By Dr. Sultan Muhammad Khan
Keywords ; Define Goals, Define Aims, Define
Objectives, Define Learning outcomes, Importance of Learning Outcomes, Identifying
Behavioral learning outcomes, Importance of instructional objectives, Taxonomy
of Educational Objectives, The cognitive Domain, The affective Domain, The Psycho-motor Domain,
Goals,
Aims and Objectives/Learning outcomes
Goals are broad statements that give a general direction to classroom instruction. As
they are broad they have the advantage of relating many aspects of society and
education. Due to their broad nature, they are achieved after a long time due
to; some of the examples of goals can be to make better citizens, to advance
humanity. To produce Islamic society. In education system, goals are considered
to be the ends that society sets for it.
Aims are
narrow as compared to goals; they are the targets to achieve the goals, aims are
broader than objectives. They are set by the experts, curriculum planners, and
educationists. They give indications about what is to be achieved after the completion
of each course or subject? They are long ranged as compared to objectives but
narrow if we compare them with the goals.
Simply we can
say that aims put the goals into achievable and precise direction goals cannot
be achieved without breaking them into achievable from. I.e. the aims. They are
in the middle of goals objectives continuum as given in the diagram.
(Aims Goals Continuum)
Objectives/learning
outcome Aims
Goals
Highly Intermediate Highly
Specific Broad
Objectives/
learning outcomes are best thought of as the intended outcomes of the process
of education. They are highly specific and make the starting point of the
above-mentioned continuum to reach the goals. They tell us what the students
will be able to achieve as a result of teaching in a specified time i.e. a
single class period. The diagram also shows the relation of goals, aims and
objectives.
The educational Objectives/learning outcomes
are expressions of what a teacher hopes his/her students can accomplish as a
result of his/her teaching
These are specific, precise, attainable,
measurable and corresponding to each specific teaching – learning activity.
They are formulated by the teachers at the
instructional level.
These objectives/learning outcomes are
written in a way to cater the individual learning needs of the students.
These objectives are clear and unambiguous
description of teacher’s educational expectations of each student in the class.
Writing Behavioral Objectives
·
Write down a list of general instructional
objectives for the unit.
·
Select the content desired to achieve the
objectives of the unit.
·
Express the instructional objectives describing
what the students should perform after completing the unit.
·
Begin these statements with a verb i.e. define
identifies, classify, explain etc.
Importance
of Learning Outcomes
Instructional
objectives play a key role in the instructional process. When properly stated,
they serve as guide for both teaching and learning, communicate the intent of
the instruction to others and provide guidelines for evaluating pupil’s
learning:
The methods
and techniques (materials) of instruction are likely to be most effective and
appropriate if we have first decided what types of performance pupils are
expected to demonstrate at intended learning outcomes in performance terms is
the main function of properly stated instructional objectives. This
clarification of what pupils should be learning and how the learning is to be
expressed not only aids the teacher but also helps others understand the focus
of the instruction
In preparing
instructional objectives. It is possible to focus on different aspects of
instruction to achieve the learning outcomes. Some teachers prefer to state the
objectives in terms of what they are going to do during the instruction e.g. to
demonstrate to students how to use microscope.
Though this
statement clearly indicates what the teaching activity is, it is less clear
concerning the intended learning outcome.
A more
desirable way of stating objectives is in terms of what we expect pupil to be
able to do at the end of the instruction e.g. to identify the parts of the
microscope.
Statement
such as these:
a.
To direct the attention to the pupils
b.
And the types of performance they are expected
to show at the end of instruction.
Thus our focus shifts from:
·
The teacher to the pupil, And
·
From learning experience to the learning
outcomes.
This shift in
focus makes clear the intent of our students learning. Well-stated outcomes
make clear the types of student performance we are willing to accept as
evidence that the instruction has been successful.
When viewing
instructional objectives in terms of learning outcomes, it is important to keep
in mind that we are concerned with the products of learning rather that the
process of learning.
Pupil Learning experience learning
outcomes
(Process) (Process)
Study
of cell knowledge
of parts
Structure
of plants of
cell. Skill in lab.
Using
microscope.
