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55 Learning Objectives Examples

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Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Learning objectives are explicit statements that clearly express what learners should be able to comprehend, perform or experience by the end of a course or instructional period (Adams, 2015).

They are fundamental to the process of educational planning and instructional design, acting as vehicles that drive both teaching and learning strategies.

Importantly, they ensure coherence and a clear focus, differentiating themselves from vague educational goals by generating precise, measurable outcomes of academic progress (Sewagegn, 2020).

I have front-loaded the examples in this article for your convenience, but do scroll past all the examples for some useful frameworks for learning how to write effective learning objectives.

Learning Objectives Examples

Learning objectives for internships.

For more, see: List of SMART Internship Goals

Learning Objectives for Presentations

For More: See This Detailed List of Communication Objectives Examples

Learning Objectives for Kindergarten

Taxonomies to assist in creating objectives.

Various taxonomies are available to educators as guides in formulating potent learning objectives, with three prominent ones provided below.

1. The SMART Framework for Learning Objectives

The SMART framework helps you to construct clear and well-defined learning objectives. It stands for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (Doran, 1981).

• Specific objectives are ones that are straightforward, detailing the what, why, and how of the learning process. For example, an objective that states “Improve mental multiplication skills” is less specific than “Multiply two-digit numbers mentally within two minutes with 90% accuracy.” When I was learning to write learning objectives at university, I was taught to always explicitly describe the measurable outcome .
• Measurable objectives facilitate tracking progress and evaluating learning outcomes. An objective such as “Write a 500-word essay on the causes of World War II, substantiated with at least three academic sources” is measurable, as both word count and the number of sources can be quantified.
• Achievable objectives reflect realistic expectations based on the learner’s potential and learning environment, fostering motivation and commitment.
• Relevant objectives correspond with overarching educational goals and learner’s needs, such as an objective to “identify and manage common software vulnerabilities” in a cybersecurity course.
• Time-bound objectives specify the duration within which the learning should take place, enhancing management of time and resources in the learning process.

2. Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s taxonomy outlines six cognitive levels of understanding – knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation (Adams, 2015). Each are presented below:

Each level is demonstrated below:

Here, we can reflect upon the level of learning and cognition expected of the learner, and utilize the Bloom’s taxonomy verbs to cater the learning objectives to that level.

3. Fink’s Taxonomy

Another helpful resource for creating objectives is Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning , which emphasizes different dimensions of learning, including foundational knowledge, application, integration, human dimension, caring, and learning how to learn (Marzano, 2010):

• Foundational knowledge refers to the basic information learners must understand to progress with the topic at hand—for instance, understanding color theory before painting a canvas.
• Application gives learners real-world instances for applying the knowledge and skills they’ve cultivated, such as using Adobe Photoshop in a design project after a graphic design lecture.
• Integration enables learners to make interdisciplinary connections between the new knowledge and various fields of study or areas of life—for example, a business student applying economic theory to understand market dynamics in biotechnology.
• Human dimension involves personal and social implications of learning, i.e., how the learners see themselves and interact with others in light of the new knowledge.
• Caring challenges learners to develop new feelings, interests, or values aligned with the course outcomes, like fostering a conservation mindset in an environmental science course.
• Learning how to learn encourages learners to become self-directed and resourceful, enabling them to cultivate learning strategies, skills, and habits that make them lifelong learners, such as using reflective journals or peer reviews (Marzano, 2010).

An example of an objective that uses Fink’s framework could be:

“Learners will conduct a small research project about a famous physicist (foundational knowledge), incorporating class teachings (application) and their own interpretations (integration), then present to the class (human dimension), reflecting on how the physicist’s work affects them personally (caring) and how the project grew their understanding of research methods (learning how to learn).”

Why are Learning Objectives Important?

Effective learning objectives serve to streamline the learning process, creating a clear path for both teachers and learners.

The role of objectives in education mirrors the use of a roadmap on a journey; just as marking out stops and landmarks can facilitate navigation, learning objectives can clarify the trajectory of a course or lesson (Hall, Quinn, & Gollnick, 2018).

On a practical level, imagine teaching a course about climate change. Without explicit learning objectives (like understanding how carbon footprints contribute to global warming), learners could easily veer off track, misinterpreting the main focus.

Learning objectives also act as an anchor during assessments, providing a yardstick against which progress and performance can be gauged (Orr et al., 2022). When students are graduating high school, for example, it’s likely they’ll be assessed on some form of standardized testing to measure if the objectives have been met.

By serving as a guide for content selection and instructional design, learning objectives allow teachers to ensure coursework is suitably designed to meet learners’ needs and the broader course’s objectives (Li et al., 2022). In situations where time is crucial, such as military training or emergency medicine, keeping the focus narrow and relevant is crucial.

Tips and Tricks

1. tips on integrating learning objectives into course design.

Learning objectives serve as a foundation in the designing of a course.

They provide a structured framework that guides the incorporation of different course components, including instructional materials, activities, and assessments (Li et al., 2022).

When designing a photography course, for example, learning objectives guide the selection of appropriate theoretical content (like understanding aperture and shutter speed), practical activities (like a field trip for landscape photography), and the assessment methods (like a portfolio submission).

Just like how research objectives shape the methodology a research study will take, so too will learning objectives shape the teaching methods and assessment methods that will flow-on from the path set out in the overarching learning objectives.

