Educator Development Program on Writing Learning Objectives

Educator Development Program School of MedicineVANDERBILT
Designing
Objec*ves

Before
you
dig
in
to
actually
construct
the

learning
objec5ves
for
your
course,
consider
a

few
framing
thoughts.

Designing
Objec*ves

Consider
the
Categories/Domains
you
will
need
to
write

for
your
course.

• 
Cogni5ve
(Knowledge)

• 
Aﬀec5ve

(ACtudes,
Behaviors)

• 
Psychomotor
(Skills)

-‐
-‐
-‐
Objec5ves
in
an
ACE
or
AI
type
of
Immersion
Course
should
be

primarily
focused
on
Aﬀec5ve
and
Psychomotor
Categories.
By
contrast,

Interdisciplinary
Science
Courses
will
have
a
large
number
of
cogni5ve

medical
knowledge
objec5ves.

Components
that
comprise
each

Learning
Objec*ve

Who will do how much (how well) of what by when?
1 2 3 4 5
1. An Immersion Level Student
2. Verb
3. The degree of learning
4. Noun
5. Time limitation

Here
is
a
list
of
Verbs
that
are
commonly
used
in

wri*ng
learning
objec*ves

These are adapted from Bloom’s Taxonomy and have
been used and adapted for the past 60 years

Get
ready
to
write
a
Learning
Objec*ve
that

contains
these
Components.

1
Who
Your
learners

are
Immersion

Students
(post-‐clerkship
)

2
Will
do
Select
an
ac5on
verb/behavior

3
What
Noun

(What
will
the
learner
be
able
to

do?)

4
How
much,
how
well
Condi5on
–
degree
of
learning

(Not
too
easy,
not
too
diﬃcult)

5
By
when
When
will
learning
be
achieved?
By

end
of
ac5vity,
end
of
day
or
end
of

course?

It’s
*me
to
write
a
Learning
Objec*ve.
Fill
in

the
blanks

Who
Immersion

Students

Will
do
Fill
in
the
blank
here

What
Fill
in
the
blank
here

How
much,
how
well
Fill
in
the
blank
here

By
when
Fill
in
the
blank
here

(Write your objective here)

Make
SMART
Objec*ves

Speciﬁc
Is
it
clear
to
both
learner
and
instructor

Measurable
How
will
you
(or
the
learner)
assess
whether
the

learner
has
met
the
criteria?

AXainable
Can
it
be
realis5cally
achieved?

Relevant
Is
this
goal
developmentally
appropriate?
Will
your

learners
ever
need
this
in
their
future
career?

Time
Sensi5ve
Can
it
be
accomplished
by
the
end
of
day
or
end
of

week
or
end
of
course?

After you have written 2-3 learning objectivse, step back and apply these 5
SMART questions. We will assume you followed instructions and wrote a
semantically perfect objective. Be warned that your newly crafted learning
objective might be ridiculously complex or too simple for this level of learner.

Goal: Upon completion of this session, each course director will be
equipped with tools to write learning objectives for an Advanced
Clinical Experience (ACE) or Acting Internship (AI)
Learning Objective for this Module
After viewing the video and viewing the materials in this
presentation, ACE or AI course directors should be able to. . . .
1.  Write and critique learning objectives for an ACE or AI using
a simple standardized format. (Are you ready?)
v  Challenge yourself to write 3 learning objectives for your course (Right
now!!)
v  Deliberate practice will solidify your knowledge of the nuts-and-bolts of
writing an objective.
v  Objectives will shape your course and how it is perceived by learners.
v  You should also share learning objectives with your instructional faculty.
It is a simple way to give them some quick faculty development.

Here are several more examples of learning objectives taken
from an Immersion Course. All learners are enrolled in the
Injury, Repair Regeneration & Rehabilitation Course.
Upon completion of the TEAM course during week 1, the student will be able
to demonstrate the concepts and principles of primary and secondary patient
assessments after trauma.
At the end of week 2, the learner will demonstrate the following skills in a
simulated scenario:
a. perform an orotracheal intubation on adult and child manikens
b. perform a cricothyroidotomy on a tissue specimen
c. perform a pleural decompression via needle thoracentesis and chest
tube insertion.
After completing the module on injury and 3 shifts on the Burn/Trauma
service, the participant will estimate the size and depth of burn injury and
calculate a volume resuscitation.

For each learning objective, ask yourself
Will students have adequate instruction and opportunity to
complete the expected learning?
simulated scenario:
tube insertion.

For each learning objective, ask yourself . . . .
Planned Instructional Methods:
participation in lecture, practice on models
For each learning objective, ask yourself . . . .
How will the learning be assessed?
Written quiz – short answer, MCQ,
Observation by a trained observer using a grading rubric

Planned Instructional Methods:
participation in lecture, practice on models, cadavers
Written quiz to assess foundational knowledge of anatomy
Observation by a trained observer using a grading rubric
simulated scenario:
tube insertion.

Planned Instructional methods:
Podcast on burn classification, podcast on fluid
resuscitation. Case discussion, assignment following a Burn
ICU patient from admission through the first 3 days.
Essay question with images built around a burn case
Presentation to the team during the morning report

For
Your
Course

•  We
have
done
some
of
the
work
for
you
that

will
be
standardized
across
each
course
type

•  Advance
Clinical
Experiences
(ACEs)

– 6
Learning
Objec5ves
to
be
used
by
all
ACEs

•  Ac5ng
Internship
(AI)

– 8
Learning
Objec5ves
to
be
used
by
all
AIs

These
will
be
provided
to
you

For
Your
Course

•  Please
create
2-‐4
learning
objec5ves
to
be

paired
with
the
standard
course
type

objec5ves

•  We
envision
these
2-‐4
learning
objec5ves
will

be
speciﬁc
to
the
context
or
content
of
your

individual
course

Stay Tuned for an upcoming module on
ASSESSMENT
Vanderbilt’s Immersion courses will be using a
model that tracks a learner progression along a
developmental curve.
We anticipate the rollout of electronic tools/shortcuts
to help busy clinicians quickly evaluate learners in
the clinical workplace.

Educator Development Program on Writing Learning Objectives

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (9)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to Educator Development Program on Writing Learning Objectives

Similar to Educator Development Program on Writing Learning Objectives (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Educator Development Program on Writing Learning Objectives