Assessment Primer: Writing Instructional Objectives

Transcription

1 Assessment Primer: Writing Instructinal Objectives (Based n Preparing Instructinal Objectives by Mager 1962 and Preparing Instructinal Objectives: A critical tl in the develpment f effective instructin by Mager 1997) An bjective Is an intent cmmunicated by a statement describing a prpsed change in a learner Is a statement f what the learner is t be like when he/she has successfully cmpleted a learning experience An instructinal bjective describes an intended utcme. A usefully stated bjective is stated in behaviral, r perfrmance, terms that describe what the learner will be ding when demnstrating his/her achievement f the bjective. An instructinal bjective must Describe what the learner will be ding when demnstrating that he/she has reached the bjective; i.e., What shuld the learner be able t d? (Perfrmance) Describe the imprtant cnditins under which the learner will demnstrate his/her cmpetence; i.e., Under what cnditins d yu want the learner t be able t d it? (Cnditins) Indicate hw the learner will be evaluated, r what cnstitutes acceptable perfrmance; i.e., Curse bjective: Hw well must it be dne? (Criterin) What a successful learner is able t d at the end f the curse Is a descriptin f a prduct, f what the learner is suppsed t be like as a result f the prcess The statement f bjectives f a prgram must dente measurable attributes bservable in the graduate f the prgram; therwise it is impssible t determine whether r nt the prgram is meeting the bjectives. Tests r examinatins are the milestnes alng the rad f learning and are suppsed t tell the teacher and the student the degree t which bth have been successful in their achievement f the curse bjectives. An advantage f clearly defined bjectives is that the student is prvided the means t evaluate his/her wn prgress at any place alng the rute f instructin; thus, the student knws which activities n his/her part are relevant t his/her success. A meaningfully stated bjective is ne that succeeds in cmmunicating t the reader the writer s instructinal intent and ne that excludes the greatest number f pssible alternatives t yur gal. BAD wrds (pen t many interpretatins) T KNOW T UNDERSTAND T ENJOY T APPRECIATE T GRASP THE SIGNIFICANCE OF T COMPREHEND T BELIEVE GOOD wrds (pen t fewer interpretatins) T WRITE T RECITE T IDENTIFY T DIFFERENTIATE T SOLVE T CONSTRUCT T LIST T COMPARE T CONTRAST The idea is t describe what the learner will be ding when demnstrating that he/she understands r appreciates.

2 Steps t write bjectives that will describe the desired behavir f the learner: [1] Identify the terminal behavir r perfrmance by name; i.e., specify the kind f behavir that will be accepted as evidence that the learner has achieved the bjective. [2] Define the desired behavir further by describing the imprtant cnditins under which the behavir will be expected t ccur. [3] Specify the criteria f acceptable perfrmance by describing hw well the learner must perfrm t be cnsidered acceptable. Step [1] Identifying the terminal behavir Scheme t fulfill Step [1]: Write a statement describing ne f yur educatinal intents and then mdify it until it answers the questin: What is the learner ding when he/she is demnstrating that he/she has achieved the bjective? A useful bjective identifies the kind f perfrmance that will be accepted as evidence that the learner has achieved the bjective. An bjective always states what a learner is expected t be able t d and/r prduce t be cnsidered cmpetent. Tw examples: Be able t ride a unicycle. => the perfrmance stated is ride Be able t write a letter. => the perfrmance stated is writing, the prduct is a letter Perfrmances may be visible, like writing, repairing, r painting; r invisible, like adding, slving, r identifying. If a statement des nt include a visible perfrmance, it isn t yet an bjective. Overt (visible) perfrmance T identify the kind f perfrmance assciated with the bjective, yu need t answer the questin: What will the learner be DOING when demnstrating achievement f the bjective? Example: Given all available engineering data regarding a prpsed prduct, be able t write a prduct prfile. The prfile must describe and define all f the cmmercial characteristics f the prduct apprpriate t its intrductin t the market, including descriptins f at least three majr prduct uses. => perfrmance = write a prduct prfile Cvert (invisible) perfrmance Sme perfrmances are nt visible t the naked eye, such as slving, discriminating, and identifying. Statements such as Be able t slve Be able t discriminate Be able t identify are inadequate because they dn t describe a visible perfrmance. Whenever the main intent f the bjective is cvert, yu need t add an indicatr behavir t reveal hw the cvert perfrmance can be directly detected. An indicatr behavir is ne that tells yu whether a cvert perfrmance is happening t yur satisfactin. Example: Cnsider the cvert perfrmance Be able t discriminate cunterfeit mney. An indicatr behavir wuld be fr this perfrmance culd be t srt the mney int tw piles, cunterfeit and genuine. Thus, a suitable bjective culd be Be able t discriminate (srt) cunterfeit mney.

