Module 2

Establishing Learning Targets

Lesson 1: Defining and Types of Learning Targets

Learning Targets is defined as a statement of student performance that includes both a description of what students should know or be able to do at the end of a unit of instruction and the criteria for judging the level of performances demonstrated.

It outlines the steps to be followed and the material to be covered if the student is to achieve competence in the more long-term goal. Terms associated with learning targets are content standards, benchmarks, learning outcomes and expectation.

The word learning is used to convey that targets’ emphasis on the importance of how students will change. The learning targets are composed of content and criteria. Content is what students should know and be able to do. On the other hand, criteria are dimensions of student performance used for judging attainment.

Learning Targets describes what students will be able to do successfully and independently at the end of a specific lesson as a result of a classroom instruction. Below is an example of a learning target:

Students will be able to explain the contrasting point of a parliamentary and democratic government by writing a term paper that indicates the differences and similarities. The papers will be graded holistically by looking for evidence of reasons and knowledge of the forms of government.

The benefits of having a learning target establish is that teachers are bale to know what to assess to their students and students may see clearer on things that should have done. Parents will know what and how to assess their children since learning targets are often given to them or posted in websites- most commonly in grade school levels.

There are five types of learning targets:

Knowledge Learning Targets. Knowledge of the subject matter is the foundation upon which other learning is based. Teachers expect their students to master at least some content. These are subject to facts and concepts we want students to know.

Reasoning Learning Targets. Due to the advent of technology, the accessibility to information has resulted in an increased attention to thinking skills. Such capabilities may be described by number of different terms, including problem solving, critical thinking, analysis, comparing, intellectual skills and abilities. Students are able to use what they know and reason it out to solve problems.

Skill Learning Targets. It is something that the student demonstrates, something done. Skill learning targets involve a behavior in which knowledge and reasoning to act skillfully.For example, in an Art class where teachers want their students to draw an airplane. In cases like this, success lies on doing the task well. The challenge for teachers to assess lies on the clarity of terms or the usage of words, or both.Product Learning Targets. Use knowledge, reasoning and skill to create a concrete product. Students are to be able to construct charts and graphs from observation. Products are samples of student work that demonstrates the ability to use knowledge and reasoning in the creation of a tangible product like a term paper, investigative report, artwork or projects.

Affective Learning Targets. It is the attitude about school and learning. Affective learning includes emotions, feelings, and beliefs that are different from the cognitive learning, like knowledge, reasoning, and skills. It can be described as being positive or negative and most teachers hope that students will develop positive attitudes towards school subjects and learning, themselves as learners, and other students and schools.

Bibliography:www.meade.k12.sd.us/.../

11LT_4Types.dochttp://www.slideshare.net/chambless.laura/curriculum-and-instruction-session-3-learning-targets1

Reganit, et. Al 2010 Assessment of Student Learning 1, C&E publishing Inc. 

LESSON 2: Definition and Role of Instructional Objectives

Instructional objectives describe the skills; knowledge, abilities or attitudes students should possess or demonstrate after they complete the training. The starting point for designing a course of study should include these instructional objectives; the objectives determine the intended outcomes of the training. Good instructional objectives describe an observable performance, one that can be observed and measured by an instructor or manager.

In a nutshell, instructional objectives:  1. Describe a skill that students are expected to possess after instruction2. Describe a measurable performance3. Describe the performance conditions Learning Objectives or Instructional Objectives (also called Learning Objectives) are not just brief descriptions of lesson content or descriptions of student activities. Each question on a quiz should link to a specific learning objective.

The Role of Objectives in Teaching and Testing  Objectives can be helpful in instructional planning, during the teaching/learning process, and when assessing student progress. Instructional objectives are often either ignored (by both teachers and students) or are, at best, occasionally referred to. However, it can be argued that instructional objectives should guide the teaching and learning process from beginning to end. Most lesson plan forms include a place for the objectives of the lesson to be recorded. However, to write an objective down and then to plan the lesson around the topic of the lesson rather than around the learning outcomes to be reached is missing the point.

 

There is good evidence in the human learning literature that different kinds of outcomes are learned differently. Robert Gagné was one of the first researchers to articulate this; it follows from his research that instructional planning must take into account the kind of learning the students will be engaged in as they seek to reach an objective. Effective teachers learn to categorize their instructional objectives and then develop the teaching and learning activities that will help students do the kind of thinking required for that kind of learning.  It's time to evaluate. How does an educator know what to measure? Look at the objectives. How does a teacher know what kind of information gathering tools to use (test, rubric, and portfolio)? Study the objectives.  

