Instructional Design and Writing Learning Outcomes (Objectives)by Donna Shaw
Introduction
Learning
outcomes and learning objectives are the same thing. They are statements of
what students can do as a result of instruction. They are the foundation of
instructional design for an activity, lesson, series of lessons, or a complete
course. The following information will help you understand some of the basics
of instructional design (the writing of lessons, learning activities, and
courses).
Backward Design
The
term “backward design” refers to the steps you go through when creating a
teaching activity, a full lesson, a series of lessons, or a complete course.
You must begin with a clear idea of the result you wish to achieve. You begin with the end in mind. The end of any
activity, lesson, or course is student performance. Student performance is what
the students do; it is their behavior as a result of teaching. With backward
course design, the first thing you do is identify the behavior. What do you
want to see your students do? Then you decide how to assess the behavior.
Lastly, you create your lesson plans and teaching activities. The actual
activity or lesson begins with the teacher giving the lesson and ends with
students participating in the activity or lesson (the student behavior).
Backward design begins with the student behavior and ends with what the teacher does.
Here are the
steps of backward course design:
1.
Define the behavior. What do you want students to do
as a result of instruction?
2.
Decide how to assess the behavior.
3.
Plan and deliver the instruction or teaching of the
desired behavior.
Step 1 – Define the Behavior
The
first step of backward design is to decide what you want students to do. For
example, you want your students to be able to give a three-minute speech. You
describe what behaviors or performance you wish to see. Here are some examples
of what students should be able to do:
• speak for three
minutes on a topic of choice
•
have few pronunciation errors
• use supporting
PowerPoint slides
• have good eye
contact with the audience
• not read notes
•
have a good question and answer
period These behaviors are called learning outcomes.
Learning
outcomes are the foundation of all teaching and learning. They are one- or
two-sentence statements of what you wish to see students do as a result of an
activity or lesson. They must be written in language that is observable and
measurable. When we write learning outcomes, we use strong action verbs. Here
is an example of a learning outcome for the three-minute presentation discussed
above:
By the end of the course, students will be able to
present a three-minute speech on a topic of choice with few pronunciation
errors, supporting PowerPoint slides, good eye contact, no reading of notes,
and a good question/answer period.
Here is a shorter
version of the same learning outcome:
By the end of the course, students will present a
three-minute speech on a topic of choice that is scored with the Level 2
speaking rubric.
Note: The rubric has scoring categories for speech
length, topic choice, quality of PowerPoint slides, question/answer session,
and presentation skills (eye contact, pronunciation, reading of notes, etc.).
Step 2 – Assess the Behavior
The
second step of backward design is to decide how to assess your students.
Because the learning outcome is written with measurable and observable
language, how to assess it is already decided. Consider the example learning
outcome again:
By the end of the course, students will be able to
present a three-minute speech on a topic of choice with few pronunciation
errors, supporting PowerPoint slides, good eye contact, no reading of notes,
and a good question/answer period.
Your
learning outcome already makes it clear that you need to observe and score
their speaking skills (pronunciation, eye contact, reliance on notes). You also
need to assess their topic choice, PowerPoint slides, question/answer session,
and length of the presentation. You can do this with a checklist or a rubric.
Step 3 – Teach the Behavior
The
third step is to plan your teaching. It is clear what you need to teach and the
skills students need to practice because you already know exactly what you want
your students to do and how to assess them. To do this step, you need to
understand what skills the students have and what they need to learn in order
to achieve the learning outcome. Your teaching will be a series of lessons and
activities to enable students to “bridge the gap” between what they can do now
and what they need to do later.
Writing Learning Outcomes
Writing
good learning outcomes takes practice and attention to detail. There are two
rules to writing good learning outcomes:
Rule 1 – Student learning outcomes must be observable and measurable
because they identify assessment.
Rule 2 – Student learning outcomes must be student focused and
contain action verbs.
Action
verbs are always observable and measurable. Here are some examples of action
verbs:
•
present, recite, write, describe,
prepare, demonstrate, list, compare, create, critique
• analyze, prepare,
use, explain, design, select, compile, arrange, discuss, predict
•
compute, assess, compare, design, combine, rate,
plan, revise, summarize
All
of these action verbs are observable and measureable. For example, if you ask a
student to write a paragraph, you can observe the paragraph. You can measure
the paragraph's length, use of proper grammar, punctuation, etc.
Here are some
verbs NOT to use when writing a learning outcome:
• understand, hear,
comprehend, appreciate
•
learn, become aware of, become familiar with
None
of these verbs are observable or measurable. How do you know if a student
appreciates something or understands something? The only way to know is to ask
the student. You cannot observe “understanding” or “appreciating.” How many
times have we thought our students understood when they didn't?
