Objectives communicate expectations for an activity or course of action. These explicit statements provide a context for what will be learned. There are both discipline-specific (knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors) and non-discipline-specific (communication and presentation skills, moral values, and ethics) objectives. Objectives can help participants clarify their personal goals for an activity and provide a framework against which to measure their success.

Explicit objectives are important for a number of reasons. First, when clearly defined objectives are lacking, there is no sound basis for the selection of instructional materials, content, or methods. If you don’t know where you’re going, it is difficult to select a suitable means for getting there. Instructors/faculty simply function in a fog unless they know what they want the participants to accomplish as a result of their instruction.

A second important reason for stating objectives has to do with finding out whether the objective has, in fact, been accomplished. Evaluations, tests, or examinations are the mileposts along the road of learning and should tell instructors and participants alike whether they have been successful in achieving the activity objectives. But unless the objectives are clearly and firmly fixed in the minds of both parties, tests/evaluations are at best misleading; at worst, they are irrelevant, unfair, or uninformative.

A third advantage of clearly defined objectives is that they provide participants with the means to organize their own efforts toward accomplishment of those objectives.

Objectives are an integral part of a well-designed course. Writing objectives helps to organize the content and to divide the activity into units of information. Objectives state the specific criteria of acceptable performance, or “learning outcomes”, to be achieved by a participant. By stating the criteria, participants can understand the requirements and focus their learning activities appropriately. Clear, definable objectives can be used as indicators of success, and will help participants recognize their progress.

Objectives need to be organized in such a way as to be useful to the participant and the faculty. To accomplish this, objectives need to be written as participant learning outcome statements. Learning objectives should be measurable and observable and written to answer the question “What must the participant do to prove that he/she has succeeded?” or “What should a participant be able to do as a result of instruction/participation?”

Develop objectives to focus on the Mission of the CME.

The three essential elements of learning objectives are a statement of who (the learner), how (the action verb), and what (the content):

Examples of HOW

Examples of WHAT

Consider adding performance standards to your learning objectives. Wording that describes acceptable standards might include:

• in a fifteen-minute time period
• with no mistakes
• with 98% accuracy
• getting 22 out of 25 correct

Define the criteria or conditions under which the learning is to be demonstrated. Wording that describes learning conditions might include:      

• Given a problem of the following type…
• Without the use of any reference materials…
• Using a specific instrument.

Then list however many objectives (usually not more than five). While too few may not provide enough information about the learning opportunity, too many may be confusing and overwhelm the potential participants.

Words to Avoid

Avoid the following words as they are open to many interpretations:

Appreciate

Believe

Have faith in

Know

Learn

Understand

Words To Use

Verbs that Communicate Information

The following action verbs have been found to be effective in formulating educational objectives.

Verbs that Communicate Comprehension

Verbs that Communicate Application

Verbs that Communicate Analysis