Goals and Objectives

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Guiding every course are Goals and Objectives.The goals describe the major concepts, skills, knowledge students will achieve at the end of the course. They might be broad or abstract depending on the topic and often are not easily measured.One example of a goal might be to' become a better runner' or ' explore the origins of American Music'.

The objectives are the statements that define how the student will demonstrate that he has completed required education for the course or unit. Through objectives instructors will know at the end of the course if students can do these things. Using the common SMART acronym to describe their criteria, objectives are specific measurable, attainable, relevant and timed.

If the goal of a course is a destination, the objectives are seen as designated markers or 'stops' on the road and objectives define path to the destination.

Objectives are set for a course and for a particular unit or week. Objectives allow students to be responsible for their learning showing them what they need to accomplish, and when they are finished.

If you are revamping an existing course then you already have goals and objectives.Consider reviewing these checklists to make sure the goals and objectives reflect how you currently teach the course,

For Goals consider:

What will this student gain from this course?
What do you want them to be able to do at the end of the course?
Are there other principals or themes that run through your course? like sustainability, or ethics.

For Objectives consider:

Can the student measure his learning progress?
Are they specific?complete? clear?
Are the objectives appropriate for the student population?
Can the student see how the objective fits with the course goals?
Is it possible for the student to complete this objective in the time allowed?

Alignment

The last and the most important to discuss is something called Alignment. Alignment is the concept that all the course components [objectives, tasks, readings, labs, discussions, assignments, tests or quizzes] are working together in a course. Do the unit activities support and move the student towards meeting the unit level objectives and course level objectives in a clear way that they understand?

If you are revamping an existing course then consider reviewing the alignment of the activities and assessments with the unit objectives and course goals and objectives and change if needed.

For Alignment consider:

Are the unit objectives in align with the Course level objectives?
Do the activities supporting the unit objective?

Do the assessments for this unit measure the students performance of the listed unit objective?

For Further Information

Writing objective with Bloom's taxonomy Links to an external site.
Why use Bloom's taxonomy Links to an external site.