Ability to write accurate
Reports of
scientific
Observations
Besides, the above-mentioned contributions of learning outcomes in the
instruction process, there are certain other advantages of objectives.
Objectives help the teacher in the selection of certain subject matter.
Learning experiences/ activities are selected properly on the basis of
learning outcomes.
Teacher can organize various types of activities keeping in view their
possible contribution bringing about desirable changes in students behaviors.
Teacher can adopt various techniques in the classroom on the basis of
achievements of objectives.
Evaluative procedures are directly linked with the objectives or
desired goals.
Identifying
Behavioral learning outcomes
Objectives can be classified as
either behavioral or non-behavioral. Behavioral objectives state how the
student will behave as a result of instruction. The behaviors are an observable
indication that learning has occurred. Examples of behavioral objectives/
learning outcomes are:
The student
should be able to:
Identity
symbols on a weather map
Describe the
procedure to operate Microscope
Define the term
energy for contrast,
Here are some
non-behavioral objectives
The students
should:
·
Learn scientific names of common animals.
·
Comprehend the concept of work.
·
Know how to use the scientific method.
All of the
above examples could be objectives for science lesson and they are all stated,
in terms of learning results for student. In the first set the specific
behaviors have been state, if the student can identify …. Describe…… and
define. The second set is a little less clear as to how you will know whether
or not the student has learned... Does comprehend... or does know. Are
behavioral objectives better that non-behavioral? Here are some advantages and
disadvantages of behavioral objectives.
Some of the
advantages of behavioral objectives are:
·
They help the teacher become more precise in his
teaching.
·
They clarify exactly what is expected.
·
The teacher plans more carefully because he know
what performance the students should display after finishing a lesson, unit, or course of study.
·
The teacher knows what materials are needed and
is able to give more specific help to students in directing them to outside
sources of information.
·
They provide performance criteria for student
achievements and accountability for the teacher.
·
The teacher who prepares behavioral objectives
finds them very helpful in evaluation. When preparing paper and pencil tests,
the questions can be matched to the objectives and, by deciding on certain
criteria of performance, questions can be phrased in such a way that the teacher
has precise knowledge of the ability of the student to perform certain tasks.
Some
disadvantages of behavioral objectives are
·
They may tend towards an emphasis on trivial
behaviors and ignore important objective4s that are too difficult to define
behaviorally.
·
They may inhibit the teacher’s spontaneity and
flexibility.
·
They may provide a precise measurement of less
important behaviors, leaving more important, outcomes unevaluated.
·
They may be used against teachers who are held
accountable for the performance of students who do not learn.
·
They tend to focus the teacher’s leaving the
“Whole picture” unattended.
Importance of instructional objectives
·
The teacher will have a method by which to
measure, at least partially, important objectives not measured in the past.
·
The teacher and the student will have greater
visible evidence that the objectives have been achieved.
·
The
student will experience considerably more freedom in achieving an objective.
·
The
student will feel greater focus and direction on what is important, on what to
study for, and on what he will be evaluated.
·
In the long run, both the teacher and the
student will save time and energy.
·
The student will participate more in his own
instruction.
·
The teacher will feel greater security with this
more direct evidence of “teaching effectiveness”
Criteria for determining the Appropriateness of instructional
objectives
The
following questions determine the criteria as suggested by Clark.
·
Does the instructional objective seem relevant
to the student?
·
Does the instructional objective itself provide
any motivation for? Or is it at least attractive to the student?
·
Is the instructional objective appropriate for
the needs of the students?
·
Will the objective be used frequently enough by
the student to make its attainment worthwhile?
·
Can the instructional objective be attained by
the student within the time allotted?
·
Prerequisites been adequately attained?
·
Does the instructional objective specifically
prescribe instructional experiences?
·
Are facilities available for the attainment of
the instructional objective?
·
Is the instructional objective important enough
to justify the staff time and money put in for its attainment?
·
Can the instructional objective be modified of
eliminated over times as it becomes more or less important?
·
Can the instructional objective be evaluated
satisfactorily?
·
Is the instructional objective consistent with
the teacher’s own personal values?
