct advantages of using learning objectives to guide course creation. Winkelmes, Bernacki, Butler, Zochowski, Golanics & Weevil’s (2016) study shows that the course transparency created by clear learning objectives provides several learning benefits associated with students’ success.
Lewis, K. G., & Lunde, J. T. P. (2001). “Why Write Objectives?” Face to face: A sourcebook of individual consultation techniques for faculty/instructional developers. New Forums Press, Inc
Mager, Robert F. (1962). Preparing Instructional Objectives, Belmont, CA: Lear Siegler, Inc./Fearon Publishers.
Winkelmes, M. A., Bernacki, M., Butler, J., Zochowski, M., Golanics, J., & Weavil, K. H. (2016). A teaching intervention that increases underserved college students’ success. Peer Review, 18(1/2), 31-36.
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