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Delivering a Persuasive Speech Lesson Plan

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Lesson Plan #: AELP-SPH0200 Submitted by: Douglas Parker Email: [email protected] School/University/Affiliation: Albany Academy, Albany, NY Date: May 30, 2001

Grade Level: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Subject(s):

• Language Arts/Speech

Duration: Two 50-minute sessions

Description: Students need to understand that how they say something and how they physically present themselves are just as important as what they say. By understanding the dynamics involved in effective persuasive speaking, students will improve their overall confidence in communicating.

Goals: The goal of this lesson is to improve students’ speaking skills by understanding persuasion proficiencies.

Objectives: Students will be able to:

• Demonstrate the appropriate classroom public speaking and listening skills (e.g., body language, articulation, listening to be able to identify specific examples of the speaker’s coordination of talking and action) that would be necessary to influence or change someone’s mind or way of thinking about a topic.
• Define the elements of persuasion.
• Recognize the elements of personal credibility.
• Develop methods to analyze other students’ speeches.
• Understand outlining main ideas.
• Create a persuasive speech.
• teacher-prepared topics for persuasive speeches
• sample rubric (available in .pdf format)
• Sample Rubric

Procedure: During class discussion, define and explain how people make decisions based on what they see and hear. Explain that sometimes we have to use skills to convince others about our positions. Have the students recall and list their own experiences trying to convince their friends about something, and then ask them to share these with the class. Have the students pick a proposition that not everyone would agree with such as: nuclear power plants are superior energy sources. Have them write a 6-8 minute speech in outline form to persuade the class. Each student will then deliver this speech in front of the class while the rest of the students take notes and prepare to give the speaker feedback on the speech. 

The voice and the body are the best tools — every student is a natural persuader! They have done it all their lives. Every time someone enters a conversation, he or she engages in elementary persuasion techniques. It is true that any time students make a statement of fact, they are asserting its validity and assuming that their listener agrees. This speech goes further than a normal conversational assertion: now students have to assume that not everyone will agree with them from the start, and it is their job to make them see things their way. The goal of this speech is to change someone’s mind or way of thinking about a topic. This is not a speech to sell, as students do not ask that the listener do anything except to agree with them or to begin to listen to their way of thinking. Their message is, of course, very important in this speech, but their voice and body language are even more important. Here they will learn how their delivery can help. There are several important aspects of presentation to keep in mind; the academic elements of persuasion are:

• Body Language – Make sure that they have a proper posture. If their shoulders are sagging and their legs are crossed, they will not appear as being sincere, and people just will not accept their message.
• Articulation – Articulation means how their total vocal process works. There are several steps to this entire process. Students need to understand the process. First, they need air from the lungs, their vocal cords in their larynx must be working, their mouth and tongue must be in sync, and they have to make sure that they have got some saliva in their mouths to keep things oiled. They should be aware of their physical makeup to be able to understand how they speak.
• Pronunciation – Students need to pronounce each word. They must avoid slang, except to make a point, and not slur the words. They must avoid saying, you know.
• Pitch – Pitch refers to the highs and lows of the voice. Whatever they do, they must avoid a monotone!
• Speed – The speed, or pace, is an important variable to control. Between 140-160 words per minute is the normal pace for a persuasive speech. Any faster and they may appear to be glib; any slower and they sound like they are lecturing. If they are not sure about their speed, tape them for one minute and then replay it and count the number of words they used in the minute! The human ear and brain can compile and decode over 400 spoken words per minute, so if they are going too slow their listeners’ minds are going to start to wander as the brains finds other ways to keep themselves occupied.
• Pauses – The pause, or caesura, is a critical persuasive tool. When they want to emphasize a certain word, have them just pause for one second before; this highlights the word. If they really want to punch it, tell them to pause before and after the word!
• Volume – Volume is another good tool for a persuasive speech, but they should use it with caution. If they scream all the way through their speech, people will become accustomed to it and it will lose its effectiveness. On the other hand, a few well-timed shouts can liven up the speech! They must try to project or throw their voice out over the entire class – or speak to the last row.
• Quality – Quality of voice is gauged by the overall impact that their voice has on their listeners. Quality of voice is the net caliber of their voice, its character and attributes. They must try to keep the vocal quality high; it is what separates their voices from everyone else’s.
• Variance – Variance of vocal elements is the most important consideration of all! One of the most persuasive speakers in modern history was Winston Churchill. One of his most remarkable qualities was his ability to vary the elements of his voice. He would start with a slow, laconic voice and then switch gears to a more rapid pace. People were light-headed after listening to him! Even if they have no desire to run for political office, students can still use the tools of variance. Have them try to change their pitch, volume, and speed at least once every 30 seconds, if only for just one word. Never let them go more than one paragraph without a vocal variance. This keeps the class locked into the speech, if for no other reason than it sounds interesting! Let the students’ words speak for themselves; reflect their nature through their voices. If they use the word strangle, have them say it with a hint of menace in their voices. If they say the word heave, let the class feel the onomatopoeic force behind it. If they say the word bulldozer, make it sound like a titan earthmover, not like a baby with a shovel.

The Strategy: Appear Rational When students are trying to convince someone of something, they must first establish their credibility, or in other words, they must sell themselves before they sell their message. If people feel that they are not being reasonable or rational, they do not stand a chance. They must be committed to the ideals and goals of their speech and what they are saying. They should not use words such as maybe or might- the should use positive words such as will and must. Students must portray themselves as the authority figures in this speech, so they had better supply enough information to prove their points so that they can seem knowledgeable, and they had better know their material cold. People can usually spot someone who is trying to wing a speech. They should also appear to be truthful – even when they are really stretching a point. If they do not appear to be earnest, even if their message is the 100% truth, people will doubt their word and tune out their speech. Lastly, they must not be afraid to show a little emotion – this is not a sterile or static speech. Students’ bodies and voices must match the tone of their words. If their language is strong, they must present a physical force to go along with their deliveries.

The Class Reaction The class has two major criteria to consider after each member’s speech. First, the delivery. Were the speaker’s body, words, and actions in synchronization and harmony? Did one support the other or was there tension between the body and the voice? Secondly, were the students persuaded? Why or why not? Discuss what makes a persuasive speech work and how the intangibles effect a positive outcome. Assessment: The class will assess each speaker’s performance in terms of voice and body coordination and in terms of persuasiveness. Each class can develop performance assessments such as rubrics to facilitate this process (see sample rubric in Materials ).

