Why learning objectives?
Learning objectives are an important part of planning instruction. They help the instructional designer break down the learning goal into manageable chunks and helps her or him identify the purpose of instruction. Learning objectives help answer the "why" to instruction.
Three elements of effective learning objectives
Training and performance improvement researcher Robert F. Mager emphasized the identification and use of learning objectives in planning instruction. Mager's book, Preparing Instructional Objectives: A Critical Tool in the Development of Effective Instruction, highlights the following three parts of effective learning objectives:
#1 - Conditions
Conditions describe the tools and resources a learner will need to complete the objective.
For example:
"Using Google Chrome, a learner will be able to locate and save the website YouTube.com as a bookmark titling it 'YouTube.' The learner will correctly spell "YouTube" as the bookmark's name."
In this example, "Using Google Chrome" is the condition under which the learner must perform.
#2 - Behavior
The learning objective should include actions, concepts, and content a student must display. These behaviors should be observable.
For example:
"Using Google Chrome, a learner will be able to locate and save the website YouTube.com as a bookmark titling it 'YouTube.' The learner will correctly spell "YouTube" as the bookmark's name."
In this example, "locate and save the website YouTube.com as a bookmark titling it 'YouTube.'" is the behavior required to complete the learning objective.
#3 - Criteria
Criteria included in a learning objective describes what acceptable performance of a skill looks like. It is explicit and outlines parameters for performance.
For example:
"Using Google Chrome, a learner will be able to locate and save the website YouTube.com as a bookmark titling it 'YouTube.' The learner will correctly spell 'YouTube' as the bookmark's name."
In this example, "The learner will correctly spell 'YouTube' as the bookmark's name," is the criterion required to complete the learning objective.
Mager's elements of learning objectives add clarity
When the presence of conditions, behavior, and criteria are all packaged together in a learning objective, it becomes very clear whether or not a learner as achieved the learning objective. This clarity helps remove potential ambiguity from the instructors responsibility to evaluate performance; conditions, behaviors, and criteria also help a student to know when she or he has performed the objective at an adequate level of proficiency.