Does this learning goal focus on what the student will do?

Objective: Conservation of energyA. YesB. NoC. Depends on context

Does this learning goal focus on what the student will do?

Objective: Conservation of energyA. YesB. NoC. Depends on context

Perhaps instead, “Students will be able to use ideas of conservation of energy to solve problems.”

Check-list for refiningtopic-scale learning objectives:

Is goal expressed in terms of what the student will achieve or be able to do?

Check-list for refiningtopic-scale learning objectives:

Is goal expressed in terms of what the student will achieve or be able to do?

Is the goal well-defined? Is it clear how you would measure achievement?

Is this objective well-defined?

“Students will be able to use ideas of conservation of energy to solve problems.”A. YesB. NoC. Depends on context

Is this objective well-defined?

“Students will be able to use ideas of conservation of energy to solve problems.”A. YesB. NoC. Depends on context

Perhaps instead, “Students will be able to use conservation of energy to solve for the final speed of an object that falls from a given height.”

Check-list for refiningtopic-scale learning objectives:

Is goal expressed in terms of what the student will achieve or be able to do?

Is the goal well-defined? Is it clear how you would measure achievement?

Do chosen verbs have a clear meaning?

Recall facts and basic concepts?define, duplicate, list, memorize, repeat, state

Explain ideas or concepts?classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, locate, recognize, report, select, translate

Use information in new situations?execute, implement, solve, use, demonstrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch

Draw connections among ideas?differentiate, organize, relate, compare, contrast, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test

Justify a stand or decision?appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, critique, weigh

Produce new or original work?Design, assemble, construct, conjecture, develop, formulate, author, investigate

Can the student…

create

evaluate

analyze

apply

understand

remember

Shopping for verbs… with Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs for Writing Learning Objectives Lower Order Skills

I. Remember (Knowledge) (shallow processing: drawing out factual answers, testing recall and recognition)

II. Understand (Comprehension)(translating, interpreting and extrapolating)

III. Apply(Knowing when to apply; why to apply; and recognizing patterns of transfer to new situations)

arrangechoose describe define findidentifylabellistlocatematch memorizenameorderomit reciterecognizerelaterecallreproduceselect state

classifydescribedefenddemonstratedistinguishexplainexpressextendgive exampleidentifyillustrateindicateinterrelateinterpretinferlocatematchparaphraserepresentrestaterewriteselectshowsummarizetelltranslate

applycalculateclassifyconstructcompletechoosedramatizeemployexplaingeneralizeillustrateinterpretmanipulateorganizeoperatepaintpracticeprepareproduceselectshowsketchsolvetranslateuse

Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs for Writing Learning Objectives Lower Order Skills

I. Remember (Knowledge) (shallow processing: drawing out factual answers, testing recall and recognition)

II. Understand (Comprehension)(translating, interpreting and extrapolating)

III. Apply(Knowing when to apply; why to apply; and recognizing patterns of transfer to new situations)

arrangechoose describe define findidentifylabellistlocatematch memorizenameorderomit reciterecognizerelaterecallreproduceselect state

classifydescribedefenddemonstratedistinguishexplainexpressextendgive exampleidentifyillustrateindicateinterrelateinterpretinferlocatematchparaphraserepresentrestaterewriteselectshowsummarizetelltranslate

applycalculateclassifyconstructcompletechoosedramatizeemployexplaingeneralizeillustrateinterpretmanipulateorganizeoperatepaintpracticeprepareproduceselectshowsketchsolvetranslateuse

Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs for Writing Learning Objectives Lower Order Skills

I. Remember (Knowledge) (shallow processing: drawing out factual answers, testing recall and recognition)

II. Understand (Comprehension)(translating, interpreting and extrapolating)

III. Apply(Knowing when to apply; why to apply; and recognizing patterns of transfer to new situations)

arrangechoose describe define findidentifylabellistlocatematch memorizenameorderomit reciterecognizerelaterecallreproduceselect state

classifydescribedefenddemonstratedistinguishexplainexpressextendgive exampleidentifyillustrateindicateinterrelateinterpretinferlocatematchparaphraserepresentrestaterewriteselectshowsummarizetelltranslate

applycalculateclassifyconstructcompletechoosedramatizeemployexplaingeneralizeillustrateinterpretmanipulateorganizeoperatepaintpracticeprepareproduceselectshowsketchsolvetranslateuse

“Students will be able to use conservation of energy to solve for the final speed of an object that falls from a given height.”

Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs for Writing Learning Objectives Lower Order Skills

I. Remember (Knowledge) (shallow processing: drawing out factual answers, testing recall and recognition)

II. Understand (Comprehension)(translating, interpreting and extrapolating)

III. Apply(Knowing when to apply; why to apply; and recognizing patterns of transfer to new situations)

arrangechoose describe define findidentifylabellistlocatematch memorizenameorderomit reciterecognizerelaterecallreproduceselect state

classifydescribedefenddemonstratedistinguishexplainexpressextendgive exampleidentifyillustrateindicateinterrelateinterpretinferlocatematchparaphraserepresentrestaterewriteselectshowsummarizetelltranslate

applycalculateclassifyconstructcompletechoosedramatizeemployexplaingeneralizeillustrateinterpretmanipulateorganizeoperatepaintpracticeprepareproduceselectshowsketchsolvetranslateuse

Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs for Writing Learning Objectives Lower Order Skills

I. Remember (Knowledge) (shallow processing: drawing out factual answers, testing recall and recognition)

II. Understand (Comprehension)(translating, interpreting and extrapolating)

III. Apply(Knowing when to apply; why to apply; and recognizing patterns of transfer to new situations)

arrangechoose describe define findidentifylabellistlocatematch memorizenameorderomit reciterecognizerelaterecallreproduceselect state

classifydescribedefenddemonstratedistinguishexplainexpressextendgive exampleidentifyillustrateindicateinterrelateinterpretinferlocatematchparaphraserepresentrestaterewriteselectshowsummarizetelltranslate

applycalculateclassifyconstructcompletechoosedramatizeemployexplaingeneralizeillustrateinterpretmanipulateorganizeoperatepaintpracticeprepareproduceselectshowsketchsolvetranslateuse

“Students will be able to summarize the law of conservation of energy.”

Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs for Writing Learning Objectives Higher Order Skills

IV. Analyze(breaking down into parts, forms)

V. Evaluate(according to some set of criteria, and state why)

VI. Create (Synthesis)(combining elements into a pattern not clearly there before)

analyzeappraisecalculatecategorizeclassifycomparecontrastdiscriminatedifferentiatedistinguishexamineexperimentidentifyinferinvestigatepoint outquestionselectseparatesubdividesurveytest

appraiseargueassesschoosecomparecriticizecritiquedecidedebatedefenddeterminediscussestimateevaluatejudgejustifypredictprioritizeraterecommendselectsupportvalueweigh

arrangeassemblecollectchoosecombinecomposeconstructcreatedesigndevelopdoformulatehypothesizeinventmakemake uporiginateorganizeprepareplanproduceproposerole playtell write

Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs for Writing Learning Objectives Higher Order Skills

IV. Analyze(breaking down into parts, forms)

V. Evaluate(according to some set of criteria, and state why)

VI. Create (Synthesis)(combining elements into a pattern not clearly there before)

analyzeappraisecalculatecategorizeclassifycomparecontrastdiscriminatedifferentiatedistinguishexamineexperimentidentifyinferinvestigatepoint outquestionselectseparatesubdividesurveytest

appraiseargueassesschoosecomparecriticizecritiquedecidedebatedefenddeterminediscussestimateevaluatejudgejustifypredictprioritizeraterecommendselectsupportvalueweigh

arrangeassemblecollectchoosecombinecomposeconstructcreatedesigndevelopdoformulatehypothesizeinventmakemake uporiginateorganizeprepareplanproduceproposerole playtell write

Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs for Writing Learning Objectives Higher Order Skills

IV. Analyze(breaking down into parts, forms)

V. Evaluate(according to some set of criteria, and state why)

VI. Create (Synthesis)(combining elements into a pattern not clearly there before)

analyzeappraisecalculatecategorizeclassifycomparecontrastdiscriminatedifferentiatedistinguishexamineexperimentidentifyinferinvestigatepoint outquestionselectseparatesubdividesurveytest

appraiseargueassesschoosecomparecriticizecritiquedecidedebatedefenddeterminediscussestimateevaluatejudgejustifypredictprioritizeraterecommendselectsupportvalueweigh

arrangeassemblecollectchoosecombinecomposeconstructcreatedesigndevelopdoformulatehypothesizeinventmakemake uporiginateorganizeprepareplanproduceproposerole playtell write

“Students will be able to defend the choice of conservation of energy as a solution method for a given problem.”