The ABCD Method
One
good way to write learning outcomes is to use the ABCD Method. In this method,
“A” is for audience, “B” is for behavior, “C” is for condition, and “D” is for
degree. You write the learning outcome to include an audience, a behavior, a
condition, and a degree. Here is an explanation of what each means:
Audience – the learners or
students
Behavior – what the students
will do; it must be observable and measurable
Condition – the circumstances or context under which learning will
occur; what students will be given; what students are expected to know before
the lesson
Degree – how well the behavior must be performed; what degree of
accomplishment will be expected
Here is an
example of a learning objective that has an (A) audience, a (B) behavior, a
(C)
condition, and a (D) degree.
(C) By the end of the course, (A) students will be able to (B) present a three-minute speech (D) on a topic of
choice with few pronunciation errors, supporting PowerPoint slides, good eye
contact, no reading of notes, and a good question/answer period.
Here are some
more examples:
•
(C) After reading a fairy tale, (A)
students will (B) create a chart of
characters and their personality flaws with
(D) 80% accuracy.
•
(C) At the end of the activity, (A)
students will (B) ask and answer four “wh-” questions (D) correctly.
•
(A) The students will be able to (B) demonstrate (D) the correct (B) procedure for
splinting a muscle sprain (C) after attending the workshop.
•
(C) At the end of the term, (A)
students can (B) use coordinating
conjunctions (D) correctly (B) in written work.
Common Problems
There
are some common problems you can have when writing learning outcomes. Here are
some examples of common problems and possible corrections:
•
Learning outcome: Students, by the
end of the term, will write flawlessly and read CEFR C1 level stories.
Problem: The
outcome is too broad, or two objectives are written together.
Correction: (A) Students, (C) by the end of the term, will (B) write five-paragraph essays
that contain an introduction, body, and conclusion (D) as graded by the Level 4
writing rubric.
or
(A) Students, (C) by the end of the term, will (B) describe the author's intention, the plot, the major
characters, and the climax (D) of CEFR C1 level short stories.
•
Learning outcome: After studying
the examples, students will understand critical thinking and pass a test.
Problem: The
outcome has no observable behavior.
Correction: (C) After studying the examples, (A) students will (B) identify examples of critical
thinking on a test (D) with 75% accuracy.
• Learning outcome:
Students will practice writing sentences.
Problem: The
outcome describes an activity, so it's not really an outcome:
Correction: (C) By the end of the activity, (A) students will (B) write 10 present perfect
sentences (D) correctly.
•
Learning outcome: Students will be
able to write sentences with subject-verb agreement.
Problem: The
outcome is missing important components.
Correction: (C) At the end of the semester, (A) students will be able to (B) write sentences (D)
with correct subject-verb agreement.
Learning Outcomes and Bloom's Taxonomy
Bloom's
Taxonomy is an excellent resource when writing learning outcomes. First, it
contains a useful collection of action verbs. Second, Bloom's Taxonomy
identifies six levels of learning that range from lower-order thinking to
higher-order thinking. Good teaching has students doing activities from all the
levels as appropriate to the desired learning outcome. The focus, however, is
on the higher levels. Students should do more than memorizing facts. They
should be able to take what they have learned and use it beyond the classroom.
A Final Word
Learning
outcomes are written by teachers. They guide and inform instruction. They
directly lead to assessment. Most importantly, learning outcomes must be shared
with students. Learning outcomes tell students exactly what they are expected
to do. They also tell students what skills they can expect to have as a result
of an activity, lesson, or course. Always share your learning outcomes with
your students.
References
American Psychological Association (n.d.). Writing
behavioral learning objectives and assessments. Retrieved from www.apa.org/ed/sponsor/resources/objectives.pdf
Kizlik, R. (2018). How to write learning objectives that
meet demanding behavioral criteria. Adprima. Retrieved from http://www.adprima.com/objectives.htm
McTighe, J. & Wiggins, G. (nd). Understanding by
design: Chapter 1 – What is backward design? Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development. Retrieved from www.fitnyc.edu/files/pdfs/Backward_design.pdf
Penn State Learning Community Hub. (2010). Writing
objectives. Retrieved from www.bradthiessen.com/html5/m340/10
ABCD.pdf
Teaching English to Hearing Impaired Learners
Teaching English to deaf students.
Curriculum Approaches in Language Teaching: Forward, Central, and Backward Design
How to teach students with dyslexia
https://www.englishclub.com/learning-difficulties/dyslexia.htm
Teaching English to Dysgraphic Learners
Teaching languages to autistic students
https://thethirdglance.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/foreign-languages-and-autism/
Supporting Students with ADHD(hyperactive disorders)
Blooms taxonomy of educational objectives
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий