Learning Competencies and Objectives

Learning competencies are the main ideas or skills you expect students to master (these are also
called “goals”)
Students use and develop competencies when they encounter unfamiliar or
challenging situations. Competencies help students draw and build upon what
they know, how they think and what they can do.
Learning competencies, according to DepEd, refer to the “knowledge,
understanding, skills, and attitudes that students need to demonstrate in every
lesson and/or learning activity.”

Examples:
1. Provide a morphologic diagnosis given a gross tissue specimen of the liver.
2. Diagram how urine is created.
3. Demonstrate aseptic technique.
4. Deliver a prepared or impromptu talk on an issue employing the techniques in public speaking
5. Compose an argumentative essay.

Learning objectives are the specific abilities necessary to accomplish the learning competency.
Learning objectives are brief descriptions of what students should know or be
able to do at the end of a unit or other learning period. They're specific and
measurable, and should use active verbs that describe what the learner will do.

Examples:
1. Given a piece of paper and a pencil, draw and label the micro anatomy of the kidney
including all structures relevant to the production of urine from the afferent arteriole to the
renal pelvis and ureter.
2. Given a number of multiple choice items, correctly identify the direction of flow and
content of the flow of water, cells, proteins, Na, Cl, Urea, K, H from when blood enters the
afferent arteriole until urine is deposited in the ureter.
3. Given a surgical gown pack and sterile gloves, put on the gown and gloves without
breaking sterility of the gloves and gown.
4. Given one minute, present a prepared speech employing five non-verbal cues in
public speaking.
5. Given the following topics, write an argumentative essay observing its five
features and proper format.

.
Task 1

Refer to the Department of Education K to 12 MELC and choose your area of specialization.

Choose three (3) learning competencies from three different grade levels (BSEd Grades 7-10; BEEd
Grades 1-6, Mother Tongue).

From the Learning competencies that you chose, come up with three (3) learning objectives that cater to
each of the three domains of science learning (Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor).

Use the table below.

Learning Competencies Grade Level Learning Objectives

1. 1.
2.
3.

2. 1.
2.
3.

3. 1.
2.
3.
Learning Competencies
Guidelines
1. Outline the major skills or big-picture ideas you are teaching students
2. Tell what you want learners to be able to do by the end of your course

Elements of a well-written Learning Competency (big-picture idea/skill):

 Begin with an action verb (one verb)
 Clear and concise (short)
 Includes a student behavior you can observe and measure
 Avoid the words “know”, “learn”, and “understand”

Good Examples Poor Examples

 Performs appropriate first aid for injuries and  Understands first aid
emergency situations in physical activity (Grade 9 PE) - Cannot observe “understanding”

 Derive the law of radicals (Grade 9 Math)  Be aware of how to derive the laws of radicals
- Awareness is difficult to define or measure

 Match words with pictures and objects
(Grade 1 Mother Tongue)
 Compose texts which include multimodal
elements (Grade 10 English)
 Learn about matching words with pictures and objects
-Not an active outcome
 Understand how to compose texts which
include multimodal elements
- Cannot observe “understanding”

 Explain ingestion, absorption, assimilation and

 Understand ingestion, absorption, assimilation and
excretion (Grade 8 Science)
excretion
- Cannot observe “understanding”

 Nagagamit ang mga hudyat ng sanhi at bunga ng mga  Malaman kung paano gamitin ang mga hudyat…
pangyayari (Grade 8 Filipino) - Cannot observe “malaman kung paano” or
“knowing how”
 Learning Objectives
Guidelines
1. Describe specific activities a student will do to show that he or she has learned
2. Include 2-10 learning objectives for each Learning Competency (main idea or skill)
3. Audience + Behavior + Condition + Degree = Learning Objective (ABCD)

Elements of a well-written Learning Objective (ABCD)

 Audience – Who is doing the learning? Often this can be stated once for the entire course, and therefore can be
omitted from individual objectives.
 Behavior - Indicate the task, product or process you will observe or measure (action)
 Condition - Indicate the resources available, where performed and/or what information is given to learner
 Degree - Indicate the measure of success or expectations for satisfactory performance (criteria)
o Degree/criteria may include accuracy, speed, frequency, percentage or number to be achieved, degree of excellence,
qualities/elements of performance, or may reference published standards

Examples
Audience Behavior Condition Degree
 Describe  in a written assignment...  report exhibits correct grammar, usage,
 Students  Diagnose  in a classroom setting... spelling, and punctuation
 List  by the end of the semester...  relevant history items are all complete and
 Perform  using a given set of lab values... accurate
 Interpret  provided a case study...  Anatomical structures are identified with
 while performing surgery … complete accuracy within 5 minutes
 learner follows standard procedures for
controlling hemorrhage

Learning Competency: Explain ingestion, absorption, assimilation and excretion

(In the effective examples, Behaviors are bolded, Conditions are italicized, and Degree is underlined.)
Effective Learning Objectives Less Effective Learning Objectives
 Given a scenario of a snake feeding on a rat the  Understand what happens when a snakes feeds on a
student will explain, succinctly and including all key rat.
mechanisms, how ingestion, absorption,
- No behavior, condition or degree
assimilation and excretion take place.

Learning Competency: Compose texts

which include multimodal elements

 Considering the topic “Limited Face-to-Face Classes,

the student will make a vlog creatively, observing the Know the multimodal elements
use of multimodal elements. - No behavior, condition, or degree
 Learning Competency: Evaluate and manage a traumatic wound
Effective Learning Objective
 Provided a selection of materials and a specific kind
of wound, correctly bandage a wound on an
extremity.
Less Effective Learning Objective
 Learn how to apply bandages to extremities.
- Learning not observable. No condition or degree.

Task 2A.
Instruction. Improve the Learning Objectives provided in the first page observing the Audience +
Behavior + Condition + Degree = Learning Objective (ABCD) format.

1. Given a piece of paper and a pencil, draw

and label the micro anatomy of the kidney
including all structures relevant to the
production of urine from the afferent arteriole
to the renal pelvis and ureter.

2. Given a number of multiple choice items,

correctly identify the direction of flow and
content of the flow of water, cells, proteins, Na,
Cl, Urea, K, H from when blood enters the
afferent arteriole until urine is deposited in the
ureter.

3. Given a surgical gown pack and

sterile gloves, put on the gown and
gloves without breaking sterility of the
gloves and gown.
4. Given one minute, present a
prepared speech employing five non-
verbal cues in public speaking.

5. Given the following topics, write an

argumentative essay observing its five
features and proper format.

Task 2B.
Instruction. Choose one (1) learning objective from each of your chosen competencies in Task 1 and
Improve your Learning Objectives observing the Audience + Behavior + Condition + Degree =
Learning Objective (ABCD) format.

Original Learning Objective Domain Improved Learning Objectives (ABCD

Format)
1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.