Writing Effective Objectives

Effective learning objectives typically include two core structural elements (1) a verb and (2) a statement of the concept, procedure, or skill. You can write measurable learning objectives in two (2) short steps.  

Table showing the 2 components of a learning objective.

Graphic adapted from Course Map Guide Links to an external site.

Steps to Writing Effective Objectives

Step 1: Identify a verb that describes the intended cognitive process or what the learner is intended to do.

The verb describes the intended cognitive process or what the learner is intended to do. Many instructors use "Bloom's Taxonomy" as a framework when designing learning objectives to find suitable "action verbs" that are organized based on the level of cognitive complexity that they describe. As an example, having students explain a concept demonstrates a lower cognitive level of ability (Remember) than if they were asked to justify or validate (Evaluate) that concept as it taps into higher analytical cognitive processes. Read more about Bloom's Revised Taxonomy and review a list of action verbs Links to an external site.. 

Step 2: Identify the concept, procedure, or skill that the learner is expected to acquire, construct or demonstrate.

The statement describes the knowledge students are expected to acquire, construct, or demonstrate (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). This statement may focus on knowledge that is factual, conceptual, procedural, or metacognitive. 

Strengthening your Objectives

When writing learning objectives avoid using passive verbs such as “know,” “understand,” “learn,” or “appreciate” as they are too general and very hard to measure. To strengthen your learning objectives consider including additional elements such as the audience, condition, and degree. 

  • The audience they are intended to address. In most instances, your audience will be the students taking your course.
  • The condition (or context) under which the behavior is expected to occur or within what timeframe.
  • The degree to which the learner must perform for the behavior to be considered acceptable.

Learning Objective Examples

Table showing examples of learning objectives
Not Measurable Good Better
Gain an appreciation for the literary works of 1960's authors Review the literary works of 1960's authors Use the literary works of 1960's authors to predict patterns in literacy development
Understand the derivative of a function at a point Interpret the derivative of a function at a point as the slope of the tangent line. Interpret the derivative of a function at a point as the slope of the tangent line and estimate its value from the graph of a function.
Become familiar with the evolutionary theory about human behavior. Evaluate the origins of the evolutionary theory about human behavior. Evaluate the evidence for various frameworks surrounding the evolutionary theory about human behavior.

Table adapted from Course Map Guide Links to an external site.