3 Examples: Stated in behaviral terms T develp an appreciatin fr music T be able t slve quadratic equatins T be able t repair a radi T knw hw an amplifier wrks Stated in perfrmance terms The learner crrectly answers 95 multiplechice questins n the histry f music T be able t write a summary f the factrs leading t the depressin f 1929 T knw the rules f ftball Step [2] further defining the terminal behavir Scheme t fulfill step [2]: Given an bjective and a set f test items r situatins, accept r reject each test item n the basis f whether the bjective defines (includes) the behavir asked fr. If yu must accept all kinds f test items as apprpriate, the bjective needs t be mre specific. If the bjective allws yu t accept thse items yu intend t use and allws yu t reject thse items yu d nt cnsider relevant r apprpriate, the bjective is stated clearly enugh t be useful. T state an bjective that will successfully cmmunicate yur educatinal intent, yu will smetimes have t define terminal behavir further by stating the cnditins yu will impse upn the learner when he/she is demnstrating his/her mastery f the bjective. As a simple example: vs. (a) T be able t slve prblems in algebra. (b) Given a linear-algebraic equatin with ne unknwn, the learner must be able t slve fr the unknwn withut the aid f references, tables, r calculating devices. In (b) we clearly see a mre well-defined statement f the cnditins under which slving an algebraic equatin will ccur. Yu shuld be detailed enugh t be sure the target behavir wuld be recgnized by anther cmpetent persn, and detailed enugh s that ther pssible behavirs wuld nt be mistaken fr the desired behavir. Yu shuld describe enugh cnditins fr the bjective t imply clearly the kind f test items apprpriate fr sampling the behavir yu are interested in develping. Examples: Given a list f 35 chemical elements, be able t recall and write the valences f at least 30. Given a Tells us smething abut the cnditins under which the learner will be list' recalling the valences f elements. at least 30' Tells us smething abut what kind f behavir will be cnsidered passing ; 30 ut f 35 is the minimum acceptable skill. Given a prduct and prspective custmer, be able t describe the key features f the prduct. The perfrmance is t ccur in the presence f a prduct and a custmer; these are the cnditins that will influence the nature f the perfrmance, and s they are stated in the bjective. T avid surprises when wrking with bjectives, we state the main intent f the bjective and describe the main cnditin under which the perfrmance is t ccur. Fr example, Be able t hammer a nail is different frm Given a brick, be able t hammer a nail.

4 Miscmmunicatins can be avided by adding relevant cnditins t the bjective by simply describing the cnditins that have a significant impact n the perfrmance in ther wrds, describe the givens and/r limitatins within which the perfrmance is expected t ccur. Sme simple examples: With nly a screwdriver Withut the aid f references Given a standard set f tls and the TS manual Guiding questins: What will the learner be expected t use when perfrming (e.g., tls, frms, etc.)? What will the learner nt be allwed t use while perfrming (e.g., checklists r ther aids)? What will be the real-wrld cnditins under which the perfrmance will be expected t ccur (e.g., n tp f a flagple, under water, in frnt f a large audience, in a cckpit, etc.)? Are there any skills that yu are specifically nt trying t develp? Des the bjective exclude such skills? Sme simple examples: (i) Objective: When asked a questin in French, the student must be able t demnstrate his/her understanding f the questin by replying, in French, with an apprpriate sentence." Inapprpriate test situatins: Translate the fllwing French sentences. Translate the fllwing French questins. Apprpriate test situatin: Reply, in French, t the fllwing questins (ii) Objective: T be able t slve a simple linear equatin." : Inapprpriate test situatin If seven hammers cst seven dllars, hw much des ne hammer cst? Apprpriate test situatin: Slve fr x in the fllwing 2 + 4x = 12" Key pint: If yu expect the student t learn hw t slve wrd prblems, then teach him/her hw t slve wrd prblems. D nt expect him/her t learn t slve wrd prblems by teaching him/her hw t slve equatins. The nly apprpriate way t test t see whether they have learned t slve equatins (as stated in the bjective) is t ask them t slve equatins (iii) Objective: Given a DC mtr f ten hrsepwer r less that cntains a single malfunctin, and given a standard kit f tls and references, the learner must be able t repair the mtr within a perid f 45 minutes." Test questin: Given a mtr with truble in it, lcate the truble. Apprpriate (Yes r N)?: N! The bjective asked fr repairing behavir rather than lcating behavir. Repair the mtr means t make it wrk. Making it wrk is the desired behavir. The test item sampled nly a prtin f the behavir called fr by the bjective Step [3] stating the criterin Scheme t fulfill step [3]: Ask the fllwing questins f statements used t assess perfrmance: (a) Des the statement describe what the learner will be ding when he/she is demnstrating that he/she has reached the bjectives? (b) Des the statement describe the imprtant cnditins (givens r restrictins) under which the learner will be expected t demnstrate his/her cmpetence?

