GOALS & OBJECTIVES…. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE & WHY SHOULD I CARE?

In planning a course, it is important distinguish between instructional goals and objectives.

• Instructional goals are general statements of the overall purpose of a course. Typically, they are stated at the beginning of the Syllabus. They provide broad direction and may not be easily measurable.
  
  
• Instructional objectives describe what the learner will be able to do after completing a unit of instruction. They define specific, measurable outcomes (i.e., skills, knowledge or attitudes).

There are two type of instructional objectives.

• Terminal objectives state what the student should be able to do at the end of a unit of study.
  
  
• Enabling objectives are statements of the skills, knowledge and attitudes that support a terminal objective.

In a well designed course, instructional goals, terminal objectives and enabling objectives are clearly stated and logically linked in a top-down fashion. They provide a framework that organizes ALL of the course content, instructional activities, and assessments.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but take a minute to consider the following questions in terms of the courses you have designed or are teaching:

1. Are the terminal objectives clearly related to the course goals and stated in the syllabus?
2. Are the enabling objectives logically linked to the stated terminal objectives and stated at the beginning of each unit or session? In other words, if a student achieves all of the enabling objectives, will they have achieved the terminal objectives?
3. Does the instruction include sufficient and appropriate information, examples, and demonstrations to enable students to perform the instructional objectives?
4. Do instructional activities provide students with sufficient and appropriate practice in advance of assessment activities?
5. Do assessments provide a fair and unambiguous indication of whether or not students have achieved the instructional objectives?
6. Is the instruction free from unnecessary information, examples, activities, or assessments that are not directly linked to the objectives?

If you can honestly answer YES to these questions, congratulations! You have just passed Instructional Design 101. And your students should be happy campers because you have clearly defined the expectations for the course - with no suprises!

Of course, objectives are not the "end all" in terms of establishing expectations. Your course syllabus and instructions for activities and assessments should provide additional detail and guidance. Please see the Anatomy of a Syllabus and Specifying Assignments sections for more about these important aspects of course planning.