2. Tips on Assessing and Revising your Learning Objectives Regularly

Learning objectives are not set in stone; they demand constant review and refinement.

In the light of feedback from learners, instructors or external bodies (like accreditation agencies), learning outcomes, and advancements in pedagogy, learning objectives may need to be revised (Orr et al., 2022).

Think about a programming course where new frameworks or libraries are regularly introduced; in such cases, the learning objectives would need to be updated to reflect these emerging trends. This provides opportunities for continual enhancement of the course design, thus fostering an environment of progressive learning and teaching (Sewagegn, 2020).

Teachers should revise their learning objectives every time they re-introduce the unit of work to a new cohort of students, taking into account the learnings and feedback you acquired last time you taught the unit.

Learning objectives, when effectively formulated and implemented, serve as key drivers of successful instruction.

They underscore the importance of clarity, directness, and depth in the learning process, fostering a learning environment designed for optimal learner engagement, progress tracking, and educational outcome (Hall, Quinn, & Gollnick, 2018).

With their expansive role in the educational journey, educators are encouraged to invest time and resourceful thought in crafting and continually refining their classroom objectives (Doran, 1981). Moreover, the use of established taxonomies and attention to characteristics like SMARTness in this process can greatly facilitate this endeavor.

As the backbone of well-structured courses, learning objectives deserve the thoughtful consideration and continuous improvement efforts of every dedicated educator. It is our hope that this article has provided insights that will help you bring more clarity, coherence, and effectiveness to your educational planning.

Adams, N. E. (2015). Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive learning objectives.  Journal of the Medical Library Association: JMLA ,  103 (3), 152. doi: https://doi.org/10.3163%2F1536-5050.103.3.010

Doran, G. T. (1981). There’sa SMART way to write management’s goals and objectives.  Management review ,  70 (11), 35-36.

Hall, G. E., Quinn, L. F., & Gollnick, D. M. (2018).  Introduction to teaching: Making a difference in student learning . Sage Publications.

Li, Y., Rakovic, M., Poh, B. X., Gaševic, D., & Chen, G. (2022). Automatic Classification of Learning Objectives Based on Bloom’s Taxonomy.  International Educational Data Mining Society .

Marzano, R. J. (2010).  Designing & teaching learning goals & objectives . Solution Tree Press.

Orr, R. B., Csikari, M. M., Freeman, S., & Rodriguez, M. C. (2022). Writing and using learning objectives.  CBE—Life Sciences Education ,  21 (3). Doi: https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.22-04-0073

Sewagegn, A. A. (2020). Learning objective and assessment linkage: its contribution to meaningful student learning.  Universal Journal of Educational Research ,  8 (11), 5044-5052.

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 10 Reasons you’re Perpetually Single
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Blended Learning

22 Learning Objectives

Observe & consider, perspectives on learning objectives.

As we discussed in the previous section, well articulated learning objectives are a foundation for any blended learning design process because they establish what you want your students to know or do upon completion of your course. As we look to further explore the learning objectives, it is worth considering an objectives significance from various perspectives. Well crafted learning objectives allow all stakeholders in the course to share a common understanding of what the course is about.

Instructors & Course Designers

For instructors and course designers, the value of a learning objective is perhaps most obvious. In short, learning objectives enable the blended learning design process to happen. Learning objectives provide road map for a course and help align content, assessments and activities to round out the learning experience.

Well developed learning objectives can also help students to understand better their own learning process. When the goals are explicit, students can more purposefully approach readings, activities, and assignments and more easily make connections that deepen the learning experience. Furthermore, students may be able to articulate skills more clearly and link their learning experiences to a real-world context.

Institutions, Departments and Programs

Though our primary focus remains at the course level, learning objectives can have significance beyond the course level. In thinking about how your course objectives take shape, it may be worth considering how programs, departments, and institutions might use learning objectives to help organize more holistic learning pathways for students. For example, our institution has the  UW Essential Learning Outcomes help communicate to prospective students how a UW education will prepare them for life after graduation. At the same time, this communicates to prospective employers what skills and abilities a UW graduate will bring to an organization.

Departments and programs can also outline learning objectives that align with those institutional objectives but speak more specifically to how a program of study will prepare a student for a specific discipline.

Learning Objectives and Course Structure

Learning objectives might seem straightforward, but there are actually quite a number of considerations to make to ensure that an objective is complete and works to align with the various elements of a blended course. The diagram below outlines how objectives work at various levels of a course to build a the course structure and to help define the various assignments, activities, and assessments.

Anatomy of an Objective

A learning objective is a brief statement with several important characteristics:

• contains a verb that aligns with the designed learner action
• contains object that summarizes the desired knowledge or skill
• is actionable – can be put into practice or though activity
• is measurable or observable – can be assessed to determine whether the objective was met

While each characteristic above is an important component of a complete learning objective, it is worth spending a moment looking at the way in which the verb can link an objective to one of the six cognitive domains within Bloom’s Taxonomy .

Now that we’ve established the component parts of a well-written objective, let’s look review a few examples. Consider the table below and note the difference between the strong and weak objectives. As you review the chart, notice how the strong objectives include each of the essential components of an objective (listed above). At the same time, note how the weak objectives contain a non-descript verb and imprecise object.

