‘The Art of Framing Objectives – A Technique to Enhance Outcome Based Learning’ by Merlin Depsy Vinoth

Abstract                                                                          

In this era of booming technology, the English classrooms in India are flooded with innovative explorations to engage the learners. In spite of the new methodologies, there is a lapse in the intended outcome. Here, it becomes necessary to plan and prepare the content in order to cater to the varying interests of the learners. As objectives maximize the probability of personal value in learning, this paper is an attempt to put forward the art of framing objectives as a technique to enhance outcome based learning. 

Introduction                                                     

The present generation of students are more enthralled by computers and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The uses of World Wide Web (WWW) and extreme advancements of ICT in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) have widened the horizons of language learning. Inspite of the progressing technology the challenge of every English teacher is to handle students who have flair for the English language and for those who approach the English classes with trepidation. India, being one of the significant centres of educational transformation still has to enrich and strengthen the curriculum of ELT, especially for English as Second Language (ESL) classrooms. Today, classroom learning is fast being replaced with e-learning – the key focus of which is outcome based learning. A study on the techniques used across this field of e-learning would approve newness across the curriculum for ESL classrooms. One such effective technique that can be employed in the field of ELT is the art of framing objectives.

Objectives – An Outline

“Objective” is never a new term in the area of curriculum design, but the need of the hour is to understand the magnitude of necessity that lies behind framing objectives. The term objective is being used in the education industry for almost four decades now. Robert Mager is considered as the pioneer in the art of formulating instructional objectives. His book Preparing Instructional Objectives (1962) was a revelation in the art of writing objectives. Here, Mager emphasizes the need for clear, precise statements of what students should be able to do when they complete their instruction. He believes that this should be achieved before any instructional material is prepared. Being the pioneer, this book helped the teaching community to write objectives that were specific and measurable. As objectives specify the change in the intended behaviour of the learner, they are also termed as behavioural objectives. Other names used for behavioural objectives include learning objectives, outcomes, enabling objectives, terminal objectives, educational objectives, curriculum objectives, performance objectives, operational objectives, instructional objectives, intents, aims, and competencies. When the term objective is explained, the other term that needs to be discussed is “goal”. Here, it becomes mandatory to understand the major difference between goals and objectives. Rationally, goals are broad educational statements that reveal the course description and its long-ranged intended outcomes; whereas objectives are described as the desired learning outcomes of instruction.

Importance of Objectives

Prior stating of the objectives enables the learners to focus and set priorities, allows students in organizing their efforts, keeps the subject on track without much deviation and determines the appropriateness of the content. It further assists in self-assessment, facilitates teachers to realize the end point and allows to pre-determine the learning strategy. However, in designing such impactful objectives, a study on the various strategies is necessary. Mastering any one of the strategies would pave way for framing effective objectives.

Strategies in the Art of Writing Objectives

It has to be realized that a good objective communicates the aim accurately and leaves little room for interpretation. In order to avoid misinterpretations in writing instructional objectives many strategies are being employed. The most important among them is the tactic called the SMART objectives. SMART is a simple acronym that assists to frame appropriate objectives. SMART objectives mean Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound objectives. Effective learning outcome is guaranteed when this strategy is strictly adhered. This is successful method because, while writing instructional objectives we often come across the usage of words such as believe, hear, realize, capacity, intelligence, comprehend, know, see, conceptualize, listen, self-actualize, depth, think, experience, perceive, understand, and feel. A close observation on this list of verbs would reveal the fact that these covert verbs, which are immeasurable words needs to be avoided to improve the efficacy of the course objectives. Making use of such words would never help to focus on the desired learning outcomes as the performance is internal and invisible. On the contrary, objectives should consist of overt verbs (measurable verbs) as they help to observe the performance either visibly or audibly. Hence, it becomes necessary to understand the techniques for making use of measurable verbs as objectives. The different strategies to devise measurable objectives include Mager format, ABCD format, and Gagné and Briggs format.

Mager’s Format

In his book Preparing Instructional Objectives: A Critical Tool in the Development of Effective Instruction (1997), Mager outlines three important characteristics to include in all instructional objectives. This is popularly known as Mager’s Format and it focuses on Performance (what they do), Condition (what is given), Criterion (how it’s measured; accuracy, speed, or proficiency)

Ex. 1.

Given a particular dramatic scene, the learner will analyse the characters in five minutes.

Given a particular scene	analyse the characters	in five minutes.
Condition	Performance	Criterion

Gagné and Briggs format

The Gagné and Briggs (1997) format for writing instructional objectives consists of five components. They are Situation, Learned Capability, Object, Action, Tools and Other Constraints. The components of Gagné and Briggs format match Mager’s condition, performance, and criterion, only to add the object, or content, of the learning activity as well as the tools used.

Ex. 2.

On reading the passage (Situation), the learner will list (Learned Capability)  in words (Action) any five words ending with the sound ‘sh’ (Object). The answer is to be completed in two minutes (Constraints/Tools).

On reading the passage, the learner will list in words any five words ending with the sound ‘sh’. The answer is to be completed in two minutes.

ABCD Format

ABCD is another strategy; where ABCD is mnemonic for Audience, Behaviour, Condition, and Degree of Mastery.

Ex. 3.

Given a list of sentences in a newspaper article, the student will be able to accurately identify the missing words for all the sentences given.