Useful Internet Resource: * Basic Public Speaking, 2nd edition (written by the lesson plan author) http://www.capital.net/~bps2

Table of Contents

• Ford’s Shop

Original Speech Writing

Students write eight original speeches.

Rubrics and example speeches are included. Each speech performance focuses on using two Podium Points (elements of effective public speaking).

Common Core Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1

Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence

Classroom Activities

• Classroom Activity One: Introductory Speech Students write and present a speech introducing themselves using Presence.
• Classroom Activity Two: Brown Bag Speech Focusing on Pace and Volume, students share an item that is important to them.
• Classroom Activity Three: Storytelling Speech Tone and Emphasis are stressed in this speech where students tell a true story that happened to them.
• Classroom Activity Four: Tribute Speech Each student honors someone in his/her life while working on improving Eye Contact, Enunciation and Diction.
• Classroom Activity Five: “Read to Me Speech” After picking a favorite text, students return to Emphasis and Tone in order to share a selection with the class.
• Classroom Activity Six: Book Speech Posture and Gesture are introduced to students through a speech on a favorite book. 
• Classroom Activity Seven: Teaching Speech In this activity, students must use all Podium Points while teaching the class a new skill.
• Classroom Activity Eight: This I Believe Using all Podium Points, students need to share their personal philosophy with the class.

Teacher Preparation:

Catherine Plumb-Sperry is a sixth-grade reading teacher at James Bridger Middle School in Independence, MO. Over the course of a year, her students write and perform an original speech each month. This lesson gives teachers framework for how to structure eight different speeches. Catherine’s most important tips for successfully implementing this in the classroom:

• Students do not have the option to “opt-out” of giving a speech. The teacher should perform a sample speech on the day that each speech is assigned.
• When delivering a sample speech, pick a few moments to intentionally ignore one of the Podium Points, so that students can hone their observation skills.
• Starting with Lesson Activity One, model Warm and Cool Feedback.
• Focus on two Podium Points for each speech. However, once a Podium Point has been the focus of a speech, students must continue to work on that element in all subsequent speeches. The Podium Points are cumulative as they progress through the school year. 
• It takes about three 45-minute class periods for a class of 25 students to give their two-minute speeches and receive Warm and Cool Feedback.
• Do not time speeches until the Tribute Speech. It’s better for students to have the first three speech opportunities to stand and speak in front of the class without the added pressure of a time limit.

Additionally, Catherine believes that a podium is a necessary classroom accessory when teaching oratory. Students need to be accustomed to speaking from and using a podium. The podium is also a visual aid indicating that when someone stands to speak, we listen.

Classroom Activity One

Introductory speech.

The first speech of the year is untimed. Catherine usually does the speech on the third day of school. Students cannot use notes of any kind. 

The podium point being evaluated is presence: Can you walk to the podium confidently (even if you don’t feel confident) and use a greeting?

Students are expected to:

• Have presence: walk to the podium confidently and stand confidently throughout their speech.
• Greet their audience.
• Sentence one – Tell their complete name.
• Sentence two – Tell us something about their family.
• Sentence three – Tell us something unique about them.
• End with a “thank you.”

After the speech, the students in the audience spend two minutes giving warm and cool feedback.

Classroom Activity Two

Brown bag speech.

This speech is very similar to “show-and-tell” from early elementary school. 

Students are each given a brown lunch sack. They write the speech requirements on it. They bring it home that night, and select an item to share with the class for their speech. The item must fit in the sack, and may not be a previously living or presently living item. Students bring the item in the sack to school the next day.

The two Podium Points added to this speech are volume and pace. Nerves cause speakers to speak quickly so pace is a challenge. Introduce pace early in the process so student have many opportunities to practice speaking at an appropriate pace.

• Have presence.
• Use appropriate pace and volume.
• Select an item to share.
• Walk the item around and show it to the class.
• Return to the podium to speak.
• Greet the audience. describe where the item came from, what it is used for, why it is significant to them, why they like it, or any other information they want us to know.
• Ask the audience if they have any questions.
• End their speech with a “thank you.”

After the speech, the class spends two minutes giving warm and cool feedback.

Classroom Activity Three 

Storytelling speech.

In this speech, students tell a story from their life. It must be something they are comfortable sharing in front of the class.

The two podium points that are the focus of this speech are tone and emphasis. Students are telling stories that may contain strong emotion, so this is a natural way for them to add tone and emphasis. Students should write their speech down and identify the tone they are trying to achieve. They should also highlight or circle any words they are going to emphasize. They will use the written text to rehearse, and then turn in the text before giving their speech.

Students are expected to

• Use appropriate pace, volume, tone and emphasis.
• Greet the audience.
• Tell a story with a distinct beginning, middle and end.
• Have the story memorized.

Classroom Activity Four

Tribute speech.

In this speech, students are telling the class about an important person in their life, and why they admire this person.

Encourage students to bring a photograph of their person. A photograph gives the audience a nice visual reference during the speech.

The two podium points that are the focus of this speech are eye-contact and diction. Students may use a script when delivering this speech. A caveat: because a script is  allowed, students may tend to read to the audience. It takes a high level of skill to have a script and still make eye contact. Students are expected to rehearse their speech at home before the speech performance day. Assign a rehearsal log to ensure that students practice before their performance.

Teach tongue twisters in class to support development of diction. Students can practice these tongue twisters at home when rehearsing their speech. On speech performance day, the class can warm-up using the tongue twisters. Starting off class this way may also alleviate nerves, as tongue twisters can be fun and promote a bit of laughter.

This is the first speech where speeches are timed. Speeches must be at least one minute and no longer than two minutes. Discuss time with the students but do not use it as an evaluation criteria.

• Use all previously learned Podium Points.
• Use eye-contact and diction.
• Section One: Tell who the person is, what their relationship is to the student, and why the student admires them. The student might also describe physical traits.
• Section Two: Give a personality trait the person has. Students must give two examples of the person showing the trait. (If he says a person is kind, he must say two ways that they show kindness.)
• Section Three: Give a second personality trait that the person has. The student must also give two examples of the person showing the trait.
• Conclude by restating in a different way from their introduction why the person is so special to them.
• End their speech with “thank you.”

Classroom Activity Five 

“read to me” speech.

Note: It might be helpful to pair this with the Refining Tone and Emphasis Lesson.

In this speech, the students read a piece of text written by someone else. The text can be lyrics from a song, a story or a poem.   The Podium Points that are the focus of this speech are emphasis and tone. Although these Podium Points have been covered in the past, the content of this speech requires “extra” attention to tone and emphasis when delivering the speech. Students should make a deliberate effort to put emotion into their delivery.

