Educational Objectives

EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION BY HINA JALAL (PHD SCHOLAR GCUF)
Planning classroom Assessment
2.1 Educational Aims, Goals and Objectives
Aims, goals, and objectives can be thought of as hierarchically ordered educational purposes. Aims
and goals are often brushed aside in favor of objectives, because the first two are “vague” and the
last can be cast in language conducive to measurement. Educational Aims, Goals and Objectives
play key role in both educational process and educational assessment. They serve as guide for
teachers and learners.
Figure 1 Courtesy by Robert Linn (2008)
Aims
As purposes stated at the highest level of generality, aims remind us of our ideals and direct the
construction of goals and objectives. Ornstein (1990, p. 84) stated that “We use the term Aims to
refer to broad statements about the intent of education. They are value-laden statements, written
by panels, commissions, or policy-making groups, that express a philosophy of education and
concepts of the social role of schools and the needs of schools and youth”
Aims include:
• General statements that provide a sense of direction and serve as guiding principles for
educational policy;
• Aims are the translations of the general philosophy and needs of the country;
• Aims are designed at the national/state level by policy making groups;
• Aims can be based on the constitution of the country;
Examples of aims
Purpose of Educational
Aims, Goals and
Objectives
Provide direction for the
instructional process (by
clarifying the intended
leanring outcomes)
COnvey instructional intent to
others (students, parents,
academia, and society)
Provide a basis for assessing
students learning (by
describing the perfromance to
obe measured)

• To prepare students for democratic citizenship;
• To develop a moral character and personal discipline;
• To strengthen ethical and spiritual values;
• To teach the rights and duties of citizenship;
• To encourage creative and critical thinking.
Goals
Goals are statements of educational intention which are more specific than aims. Goals too
may encompass an entire program, subject area, or multiple grade levels. They may be in
either amorphous language or in more specific behavioral terms. Wilson (2005, p. 46) stated
that “Goals are the statements of educational intention which are more specific than aims but less
specific than objectives”
Goals include:
• Derived from aims;
• Aims become goals when they become more specific and refer to a education system and to a
specific subject area of the curriculum;
• Goals translate aims into statements that will describe what schools are expected to accomplish;
• Goals are more specific and definite than aims, but they are still nonbehavioral and therefore
non-observable and non-measurable.
Examples of Goals
• The development of reading skills;
• The appreciation of arts;
• The understanding of scientific and mathematical concepts.
Objectives
Objectives are usually specific statements of educational intention which delineate either
general or specific outcomes. Robert Linn (2008) stated that “It sometimes stated in terms of
actions to be taken. Instructional objectives make clear what learning outcomes we expect from
our teaching. They describe our instructional intent in terms of types of performance students are
expected to demonstrate as a result of instruction”. Educational objectives are not only the goals
which shape the students towards
instruction, it is also the basis for teaching activities and evaluation techniques. This is broad;
outcomes are generalized and normative in nature. All schools may have common educational
objectives. Educational objectives are to be realized over a extend period of time. It does not
specify very sharply the learning outcomes.
Objectives include:
• Objectives are stated in observable and measurable terms (outcomes, proficiencies, or
competences);
• Objectives are behavioral in nature and more precise than goals;
• Objectives state what students should know at the end of the course and what is expected from
them;
Examples of Objectives

• To identify the main idea of the author;
• To be able to express advice, apology, complaint, etc.;
• To be able to locate the topic sentence and the supporting details;
• To be aware of the differences between the present simple and present perfect.
Use of learning objectives?
• To provide a focus for instruction;
• To provide guidelines for learning;
• To provide targets for assessment;
• To communicate expectations to learners;
• To convey instructional intent to others;
• To provide for evaluation of instruction (Gronlund, 2000).
2.2 Learning Outcomes
As suggested by the terminology, learning outcomes are statements of desired results of learning that are
expressed in words that make it clear how measurement can be achieved. Therefore, learning outcomes
provide a basis for measuring and reporting on student achievement. Learning outcomes as ‘personal
changes or benefits that follow as a result of learning’, noting that these changes or benefits ‘can be
measured in terms of abilities or achievements’ (Nusche, 2008). Learning outcomes can be succinctly
defined as statements of what a learner is expected to know, understand, and/or be able to demonstrate
after completion of a process of learning.
According to Legendre (2005) and Miller, Linn & Gronlund (2013), from an educational standpoint,
learning outcomes specify the type of performance that a student must achieve during or by the end of
an educational context (i.e. learning task, course, etc.) or a program of study. More specifically, a learning
outcome “expresses the lasting changes that must arise to the student during or following an educational
experience” (Legendre, 2005, p. 946). Generally speaking, and by analogy, a learning outcome can be seen
as a target to meet. The targets or outcomes of a course are related to the learning that the faculty
member sets for the students to achieve as part of a given body of knowledge (Prégent, 1994).
Difference between learning objectives and learning outcomes
Learning objectives refer to teachers’ intentions for learners, such as what students will be taught during
the course or program. It is important to note that learning objectives reflect what teachers do.
Learning outcomes are statements of what a student will be able to do or demonstrate at the completion
of a certain sequence of learning (course, program). Learning outcomes are mainly concerned with the
achievements of the learner and less with the intentions of the teacher. Learning outcomes inform
students of what is expected of them in terms of performance, to achieve desired grades and credits.
General learning outcomes

