Question No.

2:
Instructional Objectives
Before teaching takes place instructional objectives are formulated and set. These objectives
are goals set by the national government, by the state, or by the learning institution to conform
to the international, national, state, or institutional educational goals. Instructional objectives
serve as goals that teachers have set in the achievement of a greater goal. They also tell
students what is expected of them. Instructional objectives make definite the direction in which
teaching leads and become the focus of instruction, not only for the teachers, but also for the
students. Without instructional objectives teaching is comparable to a fallen leaf whose
destination is dependent on the will of the wind. Without instructional objectives, teachers will
have nothing to follow in order to achieve what it should achieve.
Teaching is composed of certain elements in order to effect learning. These elements are
interconnected and unified because they are all anchored on instructional objectives. The
activities introduced by the teachers, the instructional media that teachers use, and the
assessment tools that they employ are connected to the instructional objectives. Instructional
objectives serve as central unifying elements for instructional strategy, instructional media, and
assessment. Assessment plays an indispensable role in the educative process. It determines
whether the teacher has achieved the goals he set or not. The instructional objectives provide
teachers the idea of what is the best assessment tool to be used in a given situation. Moreover,
instructional objectives determine the behavior to be measured. Without instructional
objectives, the teacher will have no indicator to measure achievement.
Assessment, when carried out properly and used effectively, provides learning institutions and
its stakeholders from the government and the school the data which reflect the achievement
level of both the students and the teachers. Achievement levels can be easily determined and
identified through the instructional objectives. These objectives, based from results, can be
maintained, taken out, or modified depending on the role they play on the achievement of
greater educational goals. The absence of instructional objectives can imperil the flow of the
educational process because of the absence of feedback on the level of achievement, thus
educational reforms, should there be any, cannot be initiated. Instructional objectives are
definitely important in teaching. Without them, teaching is reduced to an endeavor with no
definite goal, structure, or purpose.
Characteristics of Well-Written Instructional Objective
A well-written objective should meet the following criteria: (1) describe a learning outcome, (2)
be student oriented, (3) be observable (or describe an observable product).
A well-written objective should describe a learning outcome (e.g., to correctly spell the spelling
words on page seventeen). It should not describe a learning activity (e.g., to practice the words
on page seventeen by writing each one ten times). Learning activities are important in planning
and guiding instruction but they are not to be confused with instructional objectives.
A student-oriented objective focuses on the learner, not on the teacher. It describes what the
learner will be expected to be able to do. It should not describe a teacher activity (e.g., to go
over the words on page seventeen with the students, explaining their meaning and telling them
how the words are pronounced). It may be helpful to both the teacher and the student to know
what the teacher is going to do but teacher activities are also not to be confused with
instructional objectives.
If an instructional objective is not observable (or does not describe an observable product), it
leads to unclear expectations and it will be difficult to determine whether or not it had been
reached. The key to writing observable objectives is to use verbs that are observable and lead
to a well-defined product of the action implied by that verb. Verbs such as "to know," "to
understand," "to enjoy," "to appreciate," "to realize," and "to value" are vague and not
observable. Verbs such as "to identify," "to list," "to select," "to compute," "to predict," and "to
analyze" are explicit and describe observable actions or actions that lead to observable
products.
There are many skills that cannot be directly observed. The thinking processes of a student as
she tries to solve a math problem cannot be easily observed. However, one can look at the
answers she comes up with and determine if they are correct. It is also possible to look at the
steps a student takes to arrive at an answer if they are written down (thus displaying his
thinking process). There are many end products that also can be observed (e.g., an oil painting,
a prose paragraph, a 3-dimensional map, or an outline.)
Examples of Instructional Objectives
A psychomotor objective centers on an action activity: "Determine a frog's primary survival
movements based on a dissection of its muscular system."
In Language Arts, for example, objectives examine texts and literary devices: "Evaluate
Hemingway's use of symbolism in 'Hills with White Elephants.'”
Math objectives examine concepts through mathematical expression: "Identify and describe this
problem's solution using the language of algebra."