To find a text to read for performance, students may search online to find song lyrics, a story or poem that they connect with emotionally. They should cut and paste this text into a Word document. Students should read the text carefully to understand the message of the text, and determine the emotional tone. They should annotate their text by circling words they think best express the meaning and tone, and practice emphasizing those words when saying it aloud. Students should bring their annotated text with them to the podium for reference.

Speeches are timed and should be between one and maximum two minutes long.

• Use all previously learned Podium Points, with extra effort to demonstrate tone and emphasis.
• Credit the source of their reading.
• Make an effort to memorize as much of their text as possible and only use their scripts as reference.

After the speech, students are expected to explain briefly how they employed tone and emphasis to convey the meaning of their speech. The class then spends two minutes giving warm and cool feedback.

Classroom Activity Six

Book speech.

In this speech, students review a book they’ve read during the school year.

The Podium Points added for this speech are gesture and posture. Students need to demonstrate confident posture. Confident posture includes standing up tall, without slouching, feet firmly on the floor, no rocking or fidgeting. Shoulders should be back and down. Students can be prompted to squeeze their shoulder blades together, or imagine  that they are tucking their shoulder blades into the back pockets. The goal is to open the chest up, without puffing it out, so that students can breath properly and look confident.

They also should use gestures to emphasize the important parts of the speech or to engage the audience. Remind students that gestures should be as natural as possible. As a frame of reference, it may be helpful to demonstrate examples of natural gestures, or play clips of famous orators and have students observe their gestures.

Students are required to use a visual aide for this speech. They have the choice between creating the visual aide (e.g. a poster advertising the book) or bringing in an item related to the topic of the book (e.g. for a baseball book, a news article from the same time period as the book, or memorabilia that relates to the book). Using the visual aid is an easy way for students to include gesture into a speech.

This is a timed speech and should be between two and three minutes.

• Use all of the Podium Points learned previously.
• Use gestures and have confident posture.
• Discuss the literary elements of the book: main character, theme and plot (without giving away the ending). Share if they liked or didn’t like the book, and offer reasons why.
• Have confident posture, with feet solidly on the floor, standing calmly.
• Use gestures.
• Show their visual aid and explain how it relates to the book. The visual aid must add to the understanding of the book or author of the book.
• Ask if there are any questions about the book.
• End the speech with “thank you.”

After the speech, students spend two minutes giving warm and cool feedback.

Classroom Activity Seven

Teaching speech.

In this speech, students teach something to the entire class. To help students decide their lesson topic, offer some suggestions. This helps students to focus their ideas, so they select something they will feel confident teaching. Some suggestions: origami, how to draw something, a sports strategy, how to do a card trick, a dance step or a simple craft project.

By lesson seven, all of the Podium Points have been introduced. Students are now assessed on their use of all Podium Points and speech requirements.

This is a timed speech and should be between three and five minutes.

• Use all of the Podium Points.
• Include what the class will be learning in their speech introduction.
• If teaching a step-by-step lesson, circulate around the room to assist classmates when needed.
• Provide all the required materials, enough for every student.
• Answer any questions the audience might have.

Classroom Activity Eight

This i believe.

In this speech, students speak about a topic important to them. This speech introduces students to the art of persuasive speech. Students should be encouraged to think about what matters to them, and to select a topic they feel passionately about.  As they write their speeches, students should consider what they want the audience to know, understand and do about the topic as a result of listening to their speech. The speech must include a call to action to the audience.

This is speech includes a research component, to help students understand their issue, find evidence to support their belief, and learn about any opposing points of view. Students will need to be provided with time for research. Length of instructional time dedicated conducting research should be determined according to grade level and how much time the school curriculum will allow.

After researching the topic, the writing process begins. In-class time devoted to writing should be a minimum of three days. Consider a process that includes students writing drafts, editing and rewriting.  This I Believe  has an excellent teaching guide on how to help students write their own statements.

Our original speech writing lesson also has several useful techniques for helping students write their own speeches.

This is a timed speech and must be at least 1 minute 50 seconds, and no longer than 2 minutes 10 seconds.

• Include a personal belief.
• Share a personal story to highlight their belief.
• Explain why this topic is important to them.
• Include a call to action.

Each speech includes an individual rubric for assessment.

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The Art of Speechwriting

Archived Course

Facilitated e-learning

11 November 2019

United Nations Institute for Training and Research ( UN Partner )

Course details

This course gives you the essential principles of the art and craft of speechwriting.

Throughout history, the speech has been one of the most powerful forms of communication. Technological, social and economic changes have enhanced that power. As digital communication has increased, speeches have had to become more authentic and honest. This course gives you the essential principles of the art and craft of speechwriting. After first defining why speeches matter, the course looks at the three golden principles of speechwriting, before moving on to how to make the content memorable and engaging. It then focuses on honing the participants writing and editing skills with specific exercises on hooking your audience and crafting media sound bites and quotes. Finally, it examines how to deliver a speech with confidence and conviction.      

Target Audience

The course targets mid to senior-level government officers in ministries preparing for and/or taking part in conferences in relation to climate change as well as staff of intergovernmental / nongovernmental organizations. It also targets entry-level and mid-career diplomats working in a multilateral setting. Private sector specialists and students whose work or studies are related to this subject are also encouraged to apply.

Learning Objectives

• Identify the elements of a good speech as well as the 3 golden principles;
• Apply principles of effective writing;
• Manage the audience's attention span throughout the speech;
• Get your message across to the media and on social media;
• Understand the principles of effective delivery and recognise the importance of non-verbal communication.

Gender analysis and digital inclusion

Self-paced e-learning

Offered by:

ITU , UN Women

SDG: SDG 5 , SDG 17 , SDG 17: Technology

Typical food products and geographical indications for sustainable development

Microlearning

Nuria Ackerman (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) , Ebe Muschialli (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) , Fabio Russo (United Nations Industrial Development Organization)

SDG: SDG 5 , SDG 8 , SDG 9

Women, SMEs and sustainable development - lessons learnt for the road ahead

Cecilia Ugaz Estrada (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) , Carmen Schuber (United Nations Industrial Development Organization)

Utilizing satellites to bring electricity to the most vulnerable groups

Camila dos Santos Gonçalves (Space Power, Founder) , Grace Chenxin Liu (Space Power, Editor-in-Chief)

SDG: SDG 5 , SDG 7 , SDG 13 , SDG 17 , SDG 17: Technology

Alternatives to Imprisonment for Women Offenders

SDG: Leave no one behind , SDG 5 , SDG 10 , SDG 16

Preventing Conflict Using a Human Rights Based Approach

SDG: Leave no one behind , SDG 5 , SDG 16

How to Write Learning Objectives

Writing strong learning objectives is one of the most important skills in instructional design .

