Mission, Goals, and Objectives… and Learning Outcomes Mission: the values and philosophy of the program, a vision of what you’re doing. Goals: general aims or purposes of the program and the curriculum; broad, long‐range, intended outcomes, wishes, desires, and intentions. Objectives: brief, clear, precise statements of learning outcomes that flow from the goals; tangible, observable outcomes that can be assessed. Learning Objectives Types of Learning Objectives: Knowledge—what we want students to know. Skills—what we want students to be able to do. Values or attitudes—what we want students to value, appreciate, or respect. Examples of Goals & Objectives Goal To use, respect, and appreciate skeptical inquiry, critical thinking, and the scientific approach to understanding behavior. Objective Students can summarize a research article and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology used. Goal To be familiar with the major theoretical approaches, findings, and historical trends in the discipline. Objective Students can explain the main distinguishing concepts of at least three of these theories: psychodynamic, behavioral, biological, cognitive, and humanistic. Goal To understand the complexity of cultural diversity. Objective Students can examine and describe the major cultural factors that have influenced their own identities. Learning Outcomes: Learning outcomes are statements of what is expected that a student will be able to DO or KNOW as a result of a learning activity. What do your students have to do to convince you that they have met the objective?
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learner‐centered, not teacher‐centered
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statements of outcomes, not processes or inputs
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specific, measureable and not ambiguous