Check-list for refiningtopic-scale learning objectives:

Is goal expressed in terms of what the student will achieve or be able to do?

Is the goal well-defined? Is it clear how you would measure achievement?

Do chosen verbs have a clear meaning? Is terminology familiar/common? If not, is the terminology

itself a goal?

Check-list for refiningtopic-scale learning objectives:

Is goal expressed in terms of what the student will achieve or be able to do?

Is the goal well-defined? Is it clear how you would measure achievement?

Do chosen verbs have a clear meaning? Is terminology familiar/common? If not, is the terminology

itself a goal?

“Students will be able to defend the choice of conservation of energy as a solution method for a given problem.”

Check-list for refiningtopic-scale learning objectives:

Is goal expressed in terms of what the student will achieve or be able to do?

Is the goal well-defined? Is it clear how you would measure achievement?

Do chosen verbs have a clear meaning? Is terminology familiar/common? If not, is the terminology

itself a goal? Does the goal align with your course-scale goals?

Course-level goals Topic-level objectives

“Students will be able to defend the choice of conservation of energy as a solution method for a given problem.”

“Students will be able to use conservation of energy to solve for the final speed of an object that falls from a given height.”Students will be able to build

scientific communication skills.

Students will develop problem-solving skills.

Students will recognize that understanding in physics arises from careful experiment, critical reasoning, and logic.

These are different level objectives

“Students will be able to defend the choice of conservation of energy as a solution method for a given problem.”

“Students will be able to summarize the law of conservation of energy.”

Recall facts and basic concepts?define, duplicate, list, memorize, repeat, state

Explain ideas or concepts?classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, locate, recognize, report, select, translate

Use information in new situations?execute, implement, solve, use, demonstrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch

Draw connections among ideas?differentiate, organize, relate, compare, contrast, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test

Justify a stand or decision?appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, critique, weigh

Produce new or original work?Design, assemble, construct, conjecture, develop, formulate, author, investigate

Can the student…

create

evaluate

analyze

apply

understand

remember

How does Bloom’s inform your objectives?

Check-list for refiningtopic-scale learning objectives:

Is goal expressed in terms of what the student will achieve or be able to do?

Is the goal well-defined? Is it clear how you would measure achievement?

Do chosen verbs have a clear meaning? Is terminology familiar/common? If not, is the terminology

itself a goal? Does the goal align with your course-scale goals? Is the Bloom’s level of the goal appropriate? (Is it aligned

with your actual expectations, and with student ability?) Do your goals cover a range of levels? (Jenny; mix of levels. Not all high level)

Check-list for refiningtopic-scale learning objectives:

Is goal expressed in terms of what the student will achieve or be able to do?

Is the goal well-defined? Is it clear how you would measure achievement?

Do chosen verbs have a clear meaning? Is terminology familiar/common? If not, is the terminology

itself a goal? Does the goal align with your course-scale goals? Is the Bloom’s level of the goal appropriate? (Is it aligned

with your actual expectations, and with student ability?) Do your goals cover a range of levels?

Do your goals cover a range of types of knowledge?

COGNITIVE ABILITIESFacts: Terminology, information, detailsConcepts: Classifications, reasoning,

principles.

PROCEDURES & SKILLS: Techniques, methods, problem-solving

(routine and non-routine). “Thinking like a….”.

Different types of learning

METACOGNITIVESelf-awareness

about what helps you learn; studying & learning strategies.

ATTITUDES & BELIEFSAppreciate, enjoy, value.

Check-list for refiningtopic-scale learning objectives:

Is goal expressed in terms of what the student will achieve or be able to do?

Is the goal well-defined? Is it clear how you would measure achievement?

Do chosen verbs have a clear meaning? Is terminology familiar/common? If not, is the terminology

itself a goal? Does the goal align with your course-scale goals? Is the Bloom’s level of the goal appropriate? (Is it aligned

with your actual expectations, and with student ability?) Do your goals cover a range of levels?

Do your goals cover a range of types of knowledge? Is it relevant and useful to students? (Kirschner)

So, how do you make an objective useful?

• Use this checklist; with yourself and others

• Be choosy! Restrict and prioritize your objectives to keep your syllabus tight and focused.

• Test it out, and refine over time