Module 08: Drafting Instructional Objectives

Introduction Connect Apply Reflect Extend

The ADDIE model's initial phase, analysis, is designed to ground your instructional design efforts.  You have used performance analysis to identify gaps between optimal and actual performance, and the root causes behind those gaps.  Then, when the root cause lies in a skills or knowledge deficiency, the training needs assessment effort helps us further understand the audience and content involved (task analysis, subject matter analysis, audience analysis).

Now you are ready to begin the design phase of ADDIE, and the first step is to specify what learners will be able to do at the end of the instruction. Those specifications are called instructional objectives.

The job of drafting instructional objectives is going to be much easier if you were diligent about defining optimals in terms of performances, rather than topics. Here, we take the skills/knowledge-caused gaps and turn the optimals into outcome statements - in other words, instructional objectives.

Module Highlights

  • Objectives describe what the learner will be able to do, guide the designer in choosing appropriate strategies and material, and lead to the construction of appropriate test questions.
  • A properly formed objective will identify the performance required of the learner, specify under what conditions the performance must occur, and state how well the performance is to be done.
  • Writing well-formed objective requires a focus on what the learner is to do, using wording precise enough to reduce ambiguity.
  • The number of objectives for a unit is dependent on the complexity of the task and how sure you want to know that the learner can do the performance.

 Module 08: Connect

 

In this section:


Why instructional objectives?

There are several reasons for drafting instructional objectives. First, from the learners' perspective, it helps them understand just what it is you want them to achieve. That, in turn, helps them focus their attention on important tasks and information and avoid distractions and "wild goose chases."

For instance, if I told you this chapter was "about" instructional objectives, you might interpret that to mean that if you glance over it and get some idea of what objectives are all about, you'll be able to answer a few multiple choice questions on it, and "pass the test." If, on the other hand, I told you that the objectives for this chapter included being able to diagnose specific problems with incomplete or poor instructional objectives and write complete, well-crafted objectives, you might spend more time processing the material.  Certainly that level of specificity helps you begin building a framework, or scaffolding, for the content that will be relayed.

Second, drafting instructional objectives helps you choose appropriate instructional or learning strategies. If you're vague about what you want people to learn to do, your instruction will be vague. If I'm not clear on what I want you to be able to do at the end of this chapter, I might just throw in everything I know about objectives and hope you get something out of it. But if I know that I want you to discriminate between good and poor objectives, I can provide examples and non-examples to help you see the difference. If I know I want you to be able to write good objectives, I can provide you with a procedure for writing and evaluating them.

Third, drafting instructional objectives allows you, in turn, to draft test items. If you know what you want learners to be able to do at the end of the instruction, you will know what to test them on. Do you want them to be able to recognize the definition of a mammal? A multiple choice item might work for that. Do you want them to be able to predict the time and place for the landfall of a tropical storm? A performance test might better assess that.


Parts of objectives

According to Mager (1984a), good instructional objectives have three parts: (1) a performance, (2) the conditions under which the learner is to perform, and (3) the criteria for judging the success of the performance. Here's an example of an objective with all three parts (Figure 8.1):

Figure 8.1. Complete example of an instructional objective.


Performance

If you don't want people to be able to do anything with what you teach them, then you don't need a performance in your instructional objectives. This negative way of stating the case makes it pretty clear, doesn't it? Put another way, the proportion of instruction aimed at helping people "be" is negligible, compared with the proportion aimed at helping them "do." "Doing" means doing something specific, and it is that specific performance you are trying to nail down when drafting instructional objectives.

As with performances associated with instructional goal analysis and task analysis, the performance stated in an instructional objective will fall into one of the categories in the content/performance matrix (Figure 8.2).

 

Facts

Concepts

Procedures

Principles

Apply
X

Classify examples

Perform the steps

Apply a rule

Remember

Recall an association

Recall a definition

List the steps

State a rule

Figure 8.2. The content/performance matrix (see Module 5 for more details).

You can help yourself identify an appropriate performance by scanning the matrix until you find something close to what you're looking for. For example, let's say that you're trying to help submarine sonar operators identify vessels and other sonar images.

As you scan the matrix you notice the apply/concepts box with the sample performance: "classify examples." That's pretty close to what you want the sonar operators to be able to do. You want them to be able to discriminate among many different sonar images and sort out the whales, the destroyers, the submarines, the dolphins, the torpedoes, and so forth, from one another. You could state the objective as:

Given 400 sonar images, operators will be able to identify and name 39 subclasses of vessels without errors.

The performance is in bold font. Notice, however, that there seems to be another performance, "name." This is a remember/fact performance, and is important if what we really want the operators to be able to do is tell their officer that, "Sir, there's a Peruvian 245 Class Tender at 32 degrees, 58 minutes north and 117 degrees 12 minutes west."

