EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

•     INTRODUCTION

•      Educational objectives depict what students should be able to do at the end of a learning activity.

•      As Educational objectives are more focused on the learner’s performance, it is also called as “learning objective”.

DEFINITION

•      “The result sought (required) by the learner at the end of the educational programme..i.e., what the students should be able to do at the end of a learning period, that they could not do before hand”     - JJ Guilbert

•      Aims, Goals & Objectives

•      Education must be purposeful -

•      It must have a direction

Most General = Aims

Most Specific = Objectives

Aims, Goals & Objectives

•      Aims - General Statements that provide both shape and direction to the more specific actions of the curriculum

•      “building world mindedness”

•      No Child Left Behind (2001)

Goals of Education

•      Goals are statements of purpose

•      Goals are specific statements designed as guidelines to achieve particular purpose

•      “Students will become aware of the various nations of the world and the roles they play in a world community.”

Objectives

•      Objectives indicate in more specific terms the outcomes of the curriculum

•      Behavioral Objectives - objectives stated precisely will improve the quality of teaching and learning

•      A meaningful objective must be measurable

Goals, aims and objective

•      Aims, Goals and objectives represent different positions in descending order.

•      Aims reflect philosophy while goals stand for strategies and objectives for actual tactics in the classroom.

•       Aims represent like outcomes, goals refer to school outcomes and objectives refer to classroom instructions.

Difference between goals and objectives

Instructional goals	Instructional objectives
Goals derived from aims. Goals can be of general directions. Goals are non-measureable	Objectives derived from goals. Objectives are specific. Objectives are specific.
Goals are broad	Objectives are narrow
Goals are general intentions	Objectives are precise
Goals are intangible	Objectives are tangible
Goals are abstract	Objectives are concrete
Goals cannot be validated	Objectives can be validated
Goals are non-measurable	Objectives are measureable

•     TYPES

Cognitive Domain

                                                              Affective Domain

                                                              

                                                                                         Psychomotor Domain

LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

•      Cognitive Domain:

Level 1: knowledge:  Remembering of previously learned material.

Verbs usage Eg:  Can the students recall or remember the information? Define, list, memorize, recall, repeat.

Level 2: comprehension: Can the learner explain ideas or concepts?

Verbs usage e.g: Classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, select, recognize. E.g. Rewrites the principles of test writing.

Level 3: application:  Can the student use the information in a new way?

•      Verbs usage eg:  Apply, solve, use, write, illustrate, operate.

•       E.g. Apply laws of statistics to evaluate the reliability of a written test.

Level 4: analysis:  ability to breakdown material into its component parts.

•      Can the student distinguish between the different parts?

Verb usage eg:

•       Appraise, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, examine, experiment. E.g. How does the American Civil War compare with the French Civil War?

Level 5: synthesis: combines various parts to form a new whole.

•      Can the student create new product or point of view?

Verb usage e.g.:

Assemble, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, write.

E.g. Design a machine to perform a specific task.

Level 6: evaluation: the ability to judge the value of material for a given purpose judgments are based on definite criteria

•      Verb usage eg:

•      argue,

•      defend,

•       judge,

•       select,

•      support,

•      value

•      and evaluate.

•      E.g.  compare and contrast any two definitions of education.

Affective domain

•      Level 1:receiveing:  (willing to listen)

•      Being aware of or attending to something in the environment.

•      The student passively pays attention.

•       Without this level no learning can occur.

•      Verb usage Eg:  

•      Feel,

•      attend,

•       perceive,

•       experience,

•      chooses.

•      E.g. listening attentively to a friend.

•      E.g. Individual would read a book passage about civil rights.

•      Level 2: responding: (willing to participate)                                                      Showing some new behavior as a result of experience.

•      Active participation of the learner.

•      The student actively participates in the learning process, not only attend to a stimulus the student also reacts in some way

•      Verb usage Eg:

•      assists,

•      answer,

•      aids,

•       helps

•      labels.

