When building a new course, especially a new online one, where do you begin? Should you construct the syllabus and schedule? Select a textbook? Assemble your exams? Although these questions contribute to the design and development of a new course, there is a more fundamental place to start -- learning outcomes and objectives.
Outcomes/Objectives lay the foundation for beginning course design with the end in mind. Specifically, you should ask yourself, "what should my students be able to do at the end of the class that they may have been unable to do at the beginning?" Once you know where you want your students to go (academically speaking), you can better select, plan, and develop the contents and activities to get them there and design assessments that accurately measure whether or not they have arrived. Let's look at an example of how we might operationalize and guide course development around the objective "Explain the effect of immigration on American culture."
It's All About the Action Verbs
Objectives define what students should be able to do as a
result of successful completion of a course. They should also be measurable, a
lack of which is a critical weakness in many "objectives" provided by
textbook publishers and others. Although not the only such tool, Bloom's
taxonomy (as shown in this table) provides a good starting point for identifying
actionable, measurable verbs on which to base learning objectives for your
class.
Be careful of two common errors: (1) vague verbs and (2)
non-objectives. Vague verbs include statements such as "The student will
understand how multiple factors led to America's entry into World War II."
In addition to "understand," other common vague/weak verbs are
"know," "appreciate," "learn," and "be
familiar with." They are considered vague because they don't describe what
students will do to demonstrate their knowledge, appreciation, learning, or
familiarity. Non-objectives are statements such as "The student will be
able to complete the Chapter 3 exam successfully." As Smith (2012)
explained in a blog entry from Arizona State University's Teach Online
resources, "If your assessment is being used to meet your objective, then
you will want to write a measurable objective that describes the content of the
assessment."
Course Design and Learning Objectives
What do learning objectives have to do with effective course design, you ask? Good objectives are the foundation of an excellent course, and all instructional materials, activities, assessments, and tools must align to support student success in mastering the objectives. Keeping this in mind, the three main course components that provide a solid course structure are:
- Learning Objectives represent the outcome and attainment of knowledge and skills planned using the supporting two components. Objectives should be created and or written from the student's perspective and then clearly referenced throughout the course to show students how each element contributes to their attainment of the learning outcomes. Such clarity and prominence make the objectives the foundation of learning.
- Instructional Content and Activities are critical to course design. Examining each learning objective should guide you in selecting, developing, and implementing course materials and activities that are directly related to the objective. Use activities that align with the actual skill you want the students to master. For example, suppose you have an objective that stipulates students will be able to compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of government systems. In that case, the only related activity should not be a multiple-choice self-quiz.
- Assessments and Tools are the final components that must align with a course's learning outcomes. Assessments, especially comprehensive or terminal projects, papers, exams, etc., should be overtly related to learning objectives and course outcomes. Often left unconsidered is the selection of course tools based on which will most likely promote learners' achievement of course and module objectives. For example, assume that your course includes a learning objective in which students will "debate the merits and limitations of representative democracy." In this case, an assignment in which students write a paper for instructor review/feedback only would not align with the objective. You would want to select a tool that supports students in debating one another, such as a discussion forum, virtual meeting, etc.
To plan for instructional alignment during the course design
process, we recommend using a course planning/design tool. Examples include the
IDT team's Instructional Plan document, DePaul
University's Course Blueprint document, and the Online
Course Blueprint Planning Guide from the University of Michigan's Center
for Academic Innovation. In addition, it's a good idea to examine each section
of your course as you develop it and ask the following questions regarding
instructional alignment:
- Are the learning activities consistent with all the learning goals?
- Are the feedback and assessment activities consistent with the learning goals and the learning activities?
Additional details regarding instructional alignment, and course
design in general, can be found within Fink's online A
Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning.
You are welcome to request a consultation with a member of our Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) team to learn more about objectives for your course design or any other instructional design/technology topic. To request personalized assistance, don't hesitate to contact OIT's Support Center at 281-283-2828 or supportcenter@uhcl.edu.