This statement, of course, reveals yet another performance we might like to capture in this objective, which is locating the vessel. We might restate the objective as:

Given 400 sonar images, operators will be able to identify, name, and determine the position of 39 subclasses of vessels without errors.

You might want them to be able to report the bearing and speed of progress of the ships as well. How much you include in a single objective depends, as always, on the learners and on related instruction. For beginning sonar operators, for example, you might have a series of lessons based just on the "identify" performance alone, asking them only to sort the images into appropriate categories. A separate series of lessons might get them "naming" the piles, while yet other lessons help them learn to determine position, bearing, and speed. A refresher course for experienced sonar operators, however, might combine all these performances in a single objective.

In this example, it is easy to observe whether the sonar operators are naming the vessels accurately. "Naming" implies some overt written or verbal statement that you can check for accuracy. But what about the other performances? Can you "see" someone identify something? Can you look inside their head and observe them determining the position?

For covert performances -- those that are not directly observable -- you should provide an indicator performance. An indicator performance is just what it sounds like, an overt performance that indicates to your satisfaction that a covert performance is taking place. What overt performance would indicate that the sonar operators are properly identifying the vessels? Why not have them place the images in designated piles. Destroyers in pile A, aircraft carriers in pile B, and so forth. Or they could simply label them with category names or other identification you provide. So, now, the objective might look like this:

Given 400 sonar images, operators will be able to identify (sort into labeled bins) 39 subclasses of vessels without errors.

You can add the indicator behavior in parentheses following the covert behavior. That keeps you from confusing the main intent of the performance from the indicator behavior. You don't want sonar operators on board their submarines going around throwing images into bins!


Conditions

Some people like to call these the "givens." The conditions include everything you want the learners to have while they are performing with one big exception -- the conditions do not include your instruction! You can assume they have that, since these are called instructional objectives!

Conditions includes tools, resources, and environmental conditions. You can specify that they will perform with or without specific conditions. Consider these "givens:"

"Given a blank check and a check register…"

"Provided with a set of skis and ski boots…"

"Without referring to a dictionary…"

"On a topographic map…"

"Without a ruler…"

"Under weightless conditions…"

Notice that none of these say anything about the instruction itself, such as, "Given instruction in water skiing…" or "Given a question about Katmandu…." Why is this the case?  Conditions describe the conditions under which performance will occur.  Unless your learner will have a teacher and classroom available at the time of performance, instruction is not a condition under which performance will occur.  Wefocus on the performance conditions, not the instruction.

Also, you want to make sure that the performance conditions resemble the workplace conditions under which the learners have to perform in "real-life". The better the match between the training conditions and the workplace situation, the easier it is for the learners to transfer their knowledge from the classroom to their workplace.


Criteria

The third part of an instructional objective is a statement of the criteria -- how well do you want learners to perform? Criteria include speed, accuracy, and quality. For example, an instructional objective for attendants working in medical emergency rooms might go something like this:

Given a gurney and a patient in a wheelchair, move the patient from the wheelchair to the gurney within one minute without the patient supporting any weight with an injured limb.

The performance is pretty clear -- they're going to have to move the patient from the wheelchair to the gurney. The conditions are clear, also -- the learner will be given a gurney, a wheelchair, and a patient. But how well will they have to do it? In an emergency room, time is of the essence. People are suffering, and their conditions are possibly worsening while you stand around chatting. So an important criteria here is time. Get that patient out of the wheelchair and into the gurney in a minute!

Another important criteria here is quality. It's important not to cause undue discomfort or, worse, further complicate the injury. So another important criteria is that the attendants don't let the patient support him or herself with an injured limb.

Quality criteria can also be stated in the form of a checklist. We could list the following criteria for English students learning to write paragraphs:

Accuracy is often important in assessing performances. For example, we asked the submarine sonar operators to identify all 400 sonar images without error. Mistaking an enemy torpedo for a dolphin is an error you may only get to commit once! Other performances have degrees of accuracy, depending on what is acceptable or desired.

Contractors may only need to be able to estimate the cost of a remodel to within 5% of the actual cost. Lifeguards may need to be able to throw a life saving ring to within two feet of a swimmer, but without actually hitting the swimmer, of course! You may want your 7th graders to be able to name and describe at least 3 cell parts, or to weigh a sample to the nearest gram. You may want your typists to be able to transcribe audio tapes at 60 words per minute with no more than 3 errors.

You can also simply refer to someone else's criteria or checklist. For instance, you could specify that multimedia developers will lay out screens using the criteria outlined on page 27 of Screen Layout for the Complete Idiot, or according to the checklist in Chapter 6 of the manual.

