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When you step back to look at the big picture, how do you see the classes that you teach? What
do you consider when you make plans or changes to a course? There are three key components
in any class. They interact with each other, and need to be closely aligned. Take a look at this
graphic from the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence at Carnegie Mellon University.
You can probably see how important alignment between these components will be. Instructional
activities help determine what students practice and learn, so they should match the course
objectives. Assessments are used to discover whether students have learned what they need to
learn, so they will be useless if they don’t match the learning objectives. And if assessments
aren’t aligned with instructional activities, they will be unfair to students.
You may not have control over all three components of the instructional triangle. In many
contexts, teachers are expected to work with learning objectives and final assessments provided
by an education ministry or other organization. However, teachers do have some degree of
control, perhaps finding time for one additional objective they find important, or designing smaller
assessments to help their students learn, or choosing their instructional activities with careful
reference to student needs as expressed by learning objectives and final assessments.
Let’s discuss learning objectives in more detail, since they are a good foundation on which to plan
activities and assessments.
Goals vs Objectives
In everyday speech, goals and objectives mean almost the same thing. However, in many
discussions of learning objectives, and for the purposes of our discussions, goals are more broad
and objectives are more specific. A goal is something you hope your students will know or do,
Advanced Certification in English Language Teaching (ACE) Course 2
Copyright 2016 University of Oregon. All rights reserved.
Week 1 required reading by Beth Sheppard
2
such as “improve comprehensibility in impromptu speech.” For each goal, you might have several
specific objectives, which can be parts of the goal, or steps along the way to the goal. For
example, one objective might be: “Students will be able to produce distinguishable /p/ and /b/
sounds more than 50% of the time.” Another might be: “Students will use appropriate strategies
(circumlocution, filled pauses, effective requests
for help) to handle lapses in fluency.” Notice that
these two objectives are very different, yet they
both can help students achieve the goal. This is
why our assessments and activities must be
based on specific objectives, rather than just
vague goals. Take a look at this graphic from
Kathleen Graves (2000).
Thinking about your goals for students can be a helpful process. In fact, your first attempt at
thinking about course objectives may result in fairly general goals. You need to know your goals
in order to think even more specifically about what students need to do to meet those goals.
It is often suggested that learning objectives should be written using one of two frameworks to
make sure they are clear, observable, and realistic. Neither is better or worse than the other,
although you may find that one or the other is a good fit for your own thinking.
Advanced Certification in English Language Teaching (ACE) Course 2
Copyright 2016 University of Oregon. All rights reserved.
Week 1 required reading by Beth Sheppard
3
• Measurable - Objectives refer to behaviors that can be directly observed and measured
(e.g. “explain” rather than “know”). It’s also important to state the degree of knowledge or
skill that will constitute success.
• Achievable - It is realistic to expect that many students can achieve the objective in the
available time, with the available resources.
• Relevant - Objectives are clearly related to goals, and can help students meet their actual
needs for target language ability.
• Time bound - Objectives state a time when students demonstrate the knowledge or skill.
Setting effective objectives helps guide your course. Objectives should be written explicitly and
frequently referred to. When you plan assessments and instructional activities, you should check
the objectives to make sure you maintain alignment. This will help make your courses more fair
and effective for students, and other stakeholders too.
References:
• Eberly Center: https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/design/learningobjectives.html
• Graves, K. (2000). Designing Language; Courses: A Guide for Teachers. Boston: Heinle &
Heinle. 2000. Pp 75-79; 260.
Advanced Certification in English Language Teaching (ACE) Course 2
Copyright 2016 University of Oregon. All rights reserved.
Week 1 required reading by Beth Sheppard