Unit 7 : Learning Objectives & Bloom's Taxonomy
Learning outcomes are the broad goals of a course or program. These are observable and measurable skills the learner will achieve once completed the course. These help students anticipate what they will gain from the experience and help instructors plan appropriate teaching strategies and assessments. They are typically written as "can do" statements of what the student should be able to do at the end of the course. Example:
- By the end of this course, student will be able to translate complex theological or philosophical text from French to idiomatic English.
Learning objectives are the specific steps and intended results of a lesson or unit that are used to structure the content and achieve the learning outcome. These are often activities that include actionable tasks such as list, state, identify, analyze or discuss. They should align with accomplishing a learning outcome. For example, to achieve the above outcome:
- Student will analyze sentence syntax, structure and grammar of source language.
- Student will learn to identify new vocabulary based on context and lexical association.
- Student will interpret context and translated phrases into appropriate idiomatic text in target language.
Bloom's Taxonomy
In the 1950's, Benjamin Bloom, an educational psychologist, and a group of his peers developed the hierarchal classification of intellectual behavior that are important in learning. The cognitive domains are categorized according to complexity, and can help in designing and reflecting on instructional design. In the 1990's, Lorin Anderson, a former student of Bloom's and David Krahwohl, who had worked with Bloom on his original taxonomy, updated the classification by changing the names from noun to verb forms, and rearranged them. Originally they were: 1. Knowledge, 2. Comprehension, 3. Application, 4. Analysis, 5. Synthesis, 6. Evaluation.
Each level is used to describe and classify observable knowledge, behaviors, abilities, and skills.
Implications & Limitations
The greatest implications of learning design is how Bloom's taxonomy helps to define learning goals, apply them to learning objectives, and compare results for learning outcomes. For example, in language learning, it carries the learner through the steps of acquisition of new vocabulary and grammar, understanding its application and using it practically in real-world context.
Some criticisms of Bloom's taxonomy are that it implies learning levels are distinct and separate, not comprehensive and intertwined. Others say that it undervalues social, creative and emotional skills solely focusing on cognitive. However, behavioural skills and critical thinking can be incorporated into each level by having learners utilize personal experiences and sharing methods, especially in the application and evaluation stages.