How to Write Learning Objectives

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A learning objective is “a statement that tells what learners should be able to do when they have completed a segment of instruction” (Smith & Ragan, 2005, p. 96). A precise, concrete, and specific learning objective is valuable to the course designer, instructor, learners, and reviewers. In this post, we will focus on module-level or lesson-level learning objectives that are subordinate to the course level objectives. We will use the learning objectives generator to assist in the objective writing process, using the who+verb+goal+condition pattern.

*Screenshot from* *https://learning-objectives.easygenerator.com/*

Who: Describe the Learner

When you are working on module-level or lesson-level learning objectives, the target learner must be identified for the course. In most situations, you may describe the learners using the same description in the course objectives, or simply use “students.”

Verb: Choose the Level of Knowledge to Obtain

A verb is used to describe the action of the objective based on Bloom’s Taxonomy. From lower to higher, there are six levels of cognitive processes: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. We suggest you read this good article from Iowa State University, Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy, before you choose the level of your objective and pick the verb. After you decide the level of knowledge, you can select the level and pick the most appropriate verb for your objective in the generator, for example, the verb “write” at the “creating” level. (You may check out more action verbs and examples in the Bloom’s Taxonomy Teacher Planning Kit.)

Goal: Describe the task

The goal is the task to be performed by the learner, for example, “write a measurable learning objective.” To use the learning objective generator, you may remove the verb chosen on the previous step and enter the goal into the textbox, such as “a measurable learning objective.”

Condition: Set the Criteria

The last component is the condition that sets the criteria of how you will assess the learning outcome, for example, “with all components (who, verb, goal, and condition) included.” Keep in mind that the conditions need to be measurable. They should be used to assess how well the learners perform the task.

In our example, the completed learning objective statement is “Students will be able to write a measurable learning objective with all components (who, verb, goal, and condition) included.”

Below is a demonstration of how the generator works.