Learning objectives establish the ultimate goal of your project, and clearly define what you want the audience to be able to do as a result of completing your learning experience.

In the article, we will answer two questions:

• What does a meaningful and measurable learning objective look like?
• How can you use learning objectives to create beneficial learning experiences?

Let's get started.

What are Learning Objectives

As we already established, learning objectives specify what observable skills or knowledge the audience should have when they complete your learning experience.

Examples might include:

• By the end of the eLearning experience, employees will be able to locate the files they need in the company database.
• By the end of the lesson, students will be able to recognize the 5 key indicators of a phishing email.
• By the end of the training, employees will be able to schedule sessions for clients.

There are two important factors to think about in these examples.

First, each of these objectives is measurable. You can see whether someone performs the actions correctly or not. Second, they are meaningful. They help people perform their jobs better.

These two factors are what set good learning objectives apart from ineffective learning objectives.

Measurable Learning Objectives

Effective learning objectives are observable. They allow you to clearly see if learning has taken place.

You want to avoid vague terms like “understand,” “learn,” or “know” because there is no metric for whether learning has occurred or not.

Let’s look at some examples to see this in practice:

‘By the end of this lesson, students will understand why World War II started’ is not a measurable objective. What does “understanding” look like?

A much better example is ‘Students will be able to explain the three main causes of World War II.’ It is easy to observe whether a person completed this objective or not.

In the workplace, a poor learning objective might be: ‘Employees will know what to do in case of a fire.’ “Knowing” is vague.

Instead, try this: ‘Employees will be able to locate the fire escape on each floor.’ The observable action of “locating” is a lot more specific.

We will go into more depth on how to write measurable objectives later. But for now, keep in mind that all effective learning objectives allow you to clearly demonstrate that learning has taken place.

Want to check if a learning objective is measurable or not?

A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself whether you could film a person demonstrating that objective. If you could, then it is measurable.

The next step is to make sure that the learning objective will actually help your audience or your stakeholders.  

Meaningful Learning Objectives

Solid learning objectives help people do something in the real world.

Your learning objective should provide value, either directly–by allowing the audience to practice something they will do in real life–or by giving them the knowledge that enables them to do something at a higher level.

Direct Learning Objectives

Direct learning objectives provide practice for what the person has to do on the job. For example: ‘ By the end of this training, employees will be able to locate documents in the company’s database.’

If the employees need to be able to navigate the database, then this training will provide a critical skill.

Enabling Learning Objectives

An enabling learning objective is a learning objective that doesn’t directly teach people about a task in their job. But it gives them secondary information that helps them at work.

For example, the main learning objective in a customer service training could be: ‘By the end of this training, employees will be able to calm down and assist angry customers.’

An enabling objective could be: ‘Employees will memorize the don’ts list for customer interactions.’

This list might include: ‘Don’t accuse the customer of wrongdoing.’ or   ‘Don’t leave the customer on hold for more than two minutes without checking in.’

Just telling employees what behaviors to avoid isn’t sufficient. They still need to be trained on how to work with angry customers. However, knowing what not to do will help them avoid costly mistakes.

Another example of an enabling objective might appear when training serving staff at a restaurant. The main learning objective is:

‘By the end of this training, serving staff will be able to accurately take customer orders in under two minutes.’

For this project, the enabling objective is: ‘Serving staff will memorize the vegan and gluten-free options on the menu.’  

On its own, this objective doesn’t help employees take customer orders. However, it does allow them to answer questions quickly meaning that the order will be completed faster.

So long as the objective helps the audience do their jobs more effectively it is meaningful.    

Testing for Meaning

A good way to see if your learning objective is meaningful is to figure out what behavior your stakeholder is measuring and wants to change.

Then ask yourself if your learning objective would improve that behavior.

In the restaurant example above, the stakeholder was measuring how long it took their waitstaff to take orders.

The wait staff was spending up to five minutes at every table and often went to the kitchen to ask questions about the food.

The objective: ‘Serving staff will memorize the number for each item on the menu.’   is meaningful. If the server can just write down the numbers of each item, they will save time taking orders.

Let’s look at one more example: A factory is having an issue where workers aren't being careful around the machinery.

The employees are averaging about twenty workplace injuries a month. The factory wants to reduce this number.

If you write a learning objective that, directly or indirectly, decreases the number of injuries, that is a meaningful learning objective.

For example:

By the end of the training, factory workers will be able to identify the safety code violations that lead to the most injuries.

If you can clearly show that your learning objective improves your audience's performance, then it is probably a good starting point for the rest of the project. However, certain projects will require one more layer of detail.  

Include Conditions and Criteria

The learning objectives we have seen so far work great in most circumstances. But they don’t work for tasks that have a lot of variability.

If you are teaching someone to drive a car, they need to be able to drive comfortably in a lot of different circumstances.

In tasks that have many variables, or when you are trying to measurably increase the learners’ performance, you can include these metrics.

• Performance (what the person is doing)
• Criteria (to what standard)
• Condition (when, where, and under what circumstances)

A learning objective using these metrics would look like this:

You can usually get away with only listing the performance component.

However, it is important to consider conditions and criteria when you are designing for jobs with high variability of conditions or when accuracy is extremely important.

You wouldn’t want to be on an airplane where the pilot had only learned how to fly in good weather.

Now that you can identify a good learning objective, let’s look at a hypothetical ID project so you can see how to write measurable objectives for an ID project.  

Learning Objective Examples in Instructional Design

Imagine this: A local phone service company is having trouble acquiring new customers. They have many people signing up for the free trial period, but only 30 percent of those people become paying customers.

The company analyzed the problem and discovered that the sales team was recommending service plans that didn’t match the customers’ needs.

Even though the company had service plans for a wide variety of customer needs, the sales team ignored most of the options.

Some team members pushed all the clients to either the most expensive service plans or the cheapest.

The problem is clear. For this example, we’ll use an eLearning experience to address it.  

