"Teaching
Tips Collection"Setting Objectives
McKeachie (1994) recommends that preparations for
a course begin three months before the first class day by
writing objectives for what you want to accomplish.
Some sources strongly advocate writing only objectives that can
be described in specific behavioral terms. Some courses
lend themselves more to behavioral objectives than others
and in any case, the terminology should not become a
roadblock. The point of writing objectives this long before the
course starts is that you need to be clear about your
objectives in order to make decisions about choice of text book,
kinds of assignments, teaching methods, and everything
else. The objectives should facilitate the rest of your planning
and set the ground work for what you will include in
the syllabus so that your students understand the objectives for
the course.
Your first objective is to facilitate learning, not
cover a certain block of material. "In most courses, we are
concerned
about helping our students in a lifelong learning process;
that is, we want to develop interest in further learning and
provide a base of concepts and skills that will facilitate
further learning and thinking" (McKeachie, p. 10).
Acknowledge your beliefs, values, biases, and be
explicit about them. "Hiding behind a cloak of objectivity
simply
prevents honest discussion of vital issues" (McKeachie,
p. 11). Keep in mind goals that transcend specific subject
matter, such as being willing to explore ideas contrary
to one's own beliefs and knowing when information or data are
relevant to an issue and how to find relevant information"
(McKeachie, p. 11). You also need to consider how the
course fits the curriculum and the nature of the student
body.
Johnson (1990) has compiled a list of components
for course objectives that may be useful. The caveat is that the
objectives should accurately reflect the course, the
instructor, and the needs of students. According to Johnson,
"course objectives should consist of explicit statements
about the ways in which students are expected to change as a
result of your teaching and the course activities. These
should include changes in thinking skills, feelings, and actions"
(p. 3).
Specificity. Start with the four to six broad concepts,
principles, or themes for the semester, then write specific
objectives for each. These will be useful for planning
the course, evaluating student outcomes, and in developing
tools for evaluation.
Behavior. Johnson advocates behavioral objectives
but research findings show non-significant impact except that
they may help some students focus attention or organize
material (Duchastel and Merrill, 1973). It is important,
however, to think about the levels of performance that
are appropriate for the course (memorization, application,
analysis, synthesis, and problem-solving) and then explain
to your students what you expect from them. Hester
(1998) builds some time for explanation into each class
time and has named the process. "I call the activity a
'meta-cognitive moment' and explain to students that
it is important to constantly assess their present knowledge in
order to connect new information to what they already
know" (p. 2, emphasis added).
Clarity of Terminology. Don't use words that are
open to many interpretations and which are difficult to measure.
Make sure that all students understand the same interpretation.
Domain. There are three primary domains of development
for students in a course. Think about what you want to
work toward and the kinds of activities that can promote
development in each domain. The Cognitive Domain is
associated with knowledge and intellectual skills. The
Affective Domain is associated with changes in interests,
attitudes, values, applications, and adjustments. And
the Psychomotor Domain is associated with manipulative and
motor skills.