5 (c) Des the statement indicate hw the learner will be evaluated? Des it describe at least the lwer limit f acceptable perfrmance? Yu can increase the ability f an bjective t cmmunicate what it is yu want the learner t be able t d by telling the learner hw well yu want him/her t be able t d it. If yu can specify at least the minimum acceptable perfrmance fr each bjective, yu will have a perfrmance standard against which t test yur instructinal prgrams; yu will have a means fr determining whether yur prgrams are successful in achieving yur instructinal intent. Indicate in yur statement f bjectives what the acceptable perfrmance will be, by adding wrds that describe the criterin f success. Sme examples f ways in which minimum acceptable perfrmance can be specified: (i) time limit Ex.: The student must be able t crrectly slve at least seven simple linear equatins within a perid f thirty minutes. (ii) minimum number f crrect respnses that will be accepted r number f principles that must be applied r number r principles that must be identified r number f wrds that must be spelled crrectly Ex: Given a human skeletn, the student must be able t crrectly identify by labeling at least 40 f the fllwing bnes (list f bnes inserted here). (iii) indicate the percentage r prprtin Ex.: The student must be able t spell crrectly at least 80% f the wrds called ut t him/her during an examinatin perid. (iv) define the imprtant characteristics f perfrmance accuracy Ex.:... and t be cnsidered crrect, prblem slutins must be accurate t the nearest whle number. An bjective describes the criteria f acceptable perfrmance; that is, it says hw well smene wuld have t perfrm t be cnsidered cmpetent. Fr example, Given a cmputer with wrd-prcessing sftware, be able t write a letter culd have a criteria f all wrds are spelled crrectly, there are n grammatical r punctuatin errrs, and the addressee is nt demeaned r insulted. Thus, yu cmplete yur bjective by adding infrmatin that describes the criterin fr success keeping in mind that if it isn t measurable, it isn t an bjective. Questins t answer leading t a useful bjective: Summary What is the main intent f the bjective? What des the learner have t d t demnstrate achievement f the bjective? What will the learner have t d it with r t? And what, if anything, will the learner have t d it withut? Hw will we knw when the perfrmance is gd enugh t be cnsidered acceptable? A statement f instructinal bjectives is a cllectin f wrds r symbls describing ne f yur educatinal intents. An bjective will cmmunicate yur intent t the degree yu have described what the learner will be ding when demnstrating his/her achievement and hw yu will knw when he/she is ding it. T describe terminal behavir (what the learner will be ding) Identify and name the verall behavir act.

6 Define the imprtant cnditins under which the behavir is t ccur (givens r restrictins). Define the criterin f acceptable perfrmance. T prepare an bjective Write a statement that describes the main intent r perfrmance expected f the student. If the perfrmance happens t be cvert, add an indicatr behavir thrugh which the main intent can be detected. Describe relevant r imprtant cnditins under which the perfrmance is expected t ccur. Add as much descriptin as is needed t cmmunicate the intent t thers. Revise as needed t create a useful bjective, i.e., cntinue t mdify a draft until these questins are answered: What d I want students t be able t d? What are the imprtant cnditins r cnstraints under which I want them t perfrm? Hw well must students perfrm fr me t be satisfied? Write a separate statement fr each bjective; the mre statements yu have, the better chance yu have f making clear yur intent.