Supplemental Resources

• Writing Good Learning Objectives from I-Tech
• A Model of Learning Objectives  – Interactive tool based on A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives by Rex Heer, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Iowa State University.

Practice & Apply

Reflect on learning objectives and your course.

• Does your program or department have well defined learning objectives or outcomes for students?
• If so, how do those objectives impact your course design, activities, and assessments?
• If you have learning objectives developed for your course, are they written in a way that is measurable and actionable?

Media Attributions

Teaching with Technology Copyright © 2015 by Steel Wagstaff is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Department of Educational Psychology

Educational Technology

The Two Summers Program’s learning objectives are based on a combination state and national standards, specifically drawing on the ISTE Standards for Technology Coaches . Students weave academic/learning experiences through their own instruction (e.g., K-12 classroom teaching) to develop and expand crucial technological and pedagogical skills.

Graduates of the Two Summers Program will be able to:

• Identify, describe, and apply emerging technologies in teaching and learning environments
• Demonstrate knowledge, attitudes, and skills of digital age work and learning
• Plan, design, and assess effective learning environments and experiences
• Implement curriculum methods and strategies that use technology to maximize student learning
• Develop technology-enabled assessment and evaluation strategies
• Compare and contrast social, ethical, and legal issues surrounding technology
• Facilitate instruction in the new literacies that emerge within digital / interactive learning environments

We believe technology should be used to support content knowledge and creative pedagogy grounded in contemporary theories of thinking and learning. Technology is not an end in and of itself but a mechanism we can leverage to optimally engage and educate learners in Math, Science, Language, Social Studies, Music, Art, and other domains.

For that reason, Two Summers emphasizes a design-experiment approach to technology integration, cutting across all courses and key program artifacts:

(C) [blue text] denotes Content -based skills; (P) [green text] denotes Pedagogy -based skills; (D) [purple text] denotes Disposition -based skills

Content Knowledge consists of understanding contemporary technologies (i.e., hardware, software), the internet, and a combination of on- and offline computer-based tools capable of supporting classroom instruction.

Pedagogy consists of understanding instructional design methods, contemporary theories of thinking and learning, and design research methods that enable the wise and successful integration of technology as part of instruction.

Disposition   consists of understanding intellectual risk-taking, on-the-fly problem solving, technology visioning, and learning through data-driven decision-making (i.e., technology implementation, data collection, analysis).

The Two Summers Program threads these keys artifacts, demonstrations of skill, and crucial components of technology integration together using the ISTE Standards for Technology Coaches :

Center for the Advancement of Teaching Excellence

Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives.

Erin Stapleton-Corcoran , CATE Instructional Designer January 25, 2023

WHAT? Heading link Copy link

Bloom’s taxonomy is a hierarchical model used for classifying learning objectives by levels of complexity and specificity. Bloom’s Taxonomy was created to outline and clarify how learners acquire new knowledge and skills. Though the original intention of the taxonomy was to serve as an assessment tool, Bloom’s taxonomy is effective in helping instructors identify clear learning objectives as well as create purposeful learning activities and instructional materials.

Bloom’s taxonomy emerged from a 1948 meeting of university educators – chaired by Benjamin Bloom – who brainstormed a theoretical model of learning that identified educational objectives to aid in the creation of testing items. The committee later expanded its initial framework to three learning domains:

• Cognitive: knowledge or thinking
• Affective: growth in feelings or emotional areas (attitude or self)
• Psychomotor: manual or physical skills

Bloom’s Taxonomy consists of three learning domains: cognitive, affective and psychomotor.

Cognitive Domain Heading link Copy link

Cognitive domain.

The cognitive domain went through numerous revisions before a finalized version was published (Bloom 1956).

The cognitive domain has been the primary focus in education and has become shorthand for Bloom’s Taxonomy as a result. The cognitive domain is made up of six levels of objectives. These levels are organized by hierarchy, moving from foundational skills to higher-order thinking skills.

In 2001 Anderson and Krathwohl revised Bloom’s levels from nouns to verbs, and this is the version of the taxonomy used today.

• Remember: retrieve relevant knowledge from memory.
• Understand: determine the meaning of instructional messages.
• Apply: use a procedure in a given situation.
• Analyze: break materials into components and determine how they work together.
• Evaluate: make judgments based on criteria and standards.
• Create: create a new or original work.

Anderson and Krathwohl revised Bloom’s levels from nouns to verbs.

Anderson and Krathwohl’s Two-Dimensional Taxonomy

When revising Bloom’s Taxonomy in 2001, Anderson and Krathwohl also added the knowledge dimension to the taxonomy. The knowledge dimension consists of four dimensions, which are:

• Factual knowledge (basic elements to learn or solve problems in the discipline)
• Conceptual knowledge (interrelationships between basic elements within a larger context)
• Procedural knowledge (methods in the discipline)
• Metacognitive knowledge (awareness of how learning work in relation to one’s self)

Based on this two-dimensional taxonomy, Anderson and Krathwohl developed a matrix for combining cognitive processes and knowledge dimensions which is shown to the left.

See the “ How ” section of this teaching guide to learn more about using the cognitive domain to craft learning objectives, assessments, and instructional materials and learning activities for your courses as well as how to implement the cognitive domain/knowledge dimension matrix when using Bloom’s Taxonomy in the classroom.