Start with the Stem

The first step is quite straightforward. You need to establish in broad terms what you want the audience to be able to do by the end of the project. In traditional teaching, the stem would be:

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

This isn’t a school setting so we want to change this a bit for our project and audience. The new stem becomes:

By the end of this project, the sales team will be able to:

You want to keep this quite general at the beginning. The purpose of the stem is simply to give you a starting point. So, for our project, we will make the stem goal:

By the end of this project, the sales team will be able to match new customers with the best plan for their needs.

Once the stem is finished you can start refining it.

Determine if You Need to Include Conditions or Criteria

You, the stakeholders, and the SMEs must decide whether to include conditions or criteria. For this project, it is probably unnecessary to include conditions. The sales team will either be working in person or over the phone.

These two conditions are too similar to pay attention to in this context.

The criteria metric is also unnecessary. The sales team is working with customers. You can’t set a standard for your audience that requires another person to act a certain way.

Make It Meaningful

To ensure that the learning objective matches the needs of your stakeholders, compare your learning objective to the business objective to determine if it will actually address the business goal.

Currently, the sales team is only seeing a 30 percent conversion rate from trial customers. The average conversion rate for free trials is roughly 50 percent.

It is highly likely that if the sales team accurately matches customers to the best service plan, sales will increase.

The next step is to break the learning objective into micro-goals with Bloom's Taxonomy.  

Write Learning Objectives with Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a framework for writing objectives for cognitive tasks.

The structure is designed with the most basic level of understanding at the bottom, building to the highest forms of understanding and knowledge application at the top.

When you look at Bloom’s Taxonomy the most important elements aren’t the words on the pyramid, but the smaller words on the right. Each one of those verbs can be used to make a measurable learning objective.

Use Bloom’s Taxonomy to Create an eLearning Experience

The first step when using Bloom’s is to determine what level of understanding you want the audience to reach based on your main learning objective.

Let’s look at our learning objective:

By the end of this project, the sales team will be able to select the best service plan for each customer.

This most closely matches the evaluation level. We need the sales team to be able to select the appropriate service plan for the client. They don’t need to design or create anything unique.

Write the Primary Learning Objective with Bloom’s Taxonomy

Now that we have a learning objective, we need to create a practice activity with Bloom’s Taxonomy.  

• Corresponding Learning Objective: The sales team will be able to select the best service plan for each customer.
• Training for that Learning Objective: The sales team will review profiles of hypothetical clients and then select the best service plan for each one.

As you can see, the training allows the sales team to practice exactly what they will need to do on the job.

Develop a Complete eLearning Experience with Bloom’s Taxonomy

The next step is to work backward and think about what knowledge or skills the sales team will need in order to accomplish this. These are the enabling objectives we discussed before.

So, in order to accomplish the main objective, the sales team will need to:

• Memorize each service plan
• Identify the best customers for each service plan
• Question potential customers about their service needs

Once we establish these enabling objectives, we can return to Bloom’s taxonomy and write a learning goal and exercise for each one.

We would first create a goal and activity from the most basic skill, ‘Memorize each service plan,’ then build from that base.

When you use Bloom’s Taxonomy, you don’t need to use every level.

For example, if your learning experience teaches someone how to use an ice cream machine, it is sufficient to have them memorize the different buttons(remember), then practice making ice cream(apply).

You don’t need to include an (understand) section in your training.

Memorize each Service Plan

The best Bloom’s Level for this goal would be: Remember. So we build a learning objective with one of those verbs.

• Bloom’s Level: Remember
• Learning Objective: After this activity, employees will be able to list the benefits of each service plan.
• Training for that Learning Objective: After reading a short text about each service plan. Employees must repeat each service plan’s benefits in a fill-in-the-blank quiz.

Now that they have memorized the learning objective, we can use that foundation to teach further skills.

Identify the Best Customers for each Service Plan

The sales team now knows all of the sales plans. Now they need to understand which customers would want each service plan.

• Bloom’s Level: Understand
• Corresponding Learning Objective: After this activity, the sales team will be able to identify the best customer persona for each service plan.  
• Training for that Learning Objective: The sales team will review customer personas that go with each service plan. They have to identify which customer persona would benefit most from each service plan.

Once the sales team understands which kinds of people need each payment plan, they need to practice questioning and interpreting the information they get from customers.

Question Potential Customers about their Service Needs

• Bloom’s Level: Analyze
• Corresponding Learning Objective: After this activity, the sales team will be able to question clients in order to determine their needs
• Training for that Learning Objective: Give the sales team a blank client profile. In the exercise, the sales team has several buttons with questions on them. When they click different questions, they receive an answer from the client.

After they press all the buttons, the sales team member must then select the best payment plan based on the information provided.  

After the sales team has gone through these enabling objectives, they will be ready for the main learning objective.

Back to the Final Activity

• Bloom’s Level: Evaluate

Once the sales team goes through this process, they should be able to comfortably match clients with the best service plan for their needs.

(You usually do this kind of planning in the storyboard phase of the project. You can read more about how to make effective storyboards here .)

This process takes time to get right, and you should be patient with yourself as you get comfortable writing learning objectives for projects.

Before we’re done, let’s go over a few common mistakes that can slow down your development.

Common mistakes

Most of these mistakes are quite easy to make. Keep an eye out for them.

Showing Formal Objectives to Your Audience

As well-written your objective might be, you don’t want to show the audience something like this:

The sales team will use their knowledge of the service plans to match them to the corresponding customer persona.

This will cause people to immediately disengage, if not fall asleep. These learning objectives are for you, the instructional designer, not for your audience.

You want to show the audience something conversational that states the value of the eLearning experience using clear language.

For example,

Today you will learn how to help customers find the best service plan for their lifestyle.

Using a more conversational tone creates more engagement for your audience.

Using Unmeasurable Objectives

As we already established, it is critically important to set measurable objectives. It is also incredibly easy to ignore this rule. This is partly because setting measurable objectives takes more effort.

The second problem is that we use ‘understand’ and ‘know’ as catch-all terms when we are talking about learning and instruction. It's very easy to start using these words in learning objectives without even thinking about it.

Consistently check back and make sure that your objectives are measurable. Remember: Could you film a person performing each objective?

Mistaking Activities for Objectives

This is a very common mistake where you confuse a training activity for an objective. For example, the following statement may look like an objective, but notice how it describes an activity.

‘The sales team will use their knowledge of the service plans to match them to the corresponding customer persona.’

While this activity will help the sales team eventually match real clients to service plans, it doesn’t actually reflect what they will need to do in the real world.