Any test item, any rating scale or checklist, any technique devised to collect information about student progress must seek to measure the instructional objectives as directly and as simply as possible. Instructional objectives are an extremely valuable teaching tool that guides both teachers and students through the teaching and learning process.  Bibliography:

http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2098/Instructional-Objectives.html

www.eastfieldcollege.edu/Core/SLO-MVC.pdf https://www.aalhe.org/sites/default/files/BrumfieldCarrigan%20AALHE%20Instructional%20Objectives%20slides_0.pdf

LESSON 3: Characteristics of well written and useful instructional objectivesCharacteristics of a Well-Written Objective

Instructional objectives (also known as behavioral objectives or learning objectives) are basically statements which clearly describe an anticipated learning outcome. When objectives were first coming into their own in education, they almost always began with the phrase: "Upon completion of this lesson, the student should be able to…." This phrase focused on the outcome of learning rather than on the learning process. In fact, one of the criteria for a well-written objective is that it describes the outcome of learning, that is, what the learners can do after learning has occurred that they might not have been able to do before the teaching and learning process began.

Describe a learning outcome – it should not describe a learning activity. Learning activities are important in planning and guiding instruction but they are not to be confused with instructional objectives.Be student oriented – it describes what the learner will be expected to be able to do. It should not describe a teacher activity. It may be helpful to both the teacher and the student to know what the teacher is going to do but teacher activities are also not to be confused with instructional objectives.

Be observable (or describe an observable product) – if an instructional objective is not observable (or it does not describe an observable product), it leads to unclear expectations and it will be difficult to determine whether or not it had been reached. The key to writing observable objectives is to use verbs that are observable and lead to a well-defined product if the action implied by that verb.

Characteristics of a useful objective

Be sequentially appropriate – for an objective to be sequentially appropriate it must occur in an appropriate place in the instructional sequence. All prerequisite objectives must already have been attained. Nothing thwarts the learning experience more than having learners trying to accomplish an objective before they have learned the necessary prerequisites. This is why continuous assessment of student progress is so important.

Be attainable within a reasonable amount of time – a useful objective is attainable within a reasonable time. If an instructional objective takes students an inordinately long time to accomplish, it is either sequentially inappropriate or it is too broad, relying on the accomplishment of several outcomes or skills rather than a single outcome or skill. An objective should set expectations for a single learning outcome and not a cluster of them.Be developmentally appropriate – developmentally appropriate objectives set expectations for students that are well within their level of intellectual, social, language or moral development. 

Bibliography:COOPER, JAMES M., ed. 1999. Classroom Teaching Skills, 6th edition. http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2098/Instructional-Objectives.html

LESSON 4: The Three Student Learning Outcomes: Cognitive, Affective and Psychomotor  Assessment of Learning in the Cognitive Domain

Knowledge Level-behaviors related in recognizing and remembering facts, concepts, and other important data of any subject or topic.

Comprehensive Level-behaviors associated with the clarification and articulation of the main idea of what students are learning.

Application Level-behaviors that have something to do with problem-solving and expression, requires students to apply what they have learned.

Analysis Level-requires students to think critically such as looking for motives, assumptions, cause-effect relationship, differences and similarities, hypothesis, and conclusions.

Synthesis Level-calls for creative thinking such as combining elements in new ways, planning original experiments, creating original solutions to a problem and building models.

Evaluation Level-necessitate judging or valuing the worth of a person, object or idea or giving opinion on an issue.

Preparing for Assessment of Cognitive LearningPrior to the construction of paper and pencil to be test to be used in the measurement of cognitive learning, teachers have to answer the following questions.• What should be tested.• How to gather information about what to test.• How long the test should be.• How best to prepare students for testing. Assessing Cognitive LearningTeachers use two (2) types of tests in assessing student learning in the cognitive domains: objective test and essay test (Reyes, 2000)

Objective TestAn objective test is a kind of test wherein

there is only one answer to each item. On the other hand, an essay test is one wherein the test taker has the freedom to respond to a question based on how to feels it should be answered.

Types of Objective TestThere are two types of cognitive tests:

supply type and selection type (Carey, 1995). In the supply type, the students construct their own answer to each question. Conversely, the students choose the right answer to each item in the selection type.

Supply Types of Objective Tests

Completion Drawing Tests-an incomplete drawing is presented with the has to completeCompletion Statement Type-an incomplete sentence is presented and the student has to complete it by filing in the blank.Identification Type-a brief description is presented and the student has to identify what it is.3Correction Type-a sentence with underlined word or phrase is presented, which the student has to replace to make it right.Simple Recall Type -a direct question is presented and the student has to identify what it is.Short Explanation Type-similar to an essay but it requires a short answer.