Affective Domain Heading link Copy link

Affective domain.

The affective domain was first published in 1964 (Krathwohl et al, 1964). The affective domain outlines skills and behaviors that correspond to attitudes and values and as the learner progresses through the levels of the affective domain, they become self-reliant and internally motivated.  Learning objectives aligned to the affective domain tend to be the hardest to articulate initially and often appear difficult to assess at first glance. However, affective outcomes often represent the outcomes most closely related to deeper thinking and lifelong learning.

The affective domain contains five levels, from lowest to highest:

• Receiving: Willing to listen and receive knowledge.
• Responding: Actively participates and engages in knowledge transfer.
• Valuing: Finds value and worth in one’s learning with motivation to continue.
• Organizing: Integrates and compares values, resolves conflict between these values, and orders them according to priorities.
• Characterizing: Creates a value system that controls behavior. The behavior is pervasive, consistent, predictable, and characteristic of the learner.

See the “ How ”  section of this teaching guide to learn more about using the affective domain to craft learning objectives, assessments, and instructional materials and learning activities for your courses.

(Krathwohl et al., 1964)

Psychomotor Domain Heading link Copy link

Psychomotor domain.

Bloom and his colleagues did not create subcategories for skills in the psychomotor domain, but other educators did (Simpson 1966, 1972;  Dave, 1970; Harrow, 1972). The psychomotor domain includes physical movement, coordination, and motor skills. Development of these skills requires practice and is measured in terms of speed, precision, distance, procedures, or technical execution. For the purpose of this teaching guide, we will explore Simpson’s version of the psychomotor domain, which has the following seven levels:

• Perception : Use sensory cues to guide actions or movements.
• Set : Demonstrates a readiness (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually) to take action to perform the task or objective. (NOTE: This level of the Psychomotor domain is closely related to the “Responding to phenomena” level of the Affective domain).
• Guided response : Knows steps required to complete the task or objective and  learns through trial and error by practicing.
• Mechanism : Performs task or objective in a somewhat confident, proficient, and habitual manner.
• Complex overt response : Performs task or objective in a confident, proficient, and habitual manner. Expert level, high proficiency and performs with accuracy.
• Adaptation : Performs task or objective and can modify actions to account for new or problematic situations.
• Origination : Create new procedures and solutions to approach various situations.

Simpson’s seven levels of the psychomotor domain.

See the “ How ” section of this teaching guide to learn more about using the psychomotor domain to craft learning objectives, assessments, and instructional materials and learning activities for your courses.

WHY? Heading link Copy link

There are several benefits to applying bloom’s taxonomy to your teaching..

• Bloom’s Taxonomy can help instructors craft clear, actionable learning objectives. Clear, actionable learning objectives help students understand the skills and knowledge they will gain during the course.
• Bloom’s Taxonomy can help instructors appropriately align instruction to the learning objectives, including the planning of learning activities and the delivery of instructional materials (Raths 2002).
• Bloom’s taxonomy helps instructors create valid and reliable assessments by aligning course learning objectives to any given level of student understanding or proficiency. Crooks (1998) suggests that much of college assessment involves recalling memorized facts, which only addresses the first level of learning. However, Bloom’s Taxonomy aids instructors in creating assessments that address all six levels of the cognitive domain.
• Bloom’s Taxonomy has been shown to enhance students’ higher-order thinking skills, such as critical thinking.  Bissell and Lemons (2006) used Bloom’s Taxonomy to assess critical-thinking skills in an introductory biology course. They developed a process by which they prepared questions with both content and critical-thinking skills in mind, and prepared grading rubrics that specified how to evaluate both the content and critical-thinking aspects of an answer. Using this methodology helped Bissell and Lemons clarify the course goals (for instructors and students), improve student metacognition, and expose student misconceptions about the course content.

HOW? Heading link Copy link

How can you use bloom’s taxonomy to craft learning objectives.

Bloom’s Taxonomy can help you write clear learning objectives , which are a description of what the learner must be able to do upon completion of an educational activity. A well-written learning objective outlines the knowledge, skills, and/or attitude the learners will gain from the educational activity and does so in an observable and measurable way.

More specifically, Bloom’s can help you identify the level, criteria, or standards for the knowledge, skills, abilities, competencies, attitudes, or values that your students are expected to be able to demonstrate.

For the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains, there are action verbs that align with each level. These action verbs are invaluable in crafting effective learning objectives.

Use the following steps to craft learning objectives using Bloom’s taxonomy:

• Select the domain (cognitive, affective, or psychomotor) for the learning objective you want to design.
• Determine at what complexity level you want students to demonstrate their learning.
• Select an action verb that is aligned to the domain level that you want students to demonstrate.

Consult the tables below to view action verbs that align with each level of the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains, as well as examples for each of the levels.

Cognitive domain Heading link Copy link

Cognitive domain

This domain is focused on intellectual skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and creating a knowledge base. The cognitive hierarchy consists of six levels, which span from simple memorization designed to build the knowledge of learners, to creating something new based on previously-learned information.

Remember: Can students recall crucial information?

Understand: can students explain ideas and concepts, apply: can students use information in a new way, analyze: can students distinguish between different parts or elements, evaluate: can students justify a position or defend a situation, create: can students produce new knowledge, a new product, or a new point of view, examples of learning objectives in the cognitive domain across the disciplines heading link copy link.

