Sims Learning Connections

Pulling together some background on writing learning objectives or outcomes…

“A learning outcome is a statement of what a learner should know, understand and / or be able to do at the end of a defined unit of learning… It will normally include an indication of the evidence required to show that the learning has been achieved and how that evidence is to be obtained.” (from Cardiff University teaching guidance)

Vicki Heath’s Learning Objectives: Writing Learning Outcomes So They Matter suggests six benefits “of defining and articulating a well-constructed learning objectives:”

• Learners can focus more easily on what is important to their actual workplace performance.
• Learning objectives form a solid basis for sequencing and chunking program content and activities.
• Participants’ managers can be assured that training addresses actual organizational goals.
• Learning objectives determine the relevance of program design features and content, allowing trainers to weed out easily what are just peripheral sideshows.
• Trainers can better focus on the key deliverables of the training program, without being too sidetracked to the detriment of the program.
• Learning objectives allow learner tests to be checked for relevance and completeness

Note: For US$20 you can purchase Vicki’s Writing Learning Outcomes eBook. With my already significant recent up-tick in book purchases, I’m holding off on this one for now.

First stop for tips from my existing resources is my 2005-vintage notebook from Langevin’s Instructional Design for New Designers — where I was a bit surprised to rediscovery that objectives only received the briefest of mentions:

An objective describes what the employee must do on the job when performing the task. It should include 3 parts:

• the task statement
• the conditions under which the task is performed (e.g. locations, resources available, equipment used)
• the standards that describe how well the task must be performed (e.g accuracy, quality, quantity)

Format: Given <conditions>, the employee will <task>. All steps must be completed in accordance with <standards>.

Next from my previously visited is Donald Clark’s A Quick Guide to Writing Learning Objectives, which recommends essentially the same format and includes the following process aids:

• Select a verb for performing the task. [also see Bob Kizlik's Definitions of Behavioral Verbs for Learning Objectives]
• Determine if the verb you have chosen best describes the type of behavior that the learners need to display after training (see Bloom’s Taxonomy).
• Under what conditions must the task be performed?
• Determine to what standards the task must be performed.

Side note: The mention of Bloom’s Taxonomy takes me back to Bloom goes boom! by the other Donald Clark, and also Harold Jarche’s Better than Bloom? In my own limited instructional design experience, I haven’t been especially tied to Bloom; however, in my last employment at a critical point in an eLearning design revision project, I found Bloom’s an useful conversation starter with the business sponsor when we worked to raise expectations on the learner to develop the ability to ‘apply’ rather than to just intellectually ‘know’. I expect a similar conversation soon in my current work, and this time I plan to use Anderson and Krathwohl updated terminology mentioned in the Comments on Harold’s post.

Last stop on my previously tagged, is this Guy W. Wallace piece from the 2007 ISPI and IFTDO International Performance Improvement Conference blog. Guy does tend to rant; however, in my current assignment where informal learning isn’t and can’t achieve the desired outcomes, I’m increasingly understanding and respecting his performance-based formal training point of view. In this post, Guy writes:

…jumping into rapid e-learning (or other) development without the RIGHT objectives at several levels, will lead to “content” for your LMS/LCMS – but that won’t lead to improved or sustained performance by the learners. Performance Objectives should be driving your Terminal Learning Objectives and your Enabling Learning Objectives…depending on your real world use of Objectives in your ISD-ADDIE-like methods. And they should all be measurable. [links added]

In my search for new (to me) material on the topic, I found Park University’s Writing Quality Learning Objectives, which provides many practical tips and includes references. I discovered this via the del.icio.us learning_objectives tag, after first using del.icio.us to look into what others had tagged the resources I mentioned earlier — determining that learning_objectives was the most frequent tag. Another discovery I appreciated is How to Write Great Learning Objectives, by Kevin Kruse.

Lastly, Will Thalheimer makes a case for four different flavors of learning objectives:

1. Focusing Objective. A statement presented to learners before they encounter learning material—provided to help guide learner attention the most important aspects of that learning material.
2. Performance Objective. A statement presented to learners before they encounter learning material—provided to help learners get a quick understanding of the competencies they will be expected to learn.
3. Instructional-Design Objective. A statement developed by and for instructional designers to guide the design and development of learning and instruction.
4. Instructional-Evaluation Objective. A statement developed by and for program evaluators (or instructional designers) to guide the evaluation of instruction.

In my current work, I’m not certain that I’d want to start slicing this finely (just getting to explicit learning objectives at all will be a bit of a triumph); however, this taxonomy does have intuitive appeal, plus Will is one of the best deep-thinkers on learning practice that I’ve come across.

What is your own experience with writing learning objectives or outcomes?