Measurable Module Objectives

By: Roslyn Miller, Instructional Designer, CDL

The foundation for creating clear and measurable module objectives is first built upon an understanding of what a module is and what an objective is.

Mod·ule  /mä’-jo͞ol/ noun

A unit of learning upon which a course is organized, such as one week’s time, one course topic, or one textbook chapter

A module contains all the content, activities, and assessments associated with that unit.

Ob·jec·tive /əb-jek’-tiv/ noun

Behavior students should be able to demonstrate upon completion of instruction and learning activities.

The design of each module should begin with the question, What should students be able to do upon completion of this module? The answer to this question will be the basis of your list of module objectives. Module objectives should communicate how student success will be determined; that is, what they will be asked to do to demonstrate that they have learned.

So, module objectives should be:

• Written as specific observable behaviors students have the ability to demonstrate
• Expressed in plain language that students can understand
• Prominently displayed in each module

An example of a clearly stated measurable objective is, “You will be able to correctly interpret data in bar graphs, line graphs, and circle graphs.

What Are Some Ways Your Online Course Can Be Designed to Meet This Standard?

• If you have existing module objectives, review them. As they are written right now, would a student know what they need to do to demonstrate they have achieved the objective? If not, revise as needed.
• Use Bloom’s Taxonomy to determine appropriate cognitive levels and select corresponding measurable behaviors.
• Use the Objective Builder Tool in the UCF CDL Teach Online website to revise existing or develop new objectives.
• Use the Module Introduction page in the Webcourses@UCF Templater tool that includes an area for describing module objectives.
• Introduce each chunk of content and each assignment with its corresponding learning objective it supports. This helps students engage with the content and assignments and helps teachers ensure alignment of content and assignments with learning objectives.

What Does This Look Like in a Real Online Course?

Example 1. Sandra Galura, NGR5720 (Organizational Dynamics).

Example 2. Tamra Legron-Rodriguez, CHS4537 (Forensic Laboratory Quality Assurance).

Example 3: Josh Colwell, PHY1038 (Physics of Energy, Climate Change, and the Environment). This matrix showing module objectives and their alignment with module content and activities is in the Module Introduction template in the Webcourses@UCF Templater tool.