 Examples of Learning Objectives in the Cognitive Domain across the disciplines

Linguistics

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• evaluate core concepts related to the evolution of language.
• generate theories of syntax by analyzing linguistic evidence.
• produce an illustration of the phonemic inventory of a language.
• define terms relevant to the field of linguistics.
• explain linguistic concepts and how they apply to the study of language.
• use analytical techniques to identify patterns and trends in linguistic data.
• identify linguistic features.
• evaluate linguistic theories for their relevance in real-world scenarios.

Students will be able to:

• describe levels of organization and related functions in plants and animals.
• identify the characteristics and basic needs of living organisms and ecosystems.
• explain the processes of growth and development in individuals and populations.
• define specific biological terms.
• explain the role of specific biological processes in living organisms.
• use statistical techniques to analyze experimental data.
• identify the parts of a biological system located in a diagram.
• create a model or diagram that illustrates relationships and interdependence in specific biological concepts.
• evaluate evidence for a given set of hypotheses.

English/Literature

• identify literary techniques and creative uses of language in literary texts.
• adapt texts to particular audiences and purposes.
• articulate a thesis with evidence to support it.
• explain the relevance of themes found in literary texts.
• explain the meaning of a literary passage and how it contributes to the overall theme of the work.
• analyze the use of literary elements in a specific literary work.
• explain plot, characters, and themes in a literary work.
• place literary themes in the context of a specific time period or cultural movement.
• judge the quality of a literary work and its effectiveness in conveying the intended message.

Public Health

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• describe basic concepts of legal, ethical, economic, and regulatory dimensions of health care and public health policy.
• evaluate the impact of policies and legislation on individual and population health.
• analyze current trends in public health policy.
• evaluate short and long term prevention strategies to specific public health threats.
• define public health terms.
• explain the causes and effects of public health issues.
• use statistical techniques to identify trends in public health data.
• evaluate the effectiveness of relevant public health policies.
• design a comprehensive public health program that addresses contemporary public health issues.

Engineering

• execute classification tasks using multiple perceptrons.
• explain the gradient descent-based learning principle.
• analyze the role of activation functions in neural networks.
• distinguish between supervised and unsupervised learning.
• define key engineering principles.
• build a prototype of a simple machine within design specifications.
• review structural analysis data to suggest modifications to a structural design.
• create a new design that presents a unique solution to a specific engineering problem.
• evaluate the effectiveness of engineering projects based on their performance and cost.

Affective domain Heading link Copy link

Affective domain.

The affective domain focuses on a student’s attitudes, values, and interests. Composed of five levels, this domain begins with receiving and listening to information, and extends to characterization, or internalizing values and consistently acting upon these values.

Receiving: Are students willing to listen and receive knowledge?

Responding: do students actively participate and engage in knowledge transfer, valuing: do students accept and find worth in their own learning, organizing: do students integrate and compare values, ordering them according to priorities, characterizing: do students hold values that control the outcome of their behavior, examples of affective learning objectives across the disciplines heading link copy link.

 Examples of Affective Learning Objectives Across the Disciplines

• contribute meaningfully to class discussion by identifying their own questions about the readings.
• articulate their insights about the readings.
• respond respectfully to others’ comments.
• express their own opinions about issues raised in controversial texts.
• identify the values and beliefs expressed in literary works from different cultural perspectives.
• consider alternative viewpoints when reading texts that challenge their own beliefs and values.
• express empathy for the experiences and perspectives of others shared in course readings.
• work collaboratively in a group setting.
• display leadership by keeping the team on task.
• articulate professional ethical standards of the field.
• demonstrate curiosity and persistence in finding solutions to a set of engineering problems.
• collaborate effectively with team members.
• apply engineering principles to solve specific social and environmental problems.
• analyze the causes of specific engineering failures to identify opportunities for learning and improvement.
• celebrate the engineering achievements of others and themselves.
• articulate how social identities inform beliefs, values, and attitudes in themselves and others.
• respect the diverse perspectives of others.
• demonstrate empathy for the experiences and perspectives of different social groups.
• express their own opinions and values about sociological  issues and consider the perspectives of others.
• reflect on their own social identities and the ways in which they may be shaped by societal structures and norms.
• develop a sense of social responsibility and a commitment to social change.

Psychomotor domain Heading link Copy link

Psychomotor domain.

The psychomotor domain focuses on a student’s ability to physically accomplish tasks and to perform nonverbal communication and expressive activities. The psychomotor domain consists of seven levels.

Perception: Do students use their senses to guide motor activity?

Guided response: beginner level, learns through trial and error by practicing, mechanism: intermediate level, develops proficiency and action becomes habitual, complex overt response: expert level, high proficiency and performs with accuracy, adaptation: skills strongly developed and can be modified in different situations, origination: create new procedures and solutions to approach various situations.

Adapted in part from Bloom’s Taxonomy Learning Activities and Assessments, Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo.

How can you use Bloom’s Taxonomy in the classroom? Heading link Copy link

How can you use bloom’s taxonomy in the classroom.

There are many ways that Bloom’s can be applied to course planning to ensure effective instruction and student learning is occurring.  Several approaches to lesson planning that build on Bloom’s Taxonomy are described below.

