Qualities of Useful Objectives
Performance An objective always says what a learner is expected to be able to do and/or produce to be considered competent; the objec- tive sometimes describes the product or result of the doing. Example: “Write a product profile for a proposed new product.”
Conditions An objective describes the important conditions (if any) under which the performance is to occur. Example: “Given all avail- able engineering data regarding a proposed product, trainee will write a product profile.”
Criteria Wherever possible, an objective identifies the criteria of acceptable performance by describing how well the learner must perform in order to be considered acceptable. Example: “The product profile must describe all of the commercial char- acteristics of the product that are appropriate for its introduc- tion to the market, including descriptions of at least three major product uses.”
Program objectives that lack clear statements concerning performance, con- ditions, and criteria are often ambiguous and can cause those who interpret the objectives differently to feel frustrated and come into conflict with one another. Two ways to ensure that objectives are clear are to choose words carefully and have the objectives reviewed by others (such as managers and potential participants). If a reviewer is confused, the objectives should be revised.
Writing objectives for behaviors that can be directly observed by others (like giving a patient an injection or performing the Heimlich maneuver to aid a choking victim) can be easier than writing objectives for behaviors that are unobservable (like judging whether a painting is of high quality or determining whether the use of deadly force is warranted). When dealing with broad or “unobservable” objectives, it is necessary to specify observable behaviors that indicate whether an unobservable outcome has been achieved.Thus, an objec- tive for judging whether a painting is of high quality can be written as “to be able to judge whether a painting is of high quality by orally listing the characteristics the painting possesses that indicate its quality.”
