Course Objectives

It is an amazing sunny Saturday here in the Pacific Northwest and sitting inside at my computer is almost a crime. Still, the thrill of Quality Matters calls :-)


Standard 2 on Learning Objectives (also known as Course Outcomes) is the heart of the Quality Matters rubric and the heart of a course.  Everything needs to lead back to the objectives. If something does not connect to the objectives, it does not belong in the course.


Today, we are looking at learning objectives in the context of refreshing my existing Global Studies class. Standard 2.1 wants to insure that my course outcomes are measurable. Here is a link to my syllabus, where you'll see my measurable outcomes as one of the first items. 


Measurable outcomes is something that folks really struggle with. In teaching the QM rubric, I've learned about  great resources that I will share with you.  One is the Helpful Hundred, 100 verbs that are active and measurable. Exchanging your passive or non-measurable verbs with these active and measurable ones is a great way to improve your course.


Standard 2.2 looks to the module level objectives, making sure they are consistent with the course level objectives and measurable.  I talked a little about module level objectives already, so I'll refer you to that.


Standard 2.3 makes sure that all of the learning objectives are written from the student's point of view. What will the student be able to DO when this objective is met?  So phrase your objective like this, "At the end of this unit, you will be able to _______".  


Standard 2.4 requires that instructions clearly explain to the student how to meet the objectives. I do this in my syllabus and in each of the course assignment descriptions.  In the syllabus, it looks like this:

Weekly Quizzes – For each week you will have a short, objective quiz. The quiz questions will be multiple choice or true/false and will be graded automatically by ANGEL so you get instant feedback. The assignment goals are to

 Insure you have read and understood the material

 Give you a quick measure of how you are doing

 Provide alternative for people who are uncomfortable with writing to demonstrate knowledge

Finally, Standard 2.5, which require that the learning objectives are appropriate to the level of the course. Another handy tool I learned about from my Quality Matters training is the Bloom's Verb Wheel. This looks at the different levels of the Blooms taxonomy and aligns it with appropriate verbs and activities. For example, for an intro course, "knowledge" is a common goal. In the verb wheel, I see that aligned with verbs like "describe", "recognize", and "label". Next I see appropriate assessments like "text reading".


Resources:
The Helpful Hundred
Blooms Verb Wheel
Find the links to the Quality Matters Rubric and other helpful links in the navigation bar on the right.