Selection types of Objective Test

Arrangement Type-terms or objects are to be arranged by the students in a specified order.Matching Type-a list of numbered items is related to lettered choices.Multiple Choice Type-this type contains a question problem or unfinished sentence followed by several responses.Alternative Response Type -a test wherein there are only two possible answers to the question.The true or false format is a form of alternative response type.Key list Type-a test wherein the student to examine paired concepts based on a specified set of criteria.Interpretative Exercise-it is a form of multiple choice type of test that assesses higher cognitive behavior.

Essay TestThis type of test presents a problem or question

and the student is to compose a response in paragraph form, using his or her own words, and ideas. There are two forms of the essay test: brief or restricted; and extended.Brief or Restricted Essay Test- form of the essay test requires a limited amount of writing or requires that a given problem should be solved in a few sentences.Example: Why did early Filipino revolts fail? Cite and explain 2 reasons.Extended Essay Test-this form requires a student to present his answer in several paragraphs or pages of writing.Example: Explain your position on the issue of charter change in the Philippines.

Psychomotor Domain

Levels of Psychomotor Learning Gronlund, 1970Imitation – crude execution of task Manipulation – independent execution of tasks. Precise but not accurate. Precision – Accuracy in performing skill. Coordination have been mastered. Skill is performed without conscious effort Simpson et al, 2001Articulation – skill so well-developed, individual can modify movement patterns fit for specific requirements Naturalization – individual can experiment creating new motor acts  

Assessment: Psychomotor DomainWhy do we need to assess acquisition of skills?Observation of Student PerformanceEvaluation of ProjectsThrough Student Portfolios  Assessment: Observation of Student PerformanceHolistic – Scoring and giving feedback based on pre-established prototypes such as “excellent”, “average” or “poor”

Atomistic/Analytic – Analysis of mastery based on the fulfillment of tasks/subtasks  

Assessment: Evaluation of Student Product/ProjectAssessment of Student’s Mastery of a skill through submission/construction of models, artwork, design, etc.

Assesses student’s improvements through time based on their accomplishmentsWhat does a portfolio contain?Solved Math ProblemsProjects and Puzzles CompletedArtworks and CraftsTaped performance/recordings Benefits of this AssessmentProof/example of student’s performance to the parentsStudent’s assessment as time progressesRecords the student’s performance for the next year/course/teacherIdentify areas for improvementEncourages good performance by setting examplesBasis for grading.

Guidelines for Student Portfolios: To Do ListEstablish clear purpose. Set objectives and guidelines for the task.

Set performance criteria. Teacher level. Identify standards of performance.

Create appropriate setting. Type of portfolio to be done. i.e. written, oral performance

Forming scoring criteria. Scrutiny of student’s work based on set criteria of judging. 

Tools for Measuring Acquisition of Skills: Psychomotor Domain Criteria for Tools: Unbiased, Reliable, Objective  Rating Scale – series of categories arranged in order of qualityFunction: judges skills, products and procedures Identify qualities and scales for each quality on performance aspectArrange the scales from positive to negative and vice versaWrite directions for accomplishing the rating scale Example:Rating ScaleRate the teacher on each skill area as specified below. Use the following code: 5=always, 4=sometimes, 3=often, 2=seldom and 1=never.

5 4 3 2 1 Comes to school on time5 4 3 2 1 Returns quizzes regularly5 4 3 2 1 Answers students’ questions

 

Checklist – indicates presence or absence of specified characteristicsFunction: assess whether or not a task or characteristic is realized Example:Criterion basedCheck the appropriate box.During the experimentWeighed big blockWeighed small rock  Yes or NoCheck Yes or No when the specified criterion is metDid the student: Yes No Speak proper English ___ ___Provide handouts ___ ___ Affective Domain- Concerns Emotional DevelopmentAttitudes, Feelings, Emotions

Levels of Affective Learning  Receiving – willingness to hear i.e. Listens to others with respect, listens for names of newly introduced members.Responding – Active participation. Voluntary reaction. Motivationi.e. Participates in class discussion, asks questions to fully understand. Valuing – giving importance and worthi.e. sensitive towards certain issues such as cultural diversity and societyOrganization – creation of value system by organizing values into prioritiesi.e. accepts responsibility for one’s behavior. Prioritizes time to meet specific endsInternalizing Values (Characterization) – adjusted behavior based on value systemi.e. shows self-reliance, cooperates in group activities, value people on what they are not on how they look.

Bibliography:(Olivia, 1998)

http://www.cognifit.com/science/cognitive-skills

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/local/Diversdiscov2/cogskills.html

http://www.howkidsdevelop.com/developSkills.html

Special thanks:

Group 1 for the handouts