Goals, objectives and outcomes: Selecting, defining six different kinds, & possible domains
Overview
- Introduction
- Selection
- Kinds of Objectives
- General
- Specific
- Instructional
- Behavioral
- Performance
- Expressive
- Domain references
Introduction
This page explores goals, obectives, & outcomes. Their different definitions, how they can be selected, applications with examples, and their different domains.
Goal is a broad or general statement reflecting the ultimate ends toward which the total educational program is directed. (Sometimes refered to these as aims.)
Goal an immediate objective or outcome that a person desires and executes a behavior or sequence of behaviors to attain.
Motivation - hunger; Goal - food; Objective - raid the refrigerator; Outcome - eat and be satiated.
Objective is a statement specifying the purpose of a particular activity or action. There can be several different ways to communicate this information. Ranging from general to specific and for different domains of understanding. Six different kinds (General, Specific, Instructional, Behavioral, Performance, Expressive) are reviewed below with examples.
Outcome is a statement specifying desired knowledge, skills, processes, and attitudes to be developed as a result of educational experiences.
Outcome is a description of what learners do to demonstrate understanding, skill, or competence.
Outcome levels describe different levels of what learners may do to demonstrate a level of skill, competency, or conceptualization of a concept they have achieved from beginning to advanced.
Selection of objectives
Objectives can be selected from:
- an organizational topic, subtopic, theme, subject, subject dimension or category, disposition, process, ...
- previous skills or objectives.
- the teaching-learning experience, both the learner's and teacher's experiences.
- curriculum documents, standards, school, district, state, national.
- new ideas related to the scope and sequence of a topic, standard, or big idea from a problem that arises or identifiction of content that wasn't previously identified or foreseen.
Kinds of Objectives
General objectives
A statement reflecting the purposes of a particular unit or level of the school program, such as elementary, middle level, or high school.
- (The learner will) Be critical consumers of literature.
- (The learner will) Be mathematically literate.
- (The learner will) Understand and use science content, processes, and inquiry to make sound personal and social decisions.
Specific objectives
A statement reflecting a short-range or more immediate purpose involved in a specific teaching-learning activity, such as unit or daily plan.
- (The learner will) Complete pages 121-122 with 85% or better.
- (The learner will) Count on when rolling two dice (die 1 = 4, die 2 = 3. Student will think or say 4 and count 5, 6, 7. Then move game piece) while playing Race to the Finish.
Instructional objectives
Clarify for the teacher what the learner will do (instructional purpose). This clarification can guide the design and selection of meaningful content, activities, and resources as well as guide the learners' progress. This is based on the belief that students need to be told how they are to be active in order for them to learn.
- Today we will learn how to play the game - Race to the Finish.
- To count onyou start with one of the numbers (the bigger is better) and count on the value of the other number. For example - to add two dice. Roll the two dice, select the larger number, say or think it, and count on (die 1 = 4, die 2 = 3. Think or say 4 and count 5, 6, 7).
As the task becomes more complicated an instructional object can be thought of as becoming a scoring guide or rubric. One example is the use of scoring guides or rubrics with Six or more Traits Writing as instructional objectives.
Behavioral objectives
Were origninally used for changing or developing behavior when the philosophy was that only obsewrvable behavior could be measured, therefore what happened inside the brain was irrelevant. To list ... To write .... To state... Today these may be also be called performance objectives.
Performance Objectives
Performance objectices have five components:
- what is done,
- who is to do it,
- when is it to be done,
- what level of proficiency, and
- with what.
- Given paper and pencil the learner will write solutions for 30 basic facts of addition in less than one minute, with 100% accuracy, by Friday the 13th.
- After reading the story the learner will write answers to five literal comprehension questions by recall or rereading the story within the class period on Friday 13, 2013, with 80% accuracy.
Expressive objectives
Are used to personalize instruction to meet a wide range of possible outcomes.
- (The learner will) Go on a nature walk and record observations of three organisms they choose.
Domain Referenced Objectives
Are objectives that relate to one or more of the three general domains of learning.
- cognitive;
- affective and;
- psychomotor.
All activities involve all three domains, however, not all are usually identified, depending on the instructional focus. Which is usually cognitive. Hence, the popularity of Bloom's taxonomy when cognitive domains are referenced. For examples see taxonomies information.
Examples in curriculum areas planning, activities, & curriculum documents:
- See samples of literature goals, objectives, outcomes, & concepts.
- Science
- Mathematics
- Health
- See also information and examples of facts, concepts, and generalizations.