Setting Unrealistic Expectations

There is a reason that Bloom’s Taxonomy is structured like a pyramid. The base supports the higher functions. If you want someone to operate at the highest levels, they need a solid foundation of knowledge and understanding.

Make sure that you have structured your learning experience so that you are giving the audience what they need to complete the main objective. Doing this will help you avoid frustrating your training audience.

Finally, be honest with yourself and your stakeholders about what you are hoping to accomplish with your project. People often write impressive learning objectives like:

‘By the end of this eLearning experience, the audience will be able to design an ID course.’

In reality, their goal is something much smaller, like ‘The audience will be able to explain the differences between the three most popular authoring tools.’

Be frank about what your goal is from the beginning, and don’t market your project as being more than what it is.

If you can design meaningful and measurable learning objectives, then you can open new doors in your career and better serve your audience.

The process for writing strong learning objectives in this article will help you design engaging, effective learning experiences: whether they’re for your portfolio or a global audience of learners.

To view a video recap of this article, check out the How to Write Learning Objectives with Bloom's Taxonomy video.

If you want to learn more about how to create amazing eLearning experiences check out this article.

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Module 4: Organizing and Outlining

Objectives, outline, and introduction, chapter 8: organizing and outlining.

By Joshua Trey Barnett University of Indiana, Bloomington, IN

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

• Select a topic appropriate to the audience and occasion.
• Formulate a specific purpose statement that identifies precisely what you will do in your speech.
• Craft a thesis statement that clearly and succinctly summarizes the argument you will make in your speech.
• Identify and arrange the main points of your speech according to one of many organizational styles discussed in this chapter.
• 
Connect the points of your speech to one another.
• Create a preparation and speaking outline for your speech.

Chapter Outline

• Introduction
• Selecting a Topic
• Formulating a Purpose Statement
• Writing a Thesis Statement
• Selecting Main Points
• Selecting Sub-points
• Chronological
• Comparative
• Problem-Solution
• Transitional Statements
• Internal Previews
• Outline Types
• Outline Structure
• Preparation Outline
• Speaking Outline
• Using the Outline
• Module Activities

“Rough Outline For A Course” by Chris Campbell. CC-BY-NC .

Meg jaunted to the front of the classroom—her trusty index cards in one hand and her water bottle in the other. It was the mid-term presentation in her entomology class, a course she enjoyed more than her other classes. The night before, Meg had spent hours scouring the web for information on the Woody Adelgid, an insect that has ravaged hemlock tree populations in the United States in recent years. But when she made it to the podium and finished her well- written and captivating introduction, her speech began to fall apart. Her index cards were a jumble of unorganized information, not linked together by any unifying theme or purpose. As she stumbled through lists of facts, Meg—along with her peers and instructor—quickly realized that her presentation had all the necessary parts to be compelling, but that those parts were not organized into a coherent and convincing speech.

Giving a speech or presentation can be a daunting task for anyone, especially inexperienced public speakers or students in introductory speech courses. Speaking to an audience can also be a rewarding experience for speakers who are willing to put in the extra effort needed to craft rhetorical masterpieces. Indeed, speeches and presentations must be crafted. Such a design requires that speakers do a great deal of preparatory work, like selecting a specific topic and deciding on a particular purpose for their speech. Once the topic and purpose have been decided on, a thesis statement can be prepared. After these things are established, speakers must select the main points of their speech, which should be organized in a way that illuminates the speaker’s perspective, research agenda, or solution to a problem. In a nutshell, effective public speeches are focused on particular topics and contain one or more main points that are relevant to both the topic and the audience. For all of these components to come together convincingly, organizing and outlining must be done prior to giving a speech.

This chapter addresses a variety of strategies needed to craft the body of public speeches. The chapter begins at the initial stages of speechwriting— selecting an important and relevant topic for your audience. The more difficult task of formulating a purpose statement is discussed next. A purpose statement drives the organization of the speech since different purposes (e.g., informational or persuasive) necessitate different types of evidence and presentation styles. Next, the chapter offers a variety of organizational strategies for the body of your speech. Not every strategy will be appropriate for every speech, so the strengths and weaknesses of the organizational styles are also addressed. The chapter then discusses ways to connect your main points and to draw links between your main points and the purpose you have chosen. In the final section of this chapter, one of the most important steps in speechwriting, outlining your speech, is discussed. The chapter provides the correct format for outlines as well as information on how to write a preparation outline and a speaking outline.

Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence. – Buddha

• Chapter 8 Objectives, Outline, and Introduction. Authored by : Joshua Trey Barnett. Provided by : University of Indiana, Bloomington, IN. Located at : http://publicspeakingproject.org/psvirtualtext.html . Project : The Public Speaking Project. License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
• Rough Outline For A Course. Authored by : Chris Campbell. Located at : https://www.flickr.com/photos/cgc/5057298847/in/photolist-8GTYKH-3ZuCKv-aYAeTK-KyPrf-e9Md1-LtwZr-6NwxoZ-2Cji3-ZpYcW-4ex5St-KXoxk-9x6rJP-aYBj8F-KtgVG-p4HuF-4o92dW-5oX72p-68yv6i-49eaDj-7kzGSp-52sD2h-7Qq7tu-NWth6--7tQDV-fsA8zq-ePFL6-91kboN-91msXM-91m1Tv-4HNTCB-87nuT6-91mfQt-91usiH-9LgZfQ-91xwbj-91nq4v-5t2yNu-fMvjLK-2V2uSq-7XMo7g-8WnoZh-91vi1q-7JorFk-79Xgdc-7a245b-7a2453-79XgbD-7a244Y-agDbc5 . License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial

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55 Learning Objectives Examples

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)

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]

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 15 Animism Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 10 Magical Thinking Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ Social-Emotional Learning (Definition, Examples, Pros & Cons)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ What is Educational Psychology?

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2 Overall Learning Objectives

By reading and completing activities in this resource you will be able to:.

• Identify and use different language basics – parts of speech, grammatical and sentence structures
• Demonstrate note-taking skills
• Apply paraphrasing, quoting, summarising, and referencing techniques
• Understand the importance of academic integrity
• Understand and apply annotated reading techniques
• Synthesize and integrate source material
• Write and complete an oral presentation
• Understand the process of academic writing for more than one purpose
• Determine the type of academic writing you might be asked to complete
• Review approaches to developing and structuring ideas
• Develop a thesis statement with a single assertion or dual perspectives
• Concept Mapping
• Drafting paragraphs
• Searching for academic sources for quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing
• Integrating sources / evidence, and applying the evidence using reasoning
• Overcoming obstacles to academic writing
• Challenging your preconceived assumptions and biases to write objectively
• Apply strategies for writing cohesive academic essays – including the introduction, body paragraph structure, and a conclusion
• Use key questions for revising and editing

There are activities for you to do throughout this resource. Each activity will have this banner above it:

Academic Writing Skills Copyright © 2021 by Patricia Williamson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Course Design

Learning objectives.