·
Does the instructional objective appear to be
consistent with the school’s philosophy of education? (1. pp27-35)
Taxonomy
of Educational Objectives
Taxonomy means to make group or
classify. It is a scheme to put certain thing in a particular order. Taxonomy
of educational objectives means to put the educational objectives in a
particular order. It was first written by Blood B.S and other in 1956 to help
teacher’s educationists and curriculum planners in developing a framework to
improve learning. Objectives are placed in three classes, i.e. cognitive
domain, psychomotor domain and affective domain. The cognitive domain involves
knowledge and thinking ranging from simple recall to evaluation.
The
psychomotor domain involves motor skills, sensory perception, responding and
the development of complex kills in written, verbal and manual forms. The
affective domain is reacted to feeling, attitudes, emotions and values of the
learner.
A brief
description of each of these classes in given below:
The
cognitive Domain
There are various levels of this
domain.
·
Knowledge: the first and lowest level of
a cognitive domain, includes the recall of specifics (e.g. that ice is a form
of water), structures (e.g. the name of bones in the human body), or scientific
processes (e.g. that a control is an important part of an experiment). The knowledge
level emphasizes what could be described as memory.
·
Comprehension: the second level includes
translation from one form to anther and interpretation. Examples would be:
Drawing a graph of changes from a list of temperatures recorded over period to
time, or explaining verbally what is meant by a statement that is expressed in
mathematical symbols.
·
Application: the third level involves
breaking down an idea or set of ideas into its various parts and determining
the relationship between the parts e.g. determining which statements about an
experiment are facts and which are hypotheses, or which factors do and which do
not, lead to an unexpected conclusion of an experiment.
·
Synthesis: The fifth level includes
taking parts and putting them together to get conclusion. Other examples would
be formulation of a hypothesis to explain why some animals are less active in
daytime than at night, and why water usually extinguishes fire.
·
Evaluation: This, the highest of the size
cognitive domains, includes making judgments. An example is the ability to
state the drawbacks in analysis of an experiment: another is the ability to
evaluate opinions beliefs about pollution, environment, population etc.
The
affective Domain
The second of the three
domains in the taxonomy, the affective domain, includes what we commonly call
attitudes, values, and appreciation, statements of these objectives usually
include such phrases as “developing certain values”. “Stimulating interest”.
Acquiring attitudes and developing an on appreciation of the role of various
fields of studies in our world.
The affective
domain consists of a hierarchy in which each category is more abstract and
complex that the previous one.
Receiving:
The first and lowest level of the affective domain includes an individual’s
awareness of, and attention to, particular phenomena, or values, e.g.
recognizing that there is not always sufficient evidence available for drawing
a definite conclusion and thus, in accordance with the scientific approach,
suspending judgment until sufficient evidence in available: or, on a somewhat
deeper level, recognizing when someone is or is not following the practice of
suspended judgment
Responding:
The second level goes beyond simple’s awareness or attention in making some
response to a stimulus or phenomenon. Many objectives concerning the
development of interest fall into this category which includes reading about
the subjects and engaging in various extracurricular projects or activities.
The category extends from compliance with suggestions of engaging in such
activates to more voluntary responses that are the result of satisfaction or
pleasure experienced by those involved.
Valuing: The
third level of the affective domain includes many objectives that have the
characteristics of an attitude or belief. The behaviors or performances of the
student have consistency or stability that indicates an internalization of and
commitment to, certain ideas or values. Many objectives that include reference
to development of scientific attitudes belong to this category.
Organization:
The fourth level is the building of a system of values. At this level a
value is conceptualized or understood in abstract, and conflicts between values
are resolved and an interrelationship determined. An example would be
verbalizing the value of the suspended judgment that was described in the
previous level of the taxonomy and making judgments about the value of
following such an approach as compared to forming judgments on the basis of
evidence
The
Psychomotor Domain
The Psychomotor objectives
are as important as cognitive and affective domain. Their objectives refer to
certain manipulating skills that are vital in learning sciences, mathematics
and other activity oriented subjects. Such skills are measurement, drawings,
making diagrams, making observations, performing experimentation, handling
apparatus, making graphs etc.
A psychomotor domain includes physical
manipulation and motor abilities. In skill development subjects, all the
processes that are followed in learning lead to acquisition of mastery in one
or the other skill. The following table illustrates the taxonomy briefly.
