Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

First Steps

To develop a lesson, we’ll use designing backward. We’ll start with where we want our learners to end up at the end of the course, our objectives. Writing objectives can be challenging. Where to begin? There’s so much we want our students to learn. One strategy for getting started is to zoom way out and think about the big picture of the course by creating an essential question.

Check out these great resources from experts in the field. Goals vs. Objectives: What’s the Difference? (Links to an external site.)

Buzzwords

You will oftentimes hear the words objectives, goals, targets, and outcomes interchanged as the same thing. However, there is a very important distinction between the four buzz words.

Essential Question – What is the Big Takeaway of this Course?

An essential question is a single question you’d like your students to be able to answer, do, or discuss with confidence and accuracy at the end of the course and for years beyond. It’s broad. It’s ultimately what all the smaller concepts you teach build into. Here are a few examples from faculty at OTC.