Several course sessions or units will be needed to teach students the knowledge and skills necessary to meet this goal. Consider an example goal: At the end of the course, students will be able to apply social science data collection and analysis techniques. Once defined, the overarching course learning goals should inform the class-specific topics and teaching methods. Departmental reviews of the learning goals ensure prerequisite courses teach the skills necessary for subsequent courses, and that multiple courses are not unnecessarily teaching redundant skills. Similarly, departments can use them to map the curriculum. Learning goals inform colleagues who are teaching related or dependent courses.
They guide the instructor’s selection of appropriate teaching approaches, resources, and assignments. They communicate the instructor’s expectations to students on the syllabus. Instructors use goals to design course assignments and assessments, and to determine what teaching methods will work best to achieve the desired outcomes.Ĭourse learning goals are important for several reasons. These goals describe the broad, overarching expectations of what students should be able to do by the end of the course, specifically what knowledge students should possess and/or what skills they should be able to demonstrate. The first step in preparing a course is to clearly define your course learning goals. What are course learning goals and why do they matter?Įffective teaching starts with thoughtful course planning. Take the short tutorial and you are on your way. It runs instructors through a logical process for creating course goals and objectives.
Another resource for writing course learning goals is Arizona State University’s free Online Objectives Builder. If you are looking for other information on creating effective syllabi, type syllabus in the search box for this blog to see previous articles on the topic.
Mike Reese, Associate Dean and Director of the Center for Educational Resources (CER), and Richard Shingles, a lecturer in Biology and Pedagogy Specialist in the CER, and created an Innovative Instructor print series article as an aid, shared below.
This year, Johns Hopkins’ faculty who teach undergraduates are being urged to include course learning goals in their syllabi.
Today’s post is timely-many instructors are putting together syllabi for fall courses.