Strategy: Developing and Using Clear Academic Objectives

Check-Up Menu > Developing and Using Clear Academic Objectives

Use this strategy to improve these areas:

Effective Communication

Student Engagement

Clear Expectations

Level of Disruptive Behavior

Strategy Overview

How To

Strategy Tool

Reflection

Goal Setting

Overview

Developing and using clear academic objectives will help to increase the performance of students in your classroom. When students understand what they are working toward, they are more likely to stay on task. Having clear objectives that can be measured will optimize learning. High expectations for students result in higher achievement.

Purpose

Developing clear academic objectives and methods for measuring progress toward objectives will help guide how you teach. Students who clearly understand the objectives and are provided instruction at their skill level will be engaged, on task, and less likely to demonstrate disruptive behaviors.

How Developing and Using Clear Academic Objectives Relates to CARES

A big part of effectively communicating with students is to make sure they understand what it is that you want them to know and to be able to do. It’s equally important to provide clear expectations for students in regard to the behaviors you want them to emulate as well as to provide clear objectives around what the students are learning in the classroom. Part of this includes the “why” of what students are learning. If academic objectives are direct and concise, students will understand what the end goal is of what they are learning. Making sure students know why it is important to learn what is being taught will help make the learning more meaningful.

Some key elements for effectively developing and using clear academic objectives:

1) Develop objectives that are observable and measurable. Both you and your students should be able to see and measure progress toward objectives.

2) Post written objectives where students can easily see them (poster/white board/handout).

3) Discuss the objectives with your students so they know exactly what they are working toward. Also, discuss with your students how you will measure their progress toward meeting these objectives.

4) Link objectives to prior learning, allowing students to connect prior learning to new learning.

5) Determine that the objectives are appropriate for the skill level of your students. You may need to use differentiated instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners.

6) Measure progress toward objectives and adjust instruction as necessary.

How To

How to Use Clear Academic Objectives in Your Classroom

Begin by developing observable and measurable academic objectives for the lesson you plan to teach if this has not already been done within the curriculum.

Next, assess your students’ current skill levels to determine if objectives are appropriate. If necessary, adjust the content, process, or product of the lesson to match student skill levels.

Next, determine how you will measure progress and completion of academic objectives. Be sure to post and discuss the objectives, telling students how you will measure their progress toward meeting the objectives. When possible, engage the students in recording their own progress.

Example Video:

Reviewing Writing Assignment

Video Prompts:

Notice how she asks both individual questions and gets the attention of the room by saying, “I am looking for my active listener.“
She tells them what book she will be reading, “Seeds to Plants,” when they return from lunch.
Notice how she describes what the students will be required to do on the handout. She engages the class by asking questions along the way.

Reflecting on Video

What did you like about how the teacher explained the objectives of the handout?
How do you think the students in that class are feeling?
How might you incorporate some of what you saw and liked about how she explained the lesson in your classroom?

What if your curricula does not include clear measurable objectives? How do you write them?

First let’s look at examples of objectives that are not measurable.

Non-examples:

Students will complete an electricity experiment.
Students will become aware of an ancient writing system.
Students will understand how to sequence story events.

Change the above examples to make them measurable:

Examples:

Students will light a bulb using wire, a battery, and a bulb.
Students will translate their names and common words from English into hieroglyphics, and vice versa.
Students will correctly sequence five events from a story with five sentence strips.

Objectives must be observable and measurable. Different observers should get the same results when measuring the same objective simultaneously. To develop an objective, you may need to first assess the student’s current level of performance. This would be necessary when working on cumulative skills such as fluency.

Examples:

The student currently reads 25 words correctly on the ABC sight word list. As the teacher, you would next determine what an appropriate rate of progress should be for the individual student. If progress on the ABC sight word list is going to be measured weekly, depending on the amount of instructional time given for this objective and the individual student, it may be appropriate to set a goal of five additional words per week.

Objective: The student currently sequences two or fewer out of five story events on four of five attempts. As the teacher, you would need to determine what an appropriate goal would be for the individual student and a realistic amount of time depending on instructional time devoted to this objective. It may be appropriate to set a goal of five out of five stories correctly sequenced on four out of five attempts at the end of a three-month period.

Another example of measuring a goal over a period of time, rather than just for a daily lesson, might include having you determine the student’s current level and then sequencing the lesson objectives for an entire week or over several weeks.

Objective: The student currently sequences two or fewer out of five story events on four of five attempts. As the teacher, you would need to determine what an appropriate goal would be for the individual student and a realistic amount of time depending on instructional time devoted to this objective. It may be appropriate to set a goal of five out of five stories correctly sequenced on four out of five attempts at the end of a three-month period.

Strategy Tool

Complete the following Template for Developing Clear Academic Objectives for each lesson you plan for your students.

View Tool Example

Reflection

Take a moment to reflect if your lesson is going to work.

Goal Setting

Using the following checklist, determine if you completed all the steps for developing and using clear academic objectives.

References to Other Relevant Resources:

Bateman, B., Herr, C. (2006). Writing measurable IEP goals and objectives. Verona, WI: Attainment Company, Inc.

Tomlinson, Carol Ann. (2006). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners. Alexandria, VA: ASCD