Expertise pathways

Differentiated instruction (all/most/some).

Differentiated instruction is the process of tailoring lessons to meet the needs, interests, strengths, and ability levels of individual students in the classroom. Gershon (2013, 2019) builds differentiation into instruction by splitting up a lesson objective into three outcomes as follows:

• All students will be able to…
• Most students will be able to…
• Some students will be able to…

Gershon uses different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy to define the all/most/some outcomes.

For example:

• All = understand
• Most = apply
• Some = evaluate

Alternatively, you can select a keyword from one of the top two levels of the taxonomy and then modify these to create increasingly complex learning objectives.

• All = evaluate
• Most = critically evaluate
• Some = critically evaluate with reference to evidence, examples and reasons (pp 7)

Three-part lesson Heading link Copy link

Three-part lesson.

Another technique Gershon suggests is to divide the taxonomy into sections. For example, he splits the levels of the cognitive domain into three sections:  remember and understand, apply and analyze, and evaluate and create. Then, he divides the lesson into three segments and focuses on one of the three sections of the domains in that lesson segment.

To implement Gershon’s technique, divide your lesson into three segments. Assign “remember and understand” to the first segment, “apply and analyze” to the second segment,  and “evaluate and create” to the third segment of the lesson.

Below are example activities that can be used for each section of the lesson:

Section One: Remember and Understand

• Working individually, ask students to list all that they know about the topic.
• Write a summary of prior knowledge related to the topic.
• Read through the information they have compiled and put it into their own words
• Have students share what they already know about the topic with their partner.

Section Two: Apply and Analyze

• Use what you know about the topic to explain specific scenarios.
• Ask students to interpret a situation, text or event using prior knowledge.
• Challenge students to analyze new information and explain how it works.
• Give students a set of sources and ask them to analyze these.

Section Three: Evaluate and Create

• Challenge students to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the information or ideas they have analyzed.
• Ask students to write a report on the topic focusing on its pros and cons
• Have students craft a piece of creative writing based on what they have studied.
• Ask students to create a solution to a problem they have previously analyzed.

Alternatively, Crowe et al (2008) divide Bloom’s taxonomy into two sections referred to as lower order cognitive skills (LOCS) and higher order cognitive skills (HOCS) to better align  assessments with learning activities in college-level Biology classes.  LOCS comprise the first three cognitive levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (remember, understand, and apply) whereas HOCS include the second three levels (analyze, evaluate, and create).

Teach with Anderson and Krathwohl’s Two Dimension Taxonomy: Cognitive Processes and Knowledge Dimensions Heading link Copy link

Teach with anderson and krathwohl’s two dimension taxonomy: cognitive processes and knowledge dimensions.

Adapted from Heer, accessed January 2023.

You may find it helpful to use this Two-Dimensional course planning worksheet to help you build courses and  lessons that align with Anderson and Karthwohl’s cognitive process/knowledge domain (White 2019). We recommend you use this planning worksheet in conjunction with CATE’s course mapping document ,

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• This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International.
• This license requires that reusers give credit to the creator. It allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, for noncommercial purposes only.

Please use the following citation to cite this guide:

Stapleton-Corcoran, E. (2023). “Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.” Center for the Advancement of Teaching Excellence at the University of Illinois Chicago. Retrieved [today’s date] from https://teaching.uic.edu/blooms-taxonomy-of-educational-objectives/

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REFERENCES Heading link Copy link

Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives . New York, NY: Longman.

Bissell, A. N., & Lemons, P. P. (2006). A New Method for Assessing Critical Thinking in the Classroom. Bioscience , 56(1), 66–72.

Bloom, B. S. (Ed.). (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain . New York, NY: David McKay Company.

Bloom’s taxonomy learning activities and assessments . Centre for Teaching Excellence. (2019, April 17). Retrieved January 9, 2023, from https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/resources/teaching-tips/blooms-taxonomy-learning-activities-and-assessments. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Crooks, T.J. (1998). Impact of classroom evaluation on students. Review of Education Research, 58, 438-481.

Crowe, A., Dirks, C., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2008). Biology in Bloom: Implementing Bloom’s Taxonomy to Enhance Student Learning in Biology. CBE Life Sciences Education , 7(4), 368–381.

Gershon, M. (2013). How to use Bloom’s Taxonomy in the classroom Practical ideas and strategies to help put the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives to work in your classroom . TES Connect Digital Publishing.

Gershon M. (2018). How to use bloom’s taxonomy in the classroom: the complete guide . Learning Sciences International.

Grob, M. (2016, March 7). Active Teaching and Learning. TU Delft OpenCourseWare. Retrieved January 3, 2023, from https://ocw.tudelft.nl/courses/development-teaching-active-learning/ licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Heer, R. (n.d.). A Model of Learning Objectives based on A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives . Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy. Retrieved January 4, 2023, from https://www.celt.iastate.edu/instructional-strategies/effective-teaching-practices/revised-blooms-taxonomy/#responsive

Krathwohl D. R. Bloom B. S. & Masia B. B. (1964). Taxonomy of educational objectives : the classification of educational goals . David McKay.

Raths, J. (2002) Improving Instruction, Theory Into Practice, 41:4, 233-237.

Richlin, L. (2006). Blueprint for learning : constructing college courses to facilitate, assess, and document learning (1st ed.). Stylus Pub.