•      E.g. Individual answers questions about the book, read another book by the same author, another book about civil rights etc.

•      Level 3: valuing: Showing  some definite involvement or commitment. (willing to be involved)

•      The student attaches a value to an object, phenomena or piece of information

•      E.g. The individual demonstrates this by voluntarily attending a lecture on civil rights.

•      Verb usage Eg:

•       Completes,

•       demonstrates,

•      differentiates,

•       explains,

•      follows,

•      invites,

•       joins,

•      selects,

•      shares,

•      Level 4: organization: here learners will encounter situations in which more than one value is relevant.

•      Ability to prioritize a value over another and create a unique value system (willing to be an advocate).

•      The student can put together different values, information,, ideas and accommodate them within his her schema, comparing, relating and elaborating on what has been learned.

•      E.g. The individual arranges a civil rights rally.

•      Verb usage E.g. :

•       arranges,

•       prepares,

•      organizes,

•       formulates.

•      Level 5: characterization: highest level. Students internalize value system which is the philosophy of life

•      Acting consistently with the new value. ( willing to change one’s behavior, lifestyle, or way of life).

•      The student has held a particular value or belief that now exerts influence on his /her behavior so it becomes a characteristics.

•      E.g. the individual is firmly committed to the value, perhaps becoming a civil rights leader.

•      Verb usage Eg:

•      Displays

•      Acts

•      Perform

Psychomotor domain

•      Skills in the psychomotor domain describes the ability to physically manipulate a tool or instrument like a hand or hammer.

•       Psychomotor objectives usually focus on change or development in behavior or skills.

•      Level 1: perception:

•      concerned with perception of sensory cues that guide actions.

•      E.g. Detects non-verbal communication cues.

•      E.g. adjust heat of stove to correct temperature by smell and taste of food.

•      Verb usage E.g:

•       detects

•      adjust

•      Psychomotor domain

•      Level 2: set: concerned with the cognitive, affective, psychomotor readiness to act.

•      It includes mental, physical and emotional sets. (sometimes called mindsets)

•      Verb usage Eg: reacts promptly to emergency situations.

•      E.g. recognize one’s abilities and limitations.

•      Note: this subdivision of psychomotor is closely related with the “ responding to phenomena” subdivision of the Affective domain.

•      Level 3: guided response: refers to early stages of skill acquisition – following demonstration of teacher.

•      The early stages in learning a complex skill that imitation and trial and error.

•       Adequacy of performance is achieved by practicing.

•      Verb usage Eg: 

•      Follows instructions to build a model.

•      Level 4: mechanism: performance has become habitual.

•      Learned responses have become habitual and the movements can be performed with some confidence and proficiency.

•      Verb usage Eg:

•      Use a personal computer.

•      Drive a car.

•      Level 5: complex overt response:

•      Complex movements are possible with a minimum of wasted effort.

•      skilled performance & involves economy of effort, smoothness of action, accuracy & efficiency.

•      Proficiency is indicated by a quick, accurate and highly coordinated performance requiring a minimum of energy.

•      Verb usage E.g:

•      Operates a computer quickly and accurately.

•      Displays competence while playing the piano.

•      Level 6: adaptation: skills are internalized that students can adapt them to cater for special circumstances

•      Skills are well developed and the individual can modify movement patterns to fit special requirements.

•      Movement can be modified for special situation

•      verb usage Eg:

•       E.g. modifies instruction to meet the needs of the learners.

•      E.g. Accurate performance in laboratory.

•      Psychomotor domain

•      Level 7: origination: highest level, concerns the origination of new movement pattern.

•      New movement can be created for special situation

•      Verb usage Eg:

•      designs

•      Construct a new theory.

•      CONCLUSION

•      knowledge regarding the strengths and weakness of behavioral objectives will assist the educator in framing objectives in a realistic way suitable to the aims of education.