The ABCD model for writing objectives

Introduction Objectives will include 4 distinct components: Audience, Behavior, Condition and Degree. Objectives must be both observable and measurable to be effective. se of words li!e understand and learn in writing objectives are generall" not acceptable as the" are difficult to measure. #ritten objectives are a vital part of instructional design because the" provide the roadmap for designing and delivering curriculum. $hroughout the design and development of curriculum, a comparison of the content to be delivered should be made to the objectives identified for the program. $his process, called performance agreement, ensures that the final product meets the overall goal of instruction identified in the first level objectives. Characteristics of objectives Observable and measurable nambiguous %esults oriented & clearl" written & specific 'easurable b" both (uantitative and (ualitative criteria Communicate a successful learning in behavioral terms #ritten in terms of performance 'a" be presented in ) levels: *st level and )nd level o *st level: identif" the overall goal of the instruction for the program or instructional event +ometimes called terminal objectives nd o ) level: identif" the goals re(uired to meet the * st level objectives +ometimes called enabling objectives Samples ,iven a standard sentence, the -nglish *.* student should be able to identif" the noun and verb without error. ,iven an assortment of -'+ e(uipment to pic! from, the paramedic should be able to identif" all of the e(uipment necessar" to perform rapid se(uence intubation without error. $he -'$/B participant in this pediatric wor!shop should be able to identif" at least 4 warning signs of possible child abuse from a famil" member0s interview that contains 1 warning signs.

4 Parts of an ABCD Objective Audience Behavior Condition Degree o $he objective does not have to be written in this order 2ABCD3, but it should contain all of these elements Audience Describe the intended learner or end user of the instruction Often the audience is identified onl" in the *st level of objective because of redundanc" -4ample: $he paramedic refresher participant5 -4ample: $he -'$/B student5 -4ample: $he prehospital care provider attending this seminar5 Behavior Describes learner capabilit" 'ust be observable and measurable 2"ou will define the measurement elsewhere in the goal3 6f it is a s!ill, it should be a real world s!ill $he 7behavior8 can include demonstration of !nowledge or s!ills in an" of the domains of learning: cognitive, ps"chomotor, affective, or interpersonal -4ample: 5 should be able to write a report5 -4ample: 5should be able to describe the steps5 o Cognitive domain -mphasi9es remembering or reproducing something which has presumabl" been learned Deal with what a learner should !now, understand, comprehend, solve, spell, criti(ue, etc. o :s"chomotor domain -mphasi9es some muscular motor s!ill, some manipulation of material and objects, or some act that re(uires a neuromuscular coordination Concerned with how a learner moves or controls his&her bod" o Affective domain Composed of two different t"pes of behaviors: refle4ive 2attitudes3 and voluntar" reactions and actions 2values3 +tages: perception, decision, action and evaluation o 6nterpersonal domain -mphasi9es learner s!ills 2not attitude or !nowledge3 associated with interpersonal e4changes

;ow a learner interacts with others in a variet" of situations

Condition -(uipment or tools that ma" 2or ma" not3 be utili9ed in completion of the behavior -nvironmental conditions ma" also be included -4ample: 5given an o4"gen wrench, regulator and D tan! with o4"gen5 -4ample: 5given the complete wor!s of #illiam +ha!espeare5 -4ample: 5given the following environment: *.:', snowing, temperature . degrees C5 Degree +tates the standard for acceptable performance 2time, accurac", proportion, (ualit", etc3 -4ample: 5 without error. -4ample: 5 < out of *. times. -4ample: 5within =. seconds. eview of ABCD Objectives #ho is to e4hibit the performance> #hat observable performance is the learner to e4hibit> #hat conditions are provided for the learner at the time of evaluation> #hat constitutes a minimum acceptable response> Performance Agreement %eiterative process where content is compared to objectives to determine if the content being delivered actuall" enables the student to meet the objectives o Be 7reiterative8 we mean that throughout the development of the course "ou should be reviewing to see if performance agreement is present. 6t is much easier to ma!e minor adjustments as "ou go along than it is to ma!e major changes in the end. 6f "ou cannot clearl" see that the content being delivered meets the objectives then "ou must decide the following: o %ewrite the objectives to meet the content o 'odif", enhance or remove the content to meet the objective as stated