MEETING 6

Objectives and Educational Outcomes

A learning objective refers to the statement of what students will

obtain through instruction of certain content. In other words ‘an
objective is a description of a performance you want learners to be
able to exhibit before you consider them competent. An objective
describes an intended result of instruction, rather than the process of
instruction itself.’ (Mager, p. 5)
In teaching learning process, learning objectives have a unique
importance. The role learning objectives play includes but is not
limited to the following three:

• firstly, they guide and direct for the selection of instructional

content and procedures.
• Secondly, they facilitate the appropriate evaluation of the
instruction.
• Thirdly, learning objectives help the students to organize their
efforts to accomplish the intent of the instruction.
Characteristics/ Attributes of the Objectives
Good objectives have three essential characteristics:

•Behaviour - Firstly, an objective must explain the competency to be learned, the intended change in the
behaviour of the learners. For this purpose it is necessary to use the verb in the statement of the objective
which identifies an observable behaviour of the learner.

•Criterion - Secondly, an objective must clarify the intended degree of performance. In other words objective
should not only indicate the change in the behaviour of the students but also the level or degree of that
change as well. For this purpose the statement of the objective must indicate a degree of accuracy, a quantity
or proportion of correct responses or the like.

•Conditions - Thirdly, an objective should describe the conditions under which the learning will occur. In
other words, under what circumstances the learner will develop the competency? What will the learner be
given or already be expected to know to accomplish the learning? For example, a condition could be stated
as, told a case study, shown a diagram, given a map, after listening a lecture or observing a demonstration,
after through reading, etc
Taxonomy of Educational Objectives

Bloom established a hierarchy of educational objectives for categorizing

level of abstraction of questions that commonly occur in educational
settings (Bloom, 1965). This classification is generally referred to as
Bloom's Taxonomy. Taxonomy means 'a set of classification principles',
or 'structure'. The followings are six levels in this taxonomy: Knowledge,
Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. The
detail is given below:
Cognitive domain:

The cognitive domain (Bloom, 1956) involves the development of

intellectual skills. This includes the recall or recognition of specific
facts, procedural patterns, and concepts that serve in the development
of intellectual abilities and skills. There are six levels of this domain
starting from the simplest cognitive behaviour to the most complex.
The levels can be thought of as degrees of difficulties. That is, the first
ones must normally be mastered before the next ones can take place.
Affective domain:

The affective domain is related to the manner in which we

deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values,
appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations, and attitudes. The
five levels of this domain include: receiving, responding,
valuing, organization, and characterizing by value.
Psychomotor domain:

Focus is on physical and kinaesthetic skills. The psychomotor

domain includes physical movement, coordination, and use of the
motor-skill areas. Development of these skills requires practice
and is measured in terms of speed, precision, distance,
procedures, or techniques in execution. There are seven levels of
this domain from the simplest behaviour to the most complex.
Domain levels include: Perception, set, guided response,
mechanism, complex or overt response, adaptation.
Bloom's Revised Taxonomy

Bloom’s former students Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl

revised Bloom’s Taxonomy in 1990. - Bloom's Revised
Taxonomy was published in 2001. Key to this is the use of verbs
rather than nouns for each of the categories and a rearrangement
of the sequence within the taxonomy. They are arranged below in
increasing order, from Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) to
Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS).
Defining Learning Outcomes?

Learning outcomes are the statements indicating what a student is

expected to be able to do as a result of a learning activity.

Major difference between learning objectives and out comes is that

objectives are focused upon the instruction, what will be given to the
students and the outcomes are focused upon the students what
behaviour change they are being expected to show as the result of
the instruction.
A learning outcome is a written statement of what the successful student/learner
is expected to be able to do at the end of the module/course unit, or
qualification. (Adam, 2004)

Learning Outcome: An expression of what a student will demonstrate on the

successful completion of a module. Learning outcomes:

•are related to the level of the learning;

•indicate the intended gain in knowledge and skills that a typical student will
•achieve;
•should be capable of being assessed.
Difference between Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Learning outcomes and objectives’ are often used

synonymously, although they are not the same. In simple
words, objectives are concerned with teaching and the
teacher’s intentions whereas learning outcomes are
concerned with students learning.
Importance of Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes facilitate teachers more precisely to tell students what is expected of them.
Clearly stated learning outcomes:

•help students to learn more effectively. They know where they stand and the curriculum is made
more open to them.
•make it clear what students can hope to gain from a particular course or lecture.
•help instructors select the appropriate teaching strategy, for example lecture, seminar, student
self-paced, or laboratory class. It obviously makes sense to match the intended outcome to the
teaching strategy.
•help instructors more precisely to tell their colleagues what a particular activity is designed to
achieve.
•assist in setting examinations based on the content delivered.
•Help in the selection of appropriate assessment strategies.
Preparation of Content Outline
First you must understand that what is content. In this regard content refers to the major matter that will be
included in a measuring device. For example, the test of General Science he diagrams, pictures of different
plants, insects or animal or living or non-living things that constitute the test.

For a psychomotor test such as conducting an experiment in laboratory might require setting up of
apparatus for the experiment. For an effective device, the content might consist of the series of statement to
which the students might choose correct or best answer. Most tests taken by students are developed by
teachers who are already teaching the subject for which they have to develop the test.

Selection and preparation of content also depends on the type of decisions a teacher has to make about the
students. If the purpose of a test is to evaluate the instruction, then the content of a test must reflect the age
appropriateness. If test is made for making decisions regarding selection then the content might of
predictive nature. This type of test domain will provide information that how well the student will perform
in the program.
The outline of the test content should based on the following principles:

1.Purpose of the test (diagnostic test, classification, placement, or job

employment)
2.Representative sample of the knowledge, behaviour, or skill domain being
measured.
3.Relevancy of the topic with the content of the subject
4.Language of the content should be according to the age and grade level of the
students.
5.Developing table of specification.
Preparation of Table of Specification

It has been discussed earlier that the educational objectives play a significant
role in the development of classroom tests. The reason is that the preparation of
classroom test is closely related to the curriculum and educational objectives.
And we have also explained that a test should measure what was taught. For
ensuring that there is similarity between classroom instruction and test content
is the development and application of table of specification, which is also
called a test blue print.