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Introduction

It's now time to determine specifically what skills, knowledge, and/or attitudes that you want your learners to acquire from your multimedia instructional program. This is done by creating a list of objectives for your goal based on the information you have gathered so far. An objective is a detailed description of what students will be able to do when they complete a unit of instruction. They are derived from the skills you identified in the instructional analysis. A set of clear objectives will give you a sound basis for selecting or developing instructional materials, as well as a means for evaluating whether or not your instruction has been successful.

According to Mager (1997), there are three main components of an effective objective:

  1. Performance - a description of the behavior that learners are expected to perform. It should be measurable and observable.
  2. Conditions - a description of the circumstances under which the performance will be carried out. It also includes a description of what will be available to learners when they perform the desired behavior.
  3. Criterion - a description of the criteria for acceptance of a performance as sufficient, indicating mastery of the objective. In other words, how well must it be done?

It's generally recommended that you write write a terminal objective based on your goal statement, and then write individual objectives for each of your goal steps, substeps, and subordinate skills. A usefully stated objective is one that succeeds in communicating an intended instructional result to the reader. It is useful to the extent that it conveys to others a picture of what a successful learner will be able to do; and to the extent that the picture it conveys is identical to the picture the objective writer had in mind. After generating a list of objectives, you will be ready to move to subsequent stages of the instructional design process, including the creation of assessment items and the development of instructional activities. It is important to begin with determining the objectives, and then decide on the most effective activities, NOT the other way around.

Click below if you'd like more information about writing objectives.

More Information

Additional resources on writing objectives are located in the Course Overview document.

Multimedia Design Document: Sections 6

Using all the information you've acquired up to this point, it is now time to write objectives describing exactly what it is you want your learners to be able to do when they finish with your multimedia program. Your list of objectives will become section 6 of your design document.

To begin with, create a terminal objective based on your original goal statement. Remember, the terminal objective has all of the components of a performance objective, and its conditions reflect the context that will be available in the learning environment. Once you have your terminal objective, write a performance objective for each step, substep, and subordinate skill in your instructional analysis. You do not have to write objectives for your entry behaviors. Each objective you write should contain the three components of an effective objective: the Performance, the Conditions, and the Criterion. Number each objective according to how its box is numbered in the instructional analysis; this way it will be easier to match them up. For example, if one of your goal steps is:

Step 4 - Using a lug wrench, loosen the lug nuts on the flat tire.

An accompanying objective might be:

Objective 4 - Given a flat tire and a lug wrench, untighten the lug nuts on the flat tire so that they are loose but not removed entirely.

Label this section of your design document Objectives.

Submitting Sections 6 of your Design Document

Section 6 (Objectives) should be added to the design document you started creating earlier. Once again, this document should be typed up in Microsoft Word. At the top of the document you should have the title "Objectives". Underneath that should be your name, email address, and the date. You should save the document on your computer with the name "mmobjectives". After you have saved your file, go to the student interface and submit your assignment for grading. Click here if you need additional information regarding submission of your assignment.

Assignment: Objectives
Points:
25

Grading Criteria:

  • Terminal Objective derived from Goal Statement. (5)

  • Effective and well-written objective included for each goal step, substep, and subordinate skill. Each objective contains three components: Performance, Conditions, and Criterion. (15)
  • Objectives numbered clearly. (5)