Decide what is desirable and realistic for your learners to accomplish, and state that as the criteria for the performance.  Finally, make sure your criteria is specific.  Add enough detail such that two people judging the performance will come to the same conclusion as to whether the criteria has, or has not, been met.


Rules for good objectives

Mager (1984a, p. 86) acknowledges that sometimes it's difficult to distinguish between, say, conditions and criteria. He dismisses these fine distinctions, and suggests that you judge an objective as whole based on whether or not it answers the following questions:

What is likely to go wrong with your objectives?

One of the most common pitfalls when writing objectives is to state the performances from the teacher's or instructor's point of view rather than from the students. For instance, "The instructor will give examples of three types of mammals" says nothing about what you want the students to be able to do.

Another common problem with performances is that they are covert (you can't observe them). For example, "Students will be able to identify 3 of the 5 leading causes of the Great Depression, as listed in their textbook." That's fine, except how will you actually know they identified them? Fix it by adding an indicator behavior:

Students will be able to identify (list and write a paragraph justifying each choice) three leading causes of the Great Depression, as described in the textbook.

Be sure the performance captures the main intent of the objective. Listing and writing justifications in the objective above is probably not what the instructor really wants the students to be able to do with the causes of the Great Depression. She really wants them to be able to "identify" them in the sense of being able to spot similar patterns in other economic downturns, as they go through their lives. So "identify," even though it is a covert behavior, is really the main intent.

Things can go wrong with conditions, too, such as listing the instruction itself as a condition, as in, "Given three days of instruction…." Novice designers sometimes tend to be very rigid in terms of how they describe the performance conditions. For example, they don't allow the learners to use any support materials such as job aids or manuals ("Without using a job aid, the learner will be able to..."), whereas in fact this does not reflect the true conditions under which the learners will have to operate. Here, you can save lots of training time and learner/instructor effort when you closely examine the workplace conditions first and then create your objectives accordingly.

Criteria can be confusing, too. Perhaps the most common error is to mistake the class as a whole for the individual performer, as in, "90% of the class will be able to…." When writing objectives, always focus on the individual performer, not the collective.

Another problem with criteria is to make them too vague, using terms such as "adequately" or "within reason."

Seven steps to useful instructional objectives

So, how do you go about writing a good objective? Here's one way of approaching the task.

  1. Jot down the performance. Example: "Appreciate the painting."
  2. Check the performance with Mager's "Hey, Dad Test" (1984b, p. 28). Plug your performance into the phrase, "Hey, Dad, watch me...." See if it makes sense. For instance, in this case, "Hey, Dad, watch me appreciate this painting" doesn't work very well. It's a covert performance. Fix it either by changing it to an overt performance or by adding an indicator performance in parentheses: Example: "Explain the artist's use of color, line, and texture in a painting."
  3. Jot down the conditions. Example: "Following three days in the museum…"
  4. Check the conditions to see whether they answer the questions, "What will the learner have to perform with? What will the learner have to perform without?" Adjust your conditions appropriately. Example: "Given three paintings…"
  5. Jot down the criteria. Example: "According to the characteristics of the color, line, and texture."
  6. Check the criteria to see whether they answer the question, "How will you know when xxx (the performance) is good enough?"Example: "…at least one characteristic of each element (color, line, and texture)."
  7. Combine the performance, conditions, and criteria into a clear sentence. Example: "Given three paintings, describe at least one characteristic of each artist's use of each element (color, line, and texture)."

Presto! A useful objective. Dad can see (or hear) you do it, you know what the learner has on hand while doing it, and the criteria are measurable.

How many objectives should you write? You certainly want to write at least one or more objectives for each goal you identified in your instructional goal analysis. Beyond that, the number of objectives you devise depends on the nature of the performance and its complexity. For instance, if the performance is a matter or life or death (as with a safety task) or otherwise entails significant consequences, you may want to write an objective for every sub-task of each goal you described in your task analysis. When the consequences of the performances are less dire, you may opt to write objectives for the goal itself and a few important sub tasks or prerequisite tasks. If the goal is more complex, you might wish to write more objectives in order to adequately represent it.

Module 08: Apply

Your Final Assignment 

So far, you have conducted a performance analysis on an opportunity or problem of your choice.  Your final assignment is to produce a job aid that will help your audience perform and eliminate at least one of the gaps between optimal and actual.

Job aids, like instruction, begin with a clear understand of what the learner will be able to do.   Follow the "Seven steps to useful instructional objectives" in this chapter to write an objective or objectives which your job aid will address.  Likely, your condition will include "Given a job aid...".  But other "givens" may also be necessary. There is no need to submit your work; the objectives you write will become part of your final assignment.