Updated on March 14, 2024

Start With The End In Mind

To start with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of  where you hope your students will end up. Once you know the destination, it is easier to figure out “How will I know if my students got there?” and “What I can do to help them get there?”.

Drawing from the backward design framework (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005), the first step in the course design process is to determine the purposes and goals of the course. Most instructors do this informally; that is, they have in mind the skills, knowledge, and attitudes they want students to gain by the end of the term. Effective instructional design encourages instructors to express these items in measurable and specific ways, so that students have clear guidance about what is expected of them and how their performance will be assessed. These specific statements are typically called learning objectives.

Learning objectives, sometimes referred to as learning outcomes (Melton, 1997), are the statements that clearly describe what students are expected to achieve as a result of instruction. Different from broad learning goals, learning objectives provide clear criteria for instructors to assess whether students are meeting the desired learning goals. Here is an example of how learning goals and learning outcomes relate to each other:

• Learning goal: “I want students to understand/learn/know the scientific method.”
• Learning objective: “Students will be able to describe the scientific methods and provide examples of its application.”

Benefits of Learning Objectives

Well-written learning objectives can be:

A compass for instructors: to guide the design of fair course assessment plans, selection of content/activities/teaching strategies/technologies, and make sure all critical course components are purposefully aligned to support student learning.

A map for students: to see a clear picture of where the course is taking them and what is expected to be successful in the course. Students will be able to direct and monitor their learning throughout the lesson/unit/semester by referring back to the learning objectives.

What Is An Effective Learning Objective?

Learning objectives should be student-centered, describing what the students should be able to accomplish as a result of instruction, rather than what the instructor will cover or do in the course. To ensure your learning objectives are student-focused, it’s helpful to precede your objectives with this prompt: “Upon successful completion of this course/module/unit, students will be able to ____.”

To give students a clear understanding of where they are headed, well-written learning objectives should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Result-oriented, and Time-bound (SMART).

• Specific: Good learning objectives break down a broad topic into manageable components, and they are explicit about the desired outcomes related to these components.
• Measurable: As guidelines for evaluation, learning objectives should help instructors decide how well students achieve the desired learning. Much of what students get out of a class happens on the inside or are unseen– students may adjust their perspectives, change their attitudes, and gain new knowledge. But because instructors have no way of directly observing the internal processes of a student’s’ mind, they must rely on external indicators (what the student says or does) to evaluate that student’s progress. For this reason, an instructor cannot evaluate progress based on what the student “learns,” “understands,” “knows,” or “feels.” Thus learning objectives need to deal with changes that can be observed and measured.
• Achievable: Given the resources, timeframe, background, and readiness of the students, objectives should be achievable. The cognitive level of the learning objectives should be appropriate to the course level and student level ( e.g.: a freshman level course as compared to a graduate level course).
• Result-oriented: Objectives should focus on the results, rather than the process or activities that students are going to complete (e.g., writing a paper or taking an exam). A good learning objective will describe the result; the knowledge, skills, or attitudes that students should have acquired within the context of the instructor’s observation.
• Time-bound: Clearly state the timeline if applicable. This can help you decide how well the learners should perform to be considered competent.

S pecific – it focuses on the “scientific methods”

M easurable – “describe” and “provide examples”are measurable and observable indicators

A chievable – this is appropriate for an introductory level course

R esult-oriented – it focuses on the result (describe/ provide examples) rather than the process

T ime-bound – students know that this is a skill they should master by the end of this unit

How to Write  Effective Learning Objectives

As you create your learning objectives, think in terms of what evidence students will provide to demonstrate a level of mastery of the objective. A well-constructed learning objective consists of two parts: an action verb to make the type of learning explicit + the object .

To write well-constructed learning objectives, you might follow the following the steps:

Step 1: Identify the object (think about skills, knowledge, attitudes, abilities to be gained).

• Example 1: Fundamental principles of physics  (Physics)
• Example 2: How to use primary source material (History)

Step 2: Determine the mastery level.

Determining the action verbs can be a tricky task. Benjamin Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives can be an extremely useful framework for determining what level of cognitive activity a learning objective falls into and matching that level with appropriate forms of the assessment. 

• Example 1:  apply
• Example 2: critique

The revised Bloom’s taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) has six categories, from less complex on the left to more complex on the right:

Step 3: Complete the learning objective statement.

• Example 1: Student will be able to apply fundamental principles of physics to real-world situations.
• Example 2: Student will be able to critique primary source material from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Step 4: Tweak and refine your learning objectives (using the Learning Outcome Review Checklist from Cornell) .

• Example 1: Student will be able to apply fundamental principles of physics to real-world situations in both speech and writing.
• Example 2: Student will be able to critique primary source material from the 18th and 19th centuries, including such considerations as authenticity, reliability, and bias.

Implementing Learning Objectives

Align your course components with learning objectives.

Even the best-written learning objectives are useless unless they relate to the actual instructional content, activities, and assessments of the course. If the course content and assessments are not aligned with the learning objectives, instructors will not have the appropriate data for determining whether students are meeting the desired goals. Students will feel confused or frustrated by the mismatch between the course objectives, evaluation, and content. The action verbs can help instructors review the alignment between their course components.

Here is an example:

Misaligned objectives & assessments

• Learning objective: Student will be able to compare and contrast the benefits of qualitative and quantitative research methods.
• Assessment: Write a 500-word essay describing the features of qual and quan research methods.

Well-aligned objectives & assessments

• Students will be able to analyze features and limitations of various sampling procedures and research methodologies.
• Assessment: Comparison chart assignment.

Notice how the first example doesn’t require students to actually use any analysis skills, compared to the second example.

• 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: Longman
• Cornell University, Learning Outcome Review Checklist
• Melton, R. (1997). Objectives, Competencies and Learning Outcomes: Developing Instructional Materials in Open and Distance Learning. London, UK: Kogan Page.
• Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design . Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

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Achieving QTS

Student resources, year 3 – teaching direct speech.