General outcomes are used to provide direction with respect to what is to be learned in a program or in
a specific course. These outcomes are expressed abstractly and present a wide range of anticipated
characteristics or lasting changes that may develop in a group of students following an extended learning
scenario (Legendre, 2005). These changes are often expressed in terms of knowledge to acquire and skills
and competencies to be developed. Moreover, general learning outcomes determine the learning path
on the basis of the three main domains of learning, which are expressed through various taxonomies.
These three main domains are cognitive, psychomotor, and affective learning.
Specific learning outcomes
Specific outcomes relate content to ability by formulating as precisely as possible the knowledge, skills or
abilities that a learner must acquire or improve during or by the end of a learning situation (Legendre,
2005). Specific outcomes help relate a given subject to a course outcome (general outcome) and the
performance expected of the students. The verbs used in the writing of specific outcomes are action verbs
that enable us to observe (directly or indirectly) and evaluate the performance in question with more
accuracy. Briefly, specific outcomes include:
• Result from the reduction or decomposition of a general outcome;
• List the behaviors or external manifestations of an internal change (general outcome) or knowledge,
abilities, or skills expected from the general outcome;
• Represent the expected behaviors of students, i.e. an observable reaction or behavior (external
change).
2.3 Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
Taxonomies help us answer some key questions on learning, teaching and curriculum structure: ‘What do
we want students to learn?’, ‘Why do we want them to learn that?’ and ‘How can we know that they learn
that?’. Learning taxonomies are the source of learning outcomes and facilitate the shift from a teacher-
centered approach to a more student-centered approach, focused on learning.
The meaning of the term taxonomy originates from the Greek ‘taxis’ (‘arrangement’) and ‘nomia’
(‘distribution’). In their current understanding, taxonomies represent ‘distribution by categories’ or,
simply said, ‘classifications’. Learning taxonomies are a classification able to organize the knowledge,
skills, values, or behaviors that teachers aim to teach. Learning taxonomies are used to organize different
stages of learning development, providing a practical framework for selecting the appropriateness of
specific learning outcomes for courses at different levels of complexity. In education, the most well-known
taxonomy is that developed by Bloom in the 1950s.
Bloom's taxonomy
Bloom's taxonomy is a set of three hierarchical models used to classify educational learning
objectives into levels of complexity and specificity. The models were named after
Benjamin Bloom, who chaired the committee of educators that devised the taxonomy. The
cognitive domain list has been the primary focus of most traditional education and is frequently
used to structure curriculum learning objectives, assessments, and activities. The committee
identified three domains of educational activities or learning (Bloom, et al. 1956):

1. Cognitive: mental skills (knowledge)
2. Affective: growth in feelings or emotional areas (attitude or self)
3. Psychomotor: manual or physical skills (skills)
Cognitive Domain
The models were named after Benjamin Bloom, who chaired the committee of educators that
devised the taxonomy. Cognitive domain was presented in 1956. This domain divided into further
six domains (fig. 1).
Levels Description Characteristics Examples
1)Knowledge Involves the recall of specifics and
universals, the recall of methods and
processes, or the recall of a pattern,
structure, or setting”.
• Knowledge of
specifics—terminology,
specific facts
• Knowledge of ways and
means of dealing with
specifics—conventions,
trends and sequences,
classifications and
categories, criteria,
methodology
Name three common
varieties of apple.
2)Comprehension Refers to a type of understanding or
apprehension such that the individual
knows what is being communicated and
can make use of the material or idea
being communicated without
necessarily relating it to other material
or seeing its fullest implications
Compare the
identifying
characteristics of a
Golden Delicious
apple with a Granny
Smith apple.
3)Application Refers to the “use of abstractions in
particular and concrete situations
Would apples
prevent scurvy, a
disease caused by a
deficiency in vitamin
C?
4)Analysis Represents the “breakdown of a
communication into its constituent
elements or parts such that the relative
hierarchy of ideas is made clear and/or
the relations between ideas expressed
are made explicit
• Analysis of elements
• Analysis of relationships
• Analysis of organization
List four ways of
serving foods made
with apples and
explain which ones
have the highest
health benefits.
Provide references to
support your
statements.