Science objectives examine natural concepts: "Observe and compare data about UV rays with a
lab partner."
Assessment Objectives
Teaching requires assessment, i.e., the evaluation of student understanding in light of the
goals of a lesson or a course. This is a broad definition, and indeed, there are many forms of
assessment, and all of them involve student work. That work can be graded or ungraded. It
can take a few minutes (as with the one-minute paper) or it can take weeks (as with the group
project). It can ask students to demonstrate understanding or skills acquisition through writing,
the creation of a product or presentation, or the ability to successfully accomplish some task.
It can ask students to demonstrate their understanding as individuals or as members of a
group. Student learning outcomes articulate what a student should know or can do after
completing a course or program. The assessment of student learning outcomes provides
information that puts student learning at the forefront of academic planning processes.
Assessment as a multi-step process in which a teacher:
 Formulate a clear and succinct learning goal (or goals) for your students.
 Articulate those learning goals to your students.
 Decide what your students should be able to do if they have met those learning goals.
 Develop an assessment instrument (a test, essay, project, etc.) and a scoring rubric.
 Administer the assessment instrument to your students.
 Evaluate your students’ performance on the assessment instrument.
 Assess your students’ mastery of the learning goals given their performance on the
assessment instrument.
 Reflect on why students did or did not master the learning goals, and develop strategies
to help them be as or more successful in the future.
It is important that the assessments you create are aligned with the course objectives. If your
assessments are not aligned to your objectives and instructional strategies it can actually
undermine both student motivation and learning. For instance, if students spend a great deal
of time learning and developing analytical skills and then are only given multiple choice tests,
that only test memorization, they could easily become frustrated. Carefully written objectives
that identify not only what is to be learned, but to the degree it should be learned, will lead to
the development of assessments that truly are aligned to overall goals of the course and will
provide evidence that the objectives are being met.
It is important to remember that assessments are not just quizzes and tests. Assessments are
our way to validate that students are truly learning something. One way to go beyond weekly
quizzes is through the use of authentic assessments. Authentic assessments are an alternative
to traditional “pen and paper” tests in that they are designed to assess student performance in
a real-world application. Instead of measuring what students remember we measure how they
apply what they have learned. Authentic assessments present the student with the full array
of tasks that mirror the priorities and challenges found in the best instructional activities:
conducting research; writing, revising and discussing papers; providing an engaging oral
analysis of a recent political event; collaborating with others on a debate, etc. Conventional
tests are usually limited to paper-and-pencil, one- answer questions.
Examples of Assessment Objectives
This table presents examples of the kinds of activities that can be used to assess different
types of learning objectives:
Type of learning Examples of appropriate assessments
objective
Recall Objective test items such as fill-in-the-blank, matching, labelling or multiple-
Recognize choice questions that require students to:
Identify recall or recognize terms, facts, and concepts
Interpret Activities such as papers, exams, problem sets, class discussions, or
Exemplify concept maps that require students to:
Classify o summarize readings, films, or speeches
Summarize o compare and contrast two or more theories, events, or processes
Infer o classify or categorize cases, elements, or events using established
Compare criteria
Explain o paraphrase documents or speeches
o find or identify examples or illustrations of a concept or principle
Apply Activities such as problem sets, performances, labs, prototyping, or
Execute simulations that require students to:
Implement o use procedures to solve or complete familiar or unfamiliar tasks
o determine which procedure(s) are most appropriate for a given task
Analyze Activities such as case studies, critiques, labs, papers, projects, debates,
Differentiate or concept maps that require students to:
Organize o discriminate or select relevant and irrelevant parts
Attribute o determine how elements function together
o determine bias, values, or underlying intent in presented material
Evaluate Activities such as journals, diaries, critiques, problem sets, product
Check reviews, or studies that require students to:
Critique o test, monitor, judge, or critique readings, performances, or products
Assess against established criteria or standards
Create Activities such as research projects, musical compositions, performances,
Generate essays, business plans, website designs, or set designs that require
Plan students to:
Produce o make, build, design or generate something new
Design
Question No. 3:
Questions Asked for Knowledge of Principles and Generalization