The following lesson illustrates one way in which you can teach children about direct speech within the context of a Literacy lesson. The rules for writing direct speech remain the same however it is taught, but remember to make the lesson purposeful and relevant to your class in order to provide a contextualised approach to teaching grammar. This Year 3 class have been reading the book The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry as part of their rainforest theme. They have already explored a number of non-fiction texts to gather facts and information to contribute to their own leaflets and persuasive posters. They have discussed the moral and ethical dilemmas associated with rainforests and researched the Amazon rainforest as part of their ongoing topic. The class have visited the local botanical gardens and a speaker from a local ecology group has provided further information. To ensure that pupils have something to say in their narratives and understand how a character feels and acts, several drama strategies may be used to provide pupils with a convenient vehicle through which to convey speech; this can be recorded in their own narratives using the written conventions of speech. Because speech can be incorporated into most narratives, you can adapt this lesson to reflect the topic that underpins your teaching for that year group. For example, you may be finding out about a particular period in history or exploring the life of a famous person. When children are writing a story about this, they will more than likely need to include some form of conversation in order to distinguish it from a biography or other form of literary non-fiction.

Learning objectives for the lesson

• To be able to use punctuation in direct speech correctly.
• To be able to choose appropriate verbs and adverbials to describe how the character is speaking.
• To use dialogue effectively to convey meaning. 

Lesson opener

Conscience alley

Ask the children to sit facing each other in two lines, each with a strip of sugar paper and a felt pen. Briefly recap on the story of The Great Kapok Tree and ask children in one of the lines to act as the woodcutter’s employers and the children in the other line to take on the role of one of the rainforest animals. They must decide what they would say to the woodcutter so as to persuade him whether or not to cut down the trees. Explain to the children that they are to take part in a ‘Conscience Alley’. As the woodcutter, you will walk through the middle of both lines whilst one by one the children give their reasons for and against cutting down the trees. When you reach the end of the lines, you can make your decision.

For example:

You won’t get paid if you do not finish the job. (Employer)

Where will we live if you cut down the trees? (Snake)

Then ask the children to write what they have said on the piece of coloured paper, using speech punctuation.

Main lesson

Having established groups for the main teaching session, explain that they are going to continue to write the next part of the rainforest story. To ensure children have a purpose for their writing you may want to tell them that you have misplaced your copy of The Great Kapok Tree or that the last few pages are damaged and you were due to read this story to the children in Reception or Year 1. Tell the children that they are going to write the end of the story so that you don’t have to disappoint the younger children.

Model writing the opening sentences of the next part of the story on the interactive whiteboard so as to ensure that all children are familiar with the use of direct speech and how to punctuate this correctly. Children can use mini-whiteboards or classroom tablets to write suggestions for dialogue that would be appropriate for the story. Use this time to assess whether the children are using punctuation correctly and address any misconceptions.

Practical application

Children can write the ending to the story using effective dialogue to add meaning to the text. Remind them of the learning objectives and ensure that you have provided scaffolds such as writing frames, microphones, prompts and examples of speech to ensure that all children can achieve. During the starter activity and the shared writing you will have identified those children requiring further support when using direct speech and these may form a guided group. What about those children for whom direct speech poses no difficulties? An effective way in which to continue to develop their use of direct speech is to place envelopes on their tables with a further challenge included. For example, ask them to include a conversation between three characters or try splitting the direct speech into parts.

Explain to the children that you have written the ending of the story but have forgotten how to write direct speech. Hand out some pre-prepared sentences relating to the story with all punctuation missing. Make sure that you differentiate accordingly. Ask the children to work in pairs to ‘correct’ the sentences using a marker pen and collect these to include on your working wall.

Assessment (measuring achievement)

Assessment for learning

Do not assume that all children will begin this lesson with the same degree of understanding about the use of direct speech.

Ask key questions to determine how much children know:

Why have you put the speech marks there?

Can you think of an alternative to ‘said’?

How do we know when the character is speaking?

Where do I include the exclamation mark?

What does this tell us about the character?

Ask children to identify speech during shared or guided reading sessions. Encourage them to change their voice when characters are speaking. Are they aware that speech marks indicate that someone is speaking? Do they change their voice according to the adverb or verb used to describe how the character is speaking? Use a wide variety of books that include speech, for example, Good Little Wolf by Nadia Shireen, Billy’s Bucket by Kes Gray and Garry Parsons, The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler and just about anything by Roald Dahl.

Use drama sessions to ask children to verbalise their thoughts whilst in character and then write them down on sticky notes using the conventions of direct speech.

Assessment at the point of learning

You will need to assess learning throughout the lesson so that you are able to provide the correct amount of challenge for all learners.

Take full advantage of mini-whiteboards to allow children to demonstrate what they know. They may be able to use inverted commas correctly, but have they remembered to include the full stop or question mark within the speech marks?

Encourage other adults working within the classroom to make a note of children who are having difficulties and address this immediately with the child, exploring misconceptions and modelling correct use of speech punctuation.

Ask children to explain why they have used specific verbs or adverbs to describe how a character is speaking. Do they understand why they need to include speech marks? Are they beginning a new line for a different speaker? How can you make this explicit in your teaching?

Assessment of learning

Have the children achieved the objective of the lesson and how do you know?

During the plenary, are children still making the same mistakes or have they moved on during the course of the lesson?

Are they enclosing the speaker’s exact words within speech marks?

Do they start each piece of speech with a capital letter?

Have they used a comma in the correct place when direct speech comes after the name of the speaker?

Have they started a new line for each speaker?

Furthermore, does the inclusion of dialogue in the text contribute to the overall effect of the writing? If children are simply including speech in order to fulfil a ‘checklist’ of criteria, they may not understand how it can fundamentally change a piece of writing and add to the tone, atmosphere and mood. When marking work, make comments explicit and refer directly to the learning objectives so that learners are aware of their success and how they can continue to move forward.

Some children may have a limited understanding of punctuation and so this will need consolidating prior to teaching speech marks. Use punctuation fans and bingo games to provide opportunities for children to become familiar with different types of punctuation.

Some children may benefit from a more visual approach and so try large speech bubble templates to write speech before adding it to text. Children who prefer an auditory approach may benefit from watching short film clips and identifying the speech within this context.

The use of drama to reinforce conventions of written speech will often support pupils for whom English is as an additional language as it provides opportunities for pupils to be more aware of their language use and orally rehearse their thoughts before committing them to paper.

For more lesson inspiration and for the theory behind how to develop good lessons, see the   Lessons in Teaching Series.