Goals and Objectives
Goals and objectives create the foundation for lesson plans. If they are written well, an instructor will have an effective and meaningful structure for discussion, activities, and assessment. Goals and objectives serve as a reminder that teaching is not an end in itself, but the means to an end.
Goals
Goals explain the reasoning behind what you will teach in a session. They articulate what you wish to accomplish and help to map your direction. They address the question: What do I want my students to take with them after the session is completed? Once you've organized your goals, you can decide what content and teaching method will best achieve them.
- Goals state what a student should be able to do at the end of the library session; they do not describe the learning process.
- Goals for one session are often related to goals for the entire course. It can be helpful to look at the overall course goals and those of other library instructors.
- Goals should be clear and reachable. Concentrate on naming the most important broad concepts.
| Worse: | Students will go through a sample search in Lexis-Nexis. |
| Better: | Students will be able to effectively search a commercial database. |
| Worse: | Students will be able to find an online periodical index, open it, perform a search, evaluate their results, refine their search if needed, and then choose three articles for their research paper. |
| Better: | Students will be capable of selecting and searching library resources that relate to their discipline. |
Objectives
Objectives are student performances of the concepts described in your session goals. They are often referred to as 'learning outcomes' because they define more specifically what skills students will be able to demonstrate after your session. They can be used to assess the effectiveness of the session.
- Objectives should always focus on the students, not the instructor.
- Objectives should address outcomes, not learning processes.
- Each objective should focus on only one idea.
- Objectives should measure specific behaviors. Try to avoid using vague verbs such as 'understands' and 'knows.'
| Worse: | Teach students to search the library catalog. |
| Better: | Students will be able to perform a title search in the library catalog. |
| Worse: | Students should know and apply evaluating strategies for choosing articles. |
| Better: | Students will able to distinguish between scholarly and popular magazines. |
| Worse: | Students will understand how to use the Boolean operators AND and OR. |
| Better: | Students will demonstrate how to use the Boolean operators AND and OR. |
| Goals | Objectives |
|---|---|
| What you want students to take with them after the session is completed. | Student performances demonstrating the abilities described in your goals. |
| Ex: Students will be able to select and search online indexes related to their discipline. | Ex: Students will locate indexes as they are grouped by subject and choose one.Next they will perform searches using advanced search techniques.They will then evaluate their search results. |
Exercise
Create goals and objectives for the next session you teach. Think about them as you create the outline and plan the session. Did having goals and objectives cause you to plan any differently, or allot a different amount of time to a particular part of the session? After the session, revisit them - did you cover each of your goals? Did students demonstrate the skills you wanted to highlight? What would you do differently next time?
For more information:
ALA/ACRL Instruction Section. "Writing measurable objectives." Available online atGoals and objectives create the foundation for lesson plans. If they are written well, an instructor will have an effective and meaningful structure for discussion, activities, and assessment. Goals and objectives serve as a reminder that teaching is not an end in itself, but the means to an end.
Goals
Goals explain the reasoning behind what you will teach in a session. They articulate what you wish to accomplish and help to map your direction. They address the question: What do I want my students to take with them after the session is completed? Once you've organized your goals, you can decide what content and teaching method will best achieve them.
- Goals state what a student should be able to do at the end of the library session; they do not describe the learning process.
- Goals for one session are often related to goals for the entire course. It can be helpful to look at the overall course goals and those of other library instructors.
- Goals should be clear and reachable. Concentrate on naming the most important broad concepts.
| Worse: | Students will go through a sample search in Lexis-Nexis. |
| Better: | Students will be able to effectively search a commercial database. |
| Worse: | Students will be able to find an online periodical index, open it, perform a search, evaluate their results, refine their search if needed, and then choose three articles for their research paper. |
| Better: | Students will be capable of selecting and searching library resources that relate to their discipline. |
Objectives
Objectives are student performances of the concepts described in your session goals. They are often referred to as 'learning outcomes' because they define more specifically what skills students will be able to demonstrate after your session. They can be used to assess the effectiveness of the session.
- Objectives should always focus on the students, not the instructor.
- Objectives should address outcomes, not learning processes.
- Each objective should focus on only one idea.
- Objectives should measure specific behaviors. Try to avoid using vague verbs such as 'understands' and 'knows.'
| Worse: | Teach students to search the library catalog. |
| Better: | Students will be able to perform a title search in the library catalog. |
| Worse: | Students should know and apply evaluating strategies for choosing articles. |
| Better: | Students will able to distinguish between scholarly and popular magazines. |
| Worse: | Students will understand how to use the Boolean operators AND and OR. |
| Better: | Students will demonstrate how to use the Boolean operators AND and OR. |
| Goals | Objectives |
|---|---|
| What you want students to take with them after the session is completed. | Student performances demonstrating the abilities described in your goals. |
| Ex: Students will be able to select and search online indexes related to their discipline. | Ex: Students will locate indexes as they are grouped by subject and choose one.Next they will perform searches using advanced search techniques.They will then evaluate their search results. |
Exercise
Create goals and objectives for the next session you teach. Think about them as you create the outline and plan the session. Did having goals and objectives cause you to plan any differently, or allot a different amount of time to a particular part of the session? After the session, revisit them - did you cover each of your goals? Did students demonstrate the skills you wanted to highlight? What would you do differently next time?
For more information:
ALA/ACRL Instruction Section. "Writing measurable objectives." Available online at http://www.ala.org/ala/acrlbucket/is/organizationacrl/planningacrl/smartobjectives/writingmeasurable.htm; Internet; Accessed August 17, 2001.
Gronlund, Norman. How to Write and Use Instructional Objectives. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2000.
Pregent, Richard. "Chapter 2 - Formulating Course Objectives." Charting Your Course: How to Prepare to Teach More Effectively. Madison, WI: Magna Publications, Inc., 1994.