5)Synthesis Involves the “putting together of
elements and parts so as to form a
whole.
• Production of a unique
communication
• Production of a plan, or
proposed set of
operations
• Derivation of a set of
abstract relations
Convert an
"unhealthy" recipe
for apple pie to a
"healthy" recipe by
replacing your
choice of
ingredients.
6)Evaluation Judgments about the value of material
and methods for given purposes
• Judgments in terms of
internal evidence
• Judgments in terms of
external criteria
Which kinds of
apples are best for
baking a pie, and
why?
Effective Domain
The affective domain is one of three domains in Bloom's Taxonomy, with the other two
being the cognitive and psychomotor presented by Krathwohl, Bloom, and Masia in
1973.
Skills in the affective domain describe the way people react emotionally and their ability to feel
other living things' pain or joy. Affective objectives typically target the awareness and growth
in attitudes, emotion, and feelings. There are five levels in the affective domain moving through
the lowest-order processes to the highest.
Levels Description Keywords
1. Receiving The lowest level; the student passively pays
attention. Without this level, no learning can occur.
Receiving is about the student's memory and
recognition as well.
Attend Listen
Be aware Look
Control Notice
Discern Share
2. Responding The student actively participates in the learning
process, not only attends to a stimulus; the student
also reacts in some way.
Applaud Participate
Comply Play
Discuss Practice
Follow Volunteer
3. Valuing The student attaches a value to an object,
phenomenon, or piece of information. The student
associates a value or some values to the knowledge
they acquired.
Act Express
Argue Help
Convince Organize
Debate Prefer
4. Organizing The student can put together different values,
information, and ideas, and can accommodate them
within his/her own schema; the student is comparing,
relating and elaborating on what has been learned.
Abstract Formulate
Balance Select
Compare Systemize
Decide Theorize

5. Characterizing The student at this level tries to build abstract
knowledge.
Avoid, Display, Exhibit,
Internalize, Manage, Require,
Resist, Resolve, Revise
Psychomotor Domain
The psychomotor domain (Simpson, 1972) includes physical movement, coordination,
and use of the motor-skill areas. Development of these skills requires practice and is
measured in terms of speed, precision, distance, procedures, or techniques in execution.
The seven major categories are listed from the simplest behavior to the most complex:
Levels Description Examples Keywords
1-Perception The ability to use sensory cues to
guide motor activity: This ranges
from sensory stimulation, through
cue selection, to translation.
Detects non-verbal
communication cues.
Estimate where a ball will
land after it is thrown and
then moving to the correct
location to catch the ball.
Adjusts heat of the stove to
correct temperature by smell
and taste of food.
Chooses, describes, detects,
differentiates, distinguishes,
identifies, isolates, relates,
selects.
2-Set Readiness to act: It includes mental,
physical, and emotional sets. These
three sets are dispositions that
predetermine a person's response to
different situations (sometimes
called mindsets).
Knows and acts upon a
sequence of steps in a
manufacturing process.
Recognizes his or her
abilities and limitations.
Shows desire to learn a new
process (motivation).
Begins, displays, explains, moves,
proceeds, reacts, shows, states,
volunteers.
3-Guided
response
The early stages of learning a
complex skill that includes
imitation and trial and error:
Adequacy of performance is
achieved by practicing.
Performs a mathematical
equation as demonstrated.
Follows instructions to build
a model. Responds to hand-
signals of the instructor
while learning to operate a
forklift.
Copies, traces, follows, react,
reproduce, responds.
4-Mechanism The intermediate stage in learning a
complex skill: Learned responses
have become habitual and the
movements can be performed with
some confidence and proficiency.
Use a personal computer.
Repair a leaking tap. Drive a
car.
Assembles, calibrates,
constructs, dismantles,
displays, fastens, fixes, grinds,
heats, manipulates, measures,

mends, mixes, organizes,
sketches.
5-Complex
overt response
The skillful performance of motor
acts that involve complex
movement patterns: Proficiency is
indicated by a quick, accurate, and
highly coordinated performance,
requiring a minimum of energy.
Maneuvers a car into a tight
parallel parking spot.
Operates a computer quickly
and accurately. Displays
competence while playing
the piano.
Assembles, builds, calibrates,
constructs, dismantles,
displays, fastens, fixes, grinds,
heats, manipulates, measures,
mends, mixes, organizes,
sketches.
Levels Description Examples Keywords
6-Adaptation Skills are well developed, and the
individual can modify movement
patterns to fit special requirements.
Responds effectively to
unexpected experiences.
Modifies instruction to meet
the needs of the learners.
Adapts, alters, changes,
rearranges, reorganizes,
revises, varies.
7-Origination Creating new movement patterns to
fit a situation or specific problem:
Learning outcomes emphasize
creativity based upon highly
developed skills.
Constructs a new set or
pattern of movements
organized around a novel
concept or theory.
Arranges, builds, combines,
composes, constructs, creates,
designs, initiate, makes,
originates.

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