Given a list of sentences in a newspaper article	The student	accurately identify the missing words	for all the sentences given
Condition	Audience	Behaviour	Degree

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Apart from these strategies, the most widely used approach in the art of writing instructional objectives is the Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Benjamin Bloom (1950) created a taxonomy of measurable verbs to describe and classify observable knowledge, skills, attitudes, behaviours, and abilities. This taxonomy is easily understood and widely applied. Bloom’s taxonomy divides the way people learn into three domains. One of them is the cognitive domain, which emphasizes intellectual outcomes. This domain is further divided into six categories or levels or hierarchies. The six levels that use a multi-tiered scale to express the level of expertise are required to achieve measurable learner outcome. The contribution of these measurable verbs in planning the educational outcomes allows the teachers to meet the needs of variety of the learners and will shortly become an integral strategy in the art of teaching. Given below is a tabular column to understand Bloom’s taxonomy and the usage of its verbs as presented by the Centre for Teaching and Learning University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

Table 1

The Blooms Measurable Verb List that Aid in Framing Effective Objectives

Level	Level Attributes	Keywords	Example Objective
1: Knowledge	Rote memorization, recognition, or recall of facts.	list, recite, define, name, match, quote, recall, identify, label, recognize	By the end of this course, the student will be able to recite the poem.
2: Comprehension	Understanding what the facts mean.	describe, explain, paraphrase, restate, give original examples of, summarize, interpret, discuss	By the end of this course, the student will be able to explain the poem.
3: Application	Correct use of the facts, rules, or ideas.	calculate, predict, apply, solve, illustrate, use, demonstrate, determine, model	By the end of this course, the student will be able to apply the employed poetic techniques in other poems.
4: Analysis	Breaking down information into component parts.	classify, outline, break down, categorize, analyze, diagram, illustrate	By the end of this course, the student will be able to differentiate between poem and prose.
5: Synthesis	Combining parts to make a new whole.	design, formulate, build, invent, create, compose, generate, derive, modify, develop	By the end of this section of the course, the student will be able to compose a new poem.
6:Evaluation	Judging the value or worth of information or ideas.	choose, support, relate, determine, defend, judge, grade, compare, contrast, argue, justify, support, convince, select, evaluate	By the end of the course, the student will be able to justify the poetic techniques employed in the composed poem.

 

Source: UNC Charlotte. Center for Teaching & Learning. Writing Objectives Using Bloom’s Taxonomy. 2012. Web. June 2012 <http://teaching.uncc.edu/articles-books/best-practice-articles/goals-objectives/writing-objectives-using-blooms-taxonomy>

Observing these strategies disclose the reality that objectives are the starting point for achieving outcome based learning and teaching.  When this simple strategy of using objectives was executed at classroom level, it has shown positive feedback as the learners are able to focus on the end product. It has to be mentioned that in making the learners knowing what they will learn at the end of the particular session or course will in itself act as a motivating factor.  Apart from being the motivating factor, objectives play a crucial role in evaluating the performance of the learners.  The learners and the teachers are unaware of the fact that evaluation should be based on the set objectives. This is because test or examinations are the mileposts along the road of learning as they help in achieving the objectives. Hence, apt objectives also help to assess the learner’s performances through tests or examinations. Unfortunately the current curriculum is devoid of this link between objectives and assessments.  Framing effective objectives would remove the first hurdle in the path of outcome based learning.

Conclusion

Therefore one should surmise that the golden rules for writing effective objectives are; no interpretations; use specific, measurable and realistic terms; use an action verb; target the learner; choose the appropriate blooms level and match the objective to the assessment. In other words, in teaching English it is best to begin with an end in mind. As John Lubbock says,

 “The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn.”

Works Cited

“A Guide for Writing Performance Objectives for STC Annual Course Certification.”  N.p. 2010 July. Web. 16 June 2012.  <http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/ csa/stc/Docs/ A_GUIDE_FOR_ WRITING _OBJECTIVES.pdf>

ASTD Editors. Train the Trainer Vol. 2: Instructional Design & Implementation. USA: ASTD, 2001. Print.

Clark, D. R. “Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Domains”. 2004. Web. 15 May 2012. <http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html>

Dabbagh, N. The Instructional Design Knowledge Base. “Techniques & Methods for Writing Objectives & Performance Outcomes.” George Mason University. 2002-2006. Web. 22 June 2012. <http://classweb.gmu.edu/ndabbagh/Resources/IDKB/objective_formats.htm>

Dr. Brumfield, Teresa and Dr. Carrigan, Sarah. “Instructional Objectives: The Foundation of

Instructional Effectiveness.” The University of North California. June 2011. Web. 22 June 2012. <https://www.aalhe.org/sites/default/files/Brumfield-Carrigan%20AALHE%20Instructional%20Objectives%20slides_0.pdf>

Teacher & Educational Development. University of New Mexico School of Medicine. “Effective use of Performance Objectives for Learning and Assessment.” N.p. 2005. Web. 01 June 2012.

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. “Writing Objectives”. N.d. Web. 12 June 2012. <http://www.uams.edu/oed/resources/objectives.asp#abcds>

Waller, Kathy V. “Writing Instructional Objectives.” N.d. Web. 20 June 2012.

“Writing Behavioral Objectives for the Clinical Presentation Curriculum.” N.p. Web. 25 May 2012. <http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/fd/objectivesforcpc.htm#alternative>

“Writing Objectives.” N.d. Web. 28 June 2012. <http://www.itma.vt.edu/modules/spring03/instrdes/lesson6.htm>

Zerwas, Stephen C. and Carrigan, Sarah. “Writing Measurable Objectives”. VAG Spring Drive-In Workshop. N.d. Web. 29 June 2012. <http://www.odu.edu/ao/ira/assessment/toolbox/Outcomes_files/WritingOutcomes1a.pdf >

 

About the author

Ms.Merlin Depsy Vinoth is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English, Holy Cross College, Trichy; Tamil Nadu. She is interested in the latest fields of literature such as technical writing, journalism, instructional designing and English Language Teaching. She is a soft skill trainer and has a hands-on experience in the field of e-learning. She is ardent to make use of the strategies followed in the e-learning domain to fit into the field of ELT.