Simpson E. J. (1966). The classification of educational objectives psychomotor domain .

White, J. B. J. (2019, January 17). Lesson Planning: At the Intersection of Bloom’s Taxonomy and Knowledge Dimensions . UP Teaching Learning Community Blog. Retrieved January 5, 2023, from https://sites.up.edu/tl/lesson-planning-at-the-intersection-of-blooms-taxonomy-and-knowledge-dimensions/

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Heading link Copy link

Additional resources.

Airasian, P.W. & Miranda, H. (2002) The Role of Assessment in the Revised Taxonomy, Theory Into Practice , 41:4, 249-254

Arneson, J. B., & Offerdahl, E. G. (2018). Visual Literacy in Bloom: Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Support Visual Learning Skills. CBE Life Sciences Education , 17(1)

Ferguson, C. (2002) Using the Revised Taxonomy to Plan and Deliver Team-Taught, Integrated, Thematic Units, Theory Into Practice, 41:4, 238-243

Heick, T. (2022, October 21). 6 strategies for teaching with bloom’s taxonomy . TeachThought. Retrieved January 9, 2023, from https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/teaching-with-blooms-taxonomy/

Krathwohl, D. (2002) A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy: An Overview, Theory Into Practice , 41:4, 212-218,

Pappas, E., Pierrakos, O., & Nagel, R. (2013). Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to teach sustainability in multiple contexts. Journal of Cleaner Production , 48, 54–64.

Sneed, O. (2020). Integrating technology with Bloom’s taxonomy . Integrating Technology with Bloom’s Taxonomy. Retrieved January 9, 2023, from https://teachonline.asu.edu/2016/05/integrating-technology-blooms-taxonomy/

Stony Brook University Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. (n.d.). Bloom’s taxonomy wheel. Retrieved January 9, 2023, from https://apps.tlt.stonybrook.edu/bloomsTaxonomyWheel/

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Write Effective Learning Objectives: The ABCD Approach

Bloom’s Taxonomy offers a framework for categorizing educational goals that students are expected to attain as learning progresses.

Learning objectives can be identified as the goals that should be achieved by a student at the end of a lesson. The objectives of a lesson describe the base knowledge and skills we want our students to learn from our lesson. Simply put it’s what the student can do after they unit has been introduced. Your choice of materials, topics and logical structured presentation of a lesson has a direct influence on the objectives or goals you want your students to achieve.

See also: What is flipped classroom

Having a clear learning objective assists the facilitator or teacher in the basic course design. It helps with the creation of assessment, which in return showcases the student’s ability to achieve the objectives through collecting data. Monitoring a student’s progress throughout the learning process is vital to understand whether they are able to reach the learning objective or not. Furthermore, assessing students help the teacher to realize whether teaching methods should be adjusted or not.

See also: Instructional design

Having specific goals help the logical flow of a lesson. It’s vital that a lesson is tailored to achieve detailed lesson objectives. In order for the lesson to have a positive and constructive outcome. Basically, to make sure that students achieve the aim of the lesson.

See also: ADDIE model

This process can be simplified by following a basic formula: The ABCD approach. By using this formula, you will be able to create clear and effective objectives. It consists of four key elements: ( A )  Audience , ( B )  Behavior , ( C )  Condition , and ( D )  Degree .

A-Audience: Determine who will achieve the objective.

B-Behavior: Use action verbs (Bloom’s taxonomy) to write observable and measurable behavior that shows mastery of the objective.

C-Condition: If any, state the condition under which behavior is to be performed. (Optional)

D-Degree: If possible, state the criterion for acceptable performance, speed, accuracy, quality, etc. (Optional)

Please note that not every learning objective must contain a condition or state a degree.

Please also note that objectives may not be written in this order (ABCD).

Below are some example objectives which include Audience , Behavior , Condition , Degree

• “ Students will be able to apply the standard deviation rule to the special case of distributions having a normal shape .”
• “ Given a specific case study , learners will be able to conduct at least 2 needs analysis . “
• “ Given a diagram of the eye , students will be able label the 9 extra-ocular muscles and describe at least 2 of their actions .”
• “ Students will explain the social justice to ensure that adequate social services are provided to those who need them in three paragraphs .”

See also: Instructional design models

First you need to establish what prior knowledge your students have. Assess whether your students know any of the materials you want to present. What experiences do they have prior to coming into the classroom? By taking into account their valuable prior-knowledge you will be able to create an innovative lesson, with unique content. Content that your students don’t know about yet.

Prior knowledge can be assessed by giving all students a pre-test or a pre-course quiz. It’s vital to accurately understand a student’s prior knowledge to avoid misconceptions and misunderstandings. In this way you can avoid repeating information they already know as well as adjust your learning objectives accordingly.

This also gives you the opportunity to get to know your students that will help you adapt your teaching styles and methods. It’s important to know what motivates your new audience, what are their values and personality types. You can also discover what kind of learners they are. By assessing your students’ prior knowledge, you can add activities and worksheets that they will find interesting and can relate to.

Now, you can also make sure that the content you want to present are relevant to their reference frameworks. You can add extra materials and topics to challenge them and to tailor the learning objectives to the skills that they need to obtain and not the skills they already have.

