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Learning objectives play a central role in effective teaching and learning and help guide you and your students toward a shared understanding of the goals and outcomes of your course. Regardless of your teaching role and the course you teach, creating clear and well-defined learning objectives can enhance your students’ learning. This resource provides an overview of the importance of learning objectives, their benefits, examples of learning objectives, and steps for writing and revising them.

What are Learning Objectives?

Learning objectives are concise statements that define what students should know, understand, or be able to do by the end of a learning experience. Effective learning objectives have three parts:

• A specific, measurable verb that specifies students’ actions or behaviors.
• The conditions under which students will be expected to demonstrate their learning.
• The criteria that specify the quality that you expect from students.

The Importance of Learning Objectives

In addition to ensuring our curriculum is aligned with program competencies, learning objectives are beneficial in several ways for you and your students:

• Learning objectives help you focus on what is most important since they serve as a foundation from which you can build and/or revise your activities and assessments.
• Learning objectives ensure that your course is well-aligned, providing a well-organized learning experience for students.
• When communicated to students, learning objectives serve as a starting point for students to develop self-directed learning skills.

Writing and Revising Learning Objectives

Crafting meaningful learning objectives takes time and often many revisions. You can use the steps below to begin drafting or revising learning objectives for your course or session.

• Determine what is most important for students to know and be able to do at the end of your course or session. Write down a short list (~5) of key takeaways that you want students to remember to focus your objectives.

  
• Use Bloom's Taxonomy (right) to address the appropriate level for your learning objectives. Courses typically have a combination of both lower-level and higher-level objectives.
• Use action verbs that specify observable behaviors, such as "describe," "analyze," or "synthesize," enabling assessment of student learning. Refrain from using vague terms such as “understand.â€�
• Write objectives in clear, concise language that is understandable to students with various levels of background knowledge.
• Ensure that course objectives align with overarching program goals and session objectives align with course objectives.
• Revise your learning objectives periodically to ensure alignment with activities, assessments, and program/course-level outcomes. You can use student performance data, feedback from students and peers, and your own or peer observations and reflection to determine appropriate changes.

Examples of Learning Objectives

Bad Examples

1. Students will understand cardiovascular diseases

   This objective uses a vague verb (understand) and is not measurable

2. Students will know the importance of ethics in medicine

   This objective uses a vague verb (know) which does not specify precisely what students need to learn and how they will be assessed

Good Examples

1. Students will be able to identify risk factors for cardiovascular diseases in patient cases

   This objective uses an action verb (describe) and can be measured through assessment

2. Students will be able to apply ethical principles in clinical scenarios to deliver high-quality patient care

   This objective specifies what students should be able to do (apply ethical principles) and under what conditions and criteria

References and Resources

• Anderson, L.W., Krathwohl, D (Eds) (2001) A Taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing; a revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New, York, Longman
• Bloom, B.S.(Ed) (c1956-64) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives; the classification of educational goals by a committee of college and university examiners. New York, D. McKay
• Wilson, L. O. (2020). .
• . (2016).

Questions or Feedback?

For questions or further information, please email the Office of Faculty Learning and
Advancement at hcom-ofla@ohio.edu