Learning Objectives

  Build a Better Objective
  1. Pick one of your current course objectives or create a new one based on a topic you teach.
  2. Evaluate the objective using these questions:
    • Is it specific and measurable?
    • Does it focus on observable student behaviors or skills?
    • Does it align with your course activities and assessments?
  3. Revise your objective to make it clearer and more measurable. Use action verbs like “analyze,” “design,” or “classify.”

What Are Learning Objectives?

Learning objectives define what students should be able to do, know, or demonstrate after completing your course. They’re clear, measurable, and central to designing meaningful teaching and assessment strategies.

Why Write Clear Objectives?

  • For students: They clarify expectations and guide learning efforts.
  • For instructors: They align course content, activities, and assessments to promote focused teaching.

Tips for Crafting Effective Objectives

  1. Be measurable: Use specific action verbs (e.g., “describe,” “evaluate,” “create”). Avoid vague terms like “understand” or “learn.”
  2. Focus on outcomes: What should students demonstrate or produce?
  3. Align with assessments: Objectives should match how you evaluate student success.

Examples of Measurable Objectives

  • Vague: Students will understand cell division.
  • Clear: Students will diagram the stages of mitosis and explain their significance.
     
  • Vague: Students will know the laws of motion.
  • Clear: Students will apply Newton’s three laws of motion to solve real-world physics problems.
     
  • Vague: Students will learn about perspective in drawing.
  • Clear: Students will sketch a landscape using one-point and two-point perspective techniques.
     
  • Vague: Students will know financial concepts.
  • Clear: Students will calculate the net present value (NPV) of an investment and assess its feasibility.
     
  • Vague: Students will learn about voting behavior.
  • Clear: Students will analyze demographic data to predict voting trends in the United States.

CTL Resources:

   Student Learning Outcomes Assessment (CTL webpage) 

   Assessing Student Learning (CTL webpage) 

Further Reading & Resources:

   , Carnegie Mellon University Eberly Center

   , Iowa State University Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

   , ֱ Denver Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning