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Objectives and Evaluation, Part 2
Writing Performance Objectives |
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Although much has been written about learning objectives, there
is not complete agreement on how an objective should be
written. Some believe that all objectives should be completely
specific, observable, and measurable; others believe it more
important that objectives be stated so that they appeal to
potential enrollees. Indeed, the nature or importance of a
specific objective may not even be
understood until an enrollee is midway through a
development program.
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Just as
most organizations have “official goals” and “operational goals,”
we will have two levels of objectives for our next series of
seminars. The overall objectives will provide a common
perspective and unity of purpose for all workshops; the learning
objectives will specify the k.s.a’s you wish to develop in
relation to your specific workshop. Whether you choose to
consider the common goals of our consulting firm or of our
department is up to you. The common objectives will be: |
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Participants will learn how to use
Assessment, Challenge, and Support to promote development of
their leadership abilities from these experiences. |
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Participants will learn how to seek
and identify potential experiences which could develop their
leadership abilities. |
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Instructional
Objectives |
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In Preparing
Instructional Objectives (2nd rev. ed.; 1984),
Robert Mager offers three reasons
for instructional objectives. First, they provide a basis for
instructional design. Second, they provide a basis for evaluating
the instruction. And third, they help participants to focus and
organize their efforts |
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Mager
describes the three important elements of a performance objective:
performance, conditions, and criterion. These elements answer
three questions: What should the participant be able to do? Under
what conditions should the participant be able to do it? How well
must it be done? |
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Performance. The objective should state what the learner is expected to
be able to do; the objective sometimes describes the product or
result of the doing |
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Conditions.
The objective should describe any important conditions (if any)
under which the performance is to occur. |
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Criterion.
Wherever possible, an objective describes the criterion of
acceptable performance by describing how well the learner must
perform in order to have her performance regarded as acceptable.
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Performance |
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One characteristic of effective
instructional objectives is the use of verbs which are open to few
interpretations. |
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If I were to tell
you that you should know the five practices and ten
commitments in Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Challenge you
would most certainly ask what I meant. Should you be able to
match the commitments to the practices? To list them?
To outline the elements involved in each? To
analyze a case problem using that leadership model? Or to
offer advice for developing your k.s.a’s regarding a specific
practice? |
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The following is a
table listing verbs commonly used in writing objectives, which
Mager judges to be either acceptable or unacceptable. And, yes,
some trainers/educators/facilitators actually do use qualifiers
(“really,” or “fully”) in an attempt to make an unclear objective
clearer. |
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Verbs
Open to Many Interpretations |
Verbs
Open to Fewer Interpretations |
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To know
To understand
To really understand
To appreciate
To fully appreciate
To grasp the significance of
To enjoy
To believe
To have faith in
To internalize |
To write
To recite
To identify
To sort
To solve
To construct
To build
To compare
To contrast
To smile |
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Some instructional designers insist
that all objectives should be “behavioral objectives” because
behavior can be specified, observed, and measured. Although
behavioral objectives may describe a change in skills or behavior,
they are generally used to provide evidence of learning or
knowledge. Indeed, Mager’s list of verbs “open to fewer
interpretations” includes only one (“smile”) which would not be
used primarily to specify changes in knowledge. |
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On the other
hand, some behavioral objectives produce only temporary gains in
knowledge. If I tell you that you must be able to list Kouzes
& Posner’s five practices and ten commitments on a test next
week you will probably “emit”* the desired behavior. But will you
remember it two days later? We have an objective which is easy to
measure, but how valuable is it? |
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In short,
write objectives which describe the best outcomes you can achieve
and measure. Do not simply write objectives which are easy to
measure and even easier to achieve. |
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Conditions |
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Once you have
described the performance you expect, you should describe the
important conditions under which the performance is to occur.
Presume that you want your participants to effectively apply the
Kouzes & Posner model in the analysis of leadership
situations represented in case problems. Will they be given a
week, two days, or 20 minutes? Will they be able to refer to
their materials or not? Your instructors generally define these
conditions by stating whether the case analysis is part of a test
or a paper. |
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Criteria |
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What level of
performance do you expect in order to conclude that the
participant has met your objectives? . Must the trainees
simply perform a specific act (for example, analyze a case
problem), or must they perform the act effectively?
What does “effectively” mean, anyway? Students want to know the
criteria on which they will be evaluated so that they can meet
those criteria; so do workers, and so do participants. |
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What does “effectively” mean, anyway?
Students want to know the criteria on which they will be evaluated
so that they can meet those criteria; so do workers, and so do
participants. |
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If we expect our participants to raise
their leadership scores on the LPI-Observer scores as the result
of our program, we might wish to set standards on how much of a
gain is expected. |
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References |
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Mager, R. F.
(1984). Preparing instructional objectives (2nd
rev. ed.). Belmont CA: Lake Publishing. |
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Phillips, J. R, (1997).
Handbook of training evaluation and measurement methods (3rd
ed.). Houston: Gulf. |
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Rothwell, W, J, &.
Sredl, H, J. (1992). The ASTD
handbook of human resource development roles & competencies
(2nd ed., vol 2). Amherst
MA: HRD Press |
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