 

Module 08: Reflect

 

Objectives can be tricky to write, but are a helpful treat when you are the learner.  Good objectives reflect real-world performance and are defined in observable and measurable terms.  They provide a clear picture of what the learn will be able to do.  And, they include specific criteria by which successful performance will be judged.

This week, I will post some objectives to the discussion board.  Take a look at the objectives posted and, where necessary, offer your approach to rewriting one of the posted objectives.  Make sure to include your rationale - what's wrong with the objective, your proposed rewrite, and a brief statement explaining why you did what you did.

Module 08: Extend

Overview of this section


People in action

Barbara had been facing a problem in her middle school science class. Students were often racing through experiments, not reading directions. Because many of the experiments dealt with caustic chemicals and fire potential, she identified the lack of critical reading of the laboratory experiments as a fairly serious performance problem. Recommendations to improve the performance included environmental, organizational, motivational, and skill and knowledge suggestions. An audience analysis was also conducted to identify learning and attitudinal characteristics of the students.

One of the barriers Barbara identified was that students don't realize the importance of reading carefully and that a possible solution to this problem would be to provide short instructional sequences for finding critical components in a laboratory exercise. Because this would require skill and knowledge, she decided to generate a couple of objectives to focus her instruction. The following objectives were established.

1. Using a job aid, students will be able to summarize each of the required steps before beginning the experiment.
2. Using the color coded equipment job aid, students will be able to correctly identify each of the two flasks and five beakers.
3. From memory, students will be able to write word-for-word the five safety rules for laboratory exercises.
4. Using either the lab book or experiment job aid, students will be able to list an experiment's a) list of required material and b) special safety precautions.

Main points of Module 08

Purpose of objectives

  1. The first step in the design phase of ADDIE is to specify what learners will be able to do at the end of instruction. These descriptions are known as objectives.
  2. One purpose for objectives is to let the learner know what is expected, and therefore, to focus their energies on appropriate tasks.
  3. Another purpose of objectives is to help the designer choose appropriate instructional or learning strategies.
  4. A third reason for objectives is to help you draft appropriate test items.

Components of objectives

  1. Mager states that objectives should have three parts; the condition, the criteria, and the performance.
  2. The performance is the most critical component of the objective. It is helpful to relate the objective's performance to the performances in the performance/content matrix.
  3. The complexity of the performance is dependent on the expertise of the learner and the complexity of the related instruction.
  4. If the performance is covert (something we can't see or hear them do), then an indicator performance (an overt performance) is often stated to ensure the learner has mastered the performance.
  5. Conditions are components of the objective that learners are allowed or required to have while performing. This may include (or be restricted from using) tools, resources, or environmental conditions.
  6. The objective's criteria states how well the objective is to be performed. Criteria usually include factors such as speed, accuracy, or quality.
  7. It is also possible to point to, or refer to, criteria already established as long as the criteria states how well the performance is to be done.

Rules for good objectives

  1. When judging objectives, ask yourself: what is the main intent; what will the learner do to demonstrate achievement; what can or cannot the learner use; and how good is good enough.
  2. A common problem is if the objective states what the instructor is to do rather than what the learner is to do.
  3. Make sure the intent of the objective is known by the student. Problems sometimes occur if the performance is covert.
  4. Objectives should always focus on the individual, not the class as a whole.
  5. Learners may be confused if criteria is too vague; always list how good the performance should be if the "goodness" is important.

Writing objectives

Step 1: Jot down the performance.
Step 2: Make sure the performance is overt.
Step 3: Jot down the condition.
Step 4: Be sure the conditions list what can or cannot be used at the time of performance.
Step 5: Jot down the criteria.
Step 6: Make sure the criteria answer the question how good is good enough.
Step 7: Combine performance, condition, and criteria into a clear sentence.
The number of objectives you write depends on the complexity of the task and how sure you want to be that the learner can perform the task adequately. You may have only one objective for the entire task, or multiple objectives for the task and sub-tasks.

Next step

The objective stated in the example for Step 7 of the procedure above is practically a test item already. In the next chapter, we'll take a look at the next part of the design phase of ADDIE by extending your objectives into test items. We'll also explain why writing test items before you begin creating instructional material produces more successful results.

For more information

Mager, R. (1984a). Preparing instructional objectives. Belmont, CA: David S. Lake Publishers.

Mager, R. (1984b). Goal analysis. Belmont, CA: Lake Publishing Company.

Introduction Connect Apply Reflect Extend

Page authors: Bob Hoffman & Donn Ritchie Last updated: James Marshall, October 23, 2005

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