After identifying your Audience by keeping the above-mentioned alternatives in mind you can start writing down your learning objectives. Usually it starts with a phrase like, “ After reviewing this section, students will be able to… ” or “ After completing this activity, learners will be able to… ”

See also: What are MOOCs

It’s quite simple to understand the different behaviors shown by students. By using the Blooms taxonomy theory, you could classify individuals into three different groups by assessing their intellectual behavior. Behavior can be assessed by observing and measuring a student’s ability to apply new skills they have learned and how they display knowledge of the new skills.

Here is a list of the classifications by the Bloom’s Taxonomy to measure proficiency and competence from a learner:

Domains of Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom states that learning occurs in three different learning domains: Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor.

Cognitive domain learning refers to the student’s ability to think and use their brain power. Psychomotor domain learning refers to a student’s physical ability to use an instrument or tool.  Affective domain learning refers to the student’s ability to resolve conflict and their emotional stability and growth.

Cognitive domain

The cognitive domain is further divided into two sub-categories: Cognitive process dimension and the Knowledge dimension.

1.Cognitive process dimension

This domain involves the process we use to apply and showcase our intellectual skills. Ranked from lower to higher order complexities: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and then finally create.

2.Knowledge dimension

Students have different ways of showcasing and applying their knowledge just as much as they learn in different ways:

• Metacognitive: Learners focuses on contextualizing, self-knowledge, strategy, and cognitive tasks.
• Conceptual: Learners focuses on theories, assemblies, categories and groupings, ideologies and generalizations.
• Factual: Learners focuses on facts, specific details and terminology
• Procedural: Learners focuses on using different algorithms, techniques and methods, following step-by-step guidelines for specific scenarios.

Basically, the cognitive domain refers to the kind of intellectual learners we are whereas the knowledge domain identifies the ways in which we use knowledge.

The cognitive process levels are categorized from lower-order to higher-order thinking skills: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create.

Affective domain

This domain refers to the emotional capability of an individual and in which ways they act and react towards is. It puts emphasis on five subjective influences such as values, emotions, motivations, appreciations, and personal attitudes.

The five levels under the Affective domain refers to Characterizing – To be able to manage and resolve. Organizing – to be able to formulate, balance and discuss. Valuing – To be able to support and debate. Responding – To be able to volunteer, work together and to follow, and Receiving – To be able to differentiate, accept and listen.

The learner can be affected and influenced in many different ways. Learning objectives need to meet the different needs of a learner.

Psychomotor domain

Psychomotor domain is the learning and combination of old and new skills that involves physical movements.

This domain categorizes skills in five different levels:

Once you understand the behavior of your learners you will be able to adapt your learning objectives according.

The third step in the ABC procedure is looking at the different conditions. Ask yourself when writing your lesson aims and objectives – What conditions am I surrounded in?

This can also refer to specific tools and materials a student may need to apply in the lesson as well as the classroom situation. If you have a very small classroom you can’t have a lesson objective where students should roam around and ask each other questions. You won’t get the outcome you desire. Do your students have the necessary equipment to be able to perform and achieve the lesson objective?

Think practically – What kind of equipment is available to you, are they necessary in order for you to achieve the aim? What kind of equipment should not be allowed in the classroom? Will the conditions of having too many things in the classroom be disruptive and hinder the learning outcome?

Remember that conditions influence the learner’s performance and in effect the overall behavior. The following examples does not describe conditions:

• Given a three-part lecture.…
• After completing this unit….
• Given that the student has passed an introductory course….

The last step in the ABCD Approach is ‘Degree’. This basically refers to the level in which a learner should perform for it to be seen as credible. The learning objective should either be at its highest level, which means that the student can produce the aim with precision and without any mistakes. Leading to the lowest level where the student can’t produce the aim at all and are making many mistakes.

To which degree should the students be assessed against to be classified as ‘achieving the aim’?

The degree can be described as: A student can “successfully construct” or A student can “accurately describe.” Be sure to elaborate on ‘successful’ and ‘accurate’ to make sure the students are fairly assessed.

You can be more specific in your assessment criteria in stating: A student can “list all 12 moving parts” or A student can “name all parts of a machine.”

When writing down the degree to which students are assessed in your learning objective make sure that it’s stated accurately. Unacceptable criteria are vague for example: “must be able to make 80 percent on a multiple-choice exam” or “must pass a final exam” or “to the satisfaction of the instructor” are not precise enough and can’t count as a degree.

Rather change “To the satisfaction of the instructor” to “according to an instructor-supplied checklist of criteria.”

The assessment criteria should be easily measured by looking at the student’s performance.

Many instructors, teachers and facilitators don’t value the importance of writing learning objectives. It’s vital to any class and should be given some thought. Learning goals, aims and objectives should be very clear before doing any kind of lesson plan. A teacher should know what they are working towards in order for students to reach their full potential and achieve the aim of the class. Writing a decent and thorough learning objective shows competency and skill of the instructor.

Using the ABCD method (Audience, Behavior, Condition and Degree) will help you clarify your learning objectives and ultimately help you and your students achieve a better outcome.

Action Words and Phrases to Avoid

Your objectives should be free of vague or ambiguous words and phrases. Below are some of the action verbs that are not observable or measurable:

I am a professor of Educational Technology. I have worked at several elite universities. I hold a PhD degree from the University of Illinois and a master's degree from Purdue University.

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