How do performance objectives drive teaching strategies?

Performance objectives describe what the student will be able to do at the conclusion of instruction. Specific teaching and learning strategies are selected by educators in order to accomplish the instructional objectives they have articulated. Strategies, therefore, are the methods selected in order to achieve objectives.

In the following objective, note how the precise nature of the performance desired drives the selection of teaching and learning strategies. Performance objectives keep instruction tight and to the point.

Sample Elementary-Level Performance Objective

From images, video clips, and sounds on a CD-ROM, students will identify wild animals from Africa by writing the correct names of eight out of ten animals represented.

Instructional Strategies to Achieve This Objective

DIRECT INSTRUCTION

Teacher will show pictures of a variety of African animals and present the key elements of their habitat using real objects wherever possible. Following the teacher-directed instruction, a wildlife video will be shown to provide visual and audio perspective of the animal and the habitat.

REINFORCING READING

Students will read about ten different African wild animals in illustrated books from the library.

REINFORCING RESEARCH

Students will follow up their initial research by looking the animals up online or on a multimedia CD-ROM. From these resources, they will listen to sound recordings of the calls and cries of the animals.

PRACTICE

A spelling list of the animals' names will be assigned. Students will make word-processed or handwritten notecards with the animals' names printed correctly. They will add to their notecards a short description of what the animals look like and what they sound like.

ASSESSMENT

In groups of 2-3 children, each group will pick a favorite animal and prepare a show-and-tell to the class that includes facts they discovered, a group-generated piece of art depicting the animal, and simulated sounds. Show and tell will be either live or recorded via PowerPoint.

Activity

Write your own objective and related strategies on content of your choice. Use the format presented above. Share your objective and strategies with your peers. For additional help on writing objectives, check the links below.

Want to know more? Check out these sites:

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/EDTEC540/objectives/ObjectivesHome.html

http://www.utmem.edu/grad/MISCELLANEOUS/Learning_Objectives.pdf

http://depts.washington.edu/eproject/objectives.htm

http://captain.park.edu/facultydevelopment/writing_learning_objectives.htm

Source

Popham, W. J., & Baker, E. L. 1970. Establishing instructional Goals. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

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