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2.6 Instructional Objectives

This document discusses instructional objectives and how to write them in a three-tiered structure. It defines the three levels as: 1. General instructional objectives which state the intended outcome in general terms. 2. Specific learning outcomes which state the intended outcome in observable and measurable terms. 3. Test items which are questions prepared to assess learning before, during, and after instruction. It provides an example of instructional objectives written for a course on information systems design, including general objectives and specific test items, and recommends a procedure for writing objectives in an iterative process.

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Bruce Mathew
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100 views3 pages

2.6 Instructional Objectives

This document discusses instructional objectives and how to write them in a three-tiered structure. It defines the three levels as: 1. General instructional objectives which state the intended outcome in general terms. 2. Specific learning outcomes which state the intended outcome in observable and measurable terms. 3. Test items which are questions prepared to assess learning before, during, and after instruction. It provides an example of instructional objectives written for a course on information systems design, including general objectives and specific test items, and recommends a procedure for writing objectives in an iterative process.

Uploaded by

Bruce Mathew
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Instructional Objectives

N.J. Rao

Instructional objectives are the intended learning outcomes of the instruction


(Gronlund and Brookhart 2009). These instructional objectives make clear the types
of student performance the instructor is willing to accept as evidence that the
students have learned to what was expected of them. Instructional objectives can be
stated at three levels. The Level 1 objectives can be labeled as General
Instructional Objectives, the Level 2 objectives can be called as Specific
Learning Outcomes, and the Level 3 objectives are Test Items.

General Instructional Objective is defined as “an intended outcome of instruction


that has been stated in general enough terms to address a specific level in the
domain (cognitive, affective or psychomotor) of concern”.

Specific Learning Outcome is defined as “an intended outcome of instruction that


has been stated in terms of specific and observable student response that is a result
of learning”.
Test Items: For each specific learning outcome a number of test items can be
prepared for assessment before instruction, during instruction and assessment at the
end of instruction. These test items can be simple ‘remember’ type questions to
solving open ended problems in project mode. All the test items can be categorized
as per Bloom’s cognitive categories.
Solutions to Test Items: Solutions to the representative test items should be
prepared to reflect what the instructor considers as an appropriate answer and how
the selected program outcomes are addressed. Solutions help students to follow
good practices in writing their solutions to test items.
The three tiered approach to writing instructional objectives is proposed to ensure
that all the relevant knowledge elements at all the relevant cognitive levels are
addressed. However, course designers may find using this three tier approach
tedious and difficult in the first iteration. The following operative procedure is
suggested at least for the first iteration.
• Course level the competencies are elaborated directly into representative test
items. Course level competencies represent highest orders of learning. The test
items are written to represent the highest cognitive level (as indicated by its
initial action verb) associated with the competency.

N.J. Rao/September 2010 1


• Module level competencies are elaborated into test items using a 2-tier/3-tier
approach. The number of levels for instructional objectives at the Module level
can be chosen depending on the nature of subject and the instructor’s views.
• Unit level competencies are elaborated into test items using a 2-tier/3-tier
approach. The number of levels for instructional objectives at the Unit level can
be chosen depending on the nature of subject and the instructor’s views.
• Solutions to problems, particularly at the course level, should demonstrate how
the selected program outcomes are addressed. In fact the model answers to the
representative test items constitute the documentary evidence required for
accreditation.
Sample
Competencies of the course “Information Systems Design”
1. Identify information needs of an organization. (1,2,3)
2. Create system requirements specifications document of an information system for an
organization. (1,2,3,10)
3. Develop process specifications and data processing rules. (1,2,3,5,10)
4. Design normalized databases required in information systems. (2,3,5)
5. Design methods of codifying inputs, validating them and generating reports
understandable to appropriate levels of management. (2,3,5,10)
6. Design controls, audit trails and security systems and testing methods for both existing
and new information systems of organizations. (3,5,11)
7. Identify objects from system requirement specifications. (2,11,12)
8. Develop object based model of the system. (2,3,11,12)

Instructional Objectives
C1: Identify information needs of an organization (Analyze)
TI1: Identify the operational information requirements of a hotel and compare them with
those of a student- hostel.
TI2: Identify the functional areas of a manufacturing organization (e.g. a PC manufacturer)
and that of a retailer of PCs.
TI3: A road transport company has implemented computerized reservation for its inter city
buses. From the data gathered identify those which can be used for tactical decisions and
explain your answer.
TI4: What operational data would normally be gathered in a hospital information system?
Among the data gathered which would be useful for strategic decision making.
TI5: A cloth store is currently using a manual billing method in which bills are prepared for
each customer. The number of customers per day is around 100. Over a period of time it

N.J. Rao/September 2010 2


expanded with 1000 customers per day. Justify the use of a computer based solution for
billing. Work out cost-benefit analysis of the proposed system.
TI6: Road transport companies were not using computers for reservation of tickets. They
were manually done. With the advent of PCs most companies are using computers for
reservations. Evaluate the advantages of using PCs compared to the earlier manual system.
C2: Create system requirements specifications document of an information system
for an organization. (1, 2, 3, 10) (Create)
TI1: Design the data fields which will be printed if a computerized bill is generated by a retail
bookstore. Using this find the specific data fields which will be useful for statutory information
to be provided by the book store.

TI2: A family keeps daily accounts of expenses. What classifications would you recommend
for types of expenses? From this data gathered what information would be available for the
head of family to budget expenses from the monthly family income.

TI3: A medical store wants to computerize bills given to customers. What are the data fields
which would normally be needed for the bill. Explain why each of these fields is needed.

TI4: A restaurant gives computerized bill to its customers. What data fields should it use and
why? What tactical information can be obtained from these bills and what processing rules will
be used to get this?

TI5: Admission procedure in a University is as follows:


An advertisement is issued giving essential qualifications for the course, the last date for receipt
of application, and the fee to be enclosed with the application. A clerk in the Registrar’s office
checks the received applications to see if mark-sheet and fee are enclosed and sends valid
applications to the concerned academic department. The department checks the application in
detail and decides the applicants to be admitted, those to be put in the waiting list, and those
rejected. Appropriate letters are sent to the Registrar’s office which intimates the applicant.
Give physical and logical DFDs corresponding to the above problem?
Reference

1. Gronlund N.E. and S. M. Brookhart: Gronlund's Writing Instructional Objectives (8th Edn.)

N.J. Rao/September 2010 3

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