The design process mainly begins at your course units. Think about how each unit helps achieve which course goals. Then, create unit objectives corresponding to those selected course goals. When the unit objectives are met, it also means their corresponding course goal(s) are achieved, and in turn the targeted program outcomes are addressed since they are all aligned deliberately together.

Although there are many ways to design your units, it is more logical and practical to begin with the unit objectives and then design backward to create the unit assessments and learning activities to support the objectives (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005).

The unit objectives should be student-centered and measurable, meaning that the objectives indicate specific tasks students need to perform, and their performance will be assessed based on selected criteria. Tasks that are too specific or too broad do not make good objectives. The level of specificity is appropriate when objectives provide "a clear set of expectations, but still provide opportunities for students to demonstrate that they can generalize or apply the skill in a broader context" (Worthen et al., 1999, pp: 191 & 193). Here are some examples.

Too broad: Use different measuring skills.

Too narrow: Estimate the height of Mount Ogden.

Reasonable: Calculate and estimate object dimensions.

Writing measurable objectives is key. Various guidelines can be found to help write good objectives. However, we will discuss the one from Robert Mager. Mager's guidelines are simple and effective in creating measurable objectives.

Reflection

Do you purposefully determine which unit addresses which course goals?
Do all units have the unit objectives?
Are any of the unit objectives too narrow or too broad?
Are the unit objectives aligned with the course goals? And which goals?

References

Gagne, R. M., Briggs, L. J., & Wager, W. M. (1992). Principles of instructional design (4th ed.). Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Mager, R. F. (1984). Preparing instructional objectives (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Lake Publishing.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (expanded 2nd ed.). Pearson Education.
Worthen, B. R., White, K. R., Fan, X., & Sudweeks, R. R. (1999). Measurement and assessment in schools (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Addison Wesley Longman.

What's Next?

We will discuss the Robert Mager's guidelines.