Formulating learning objectives is the order of the day when you follow a course. Even when you work, you often have to deal with learning objectives that are often used for assessment and performance reviews. What exactly are learning objectives, how do you set learning objectives and how do you apply the SMART method?
What is a learning objective?
A learning goal is in fact nothing more and nothing less than a goal that you set for yourself and from which you learn. Nowadays, formulating learning objectives is very important within any course or in the professional field. Students often have to formulate learning objectives that can be focused on developing a professional attitude and acquiring skills or in the context of personal development.
In the professional field, too, one often has to deal with learning objectives. Nowadays, a large group of employees have to deal with assessment and performance reviews, which also examine, for example, where your strengths lie, what you can still develop, what your wishes are in terms of development, and so on. To make this concrete, learning objectives are often used that, just as with the students described above, focus on professional development, but which can also play a role on a personal level.
Formulate learning objectives
Formulating a good, clear and concrete learning goal is not that easy. It’s easy to say I want to be a millionaire next year, but the chance of this actually happening is often smaller than having an accident. In addition, it is not a learning objective; you learn nothing from it and when it comes out, it is not immediately clear from the wording that you have done something for it. So think carefully about the formulation of your learning objective.
Furthermore, your goals can be short-term or long-term. Some things you can accomplish in a matter of weeks or months, while others may take years. Keep this in mind when you think about goals you want to achieve; how much time will you need?
The SMART method
Because formulating learning objectives can be quite difficult, there is an approach that can help you give the formulation some structure. This is called the SMART method and works as follows:
- S = Specific . Be as specific (concrete) as possible in the formulation of your learning objective. Say exactly what you want to achieve and state it as clearly as possible.
- M = measurable. It is nice if you formulate a learning goal, but it may be useful if you can also check for yourself that you have achieved your goal. You do this by making it “measurable”. In other words: how can you tell that you have achieved your goal? For example: “Within 4 weeks I have put on paper what I expect from a new job.” This way you can actually see after 4 weeks whether you have achieved the goal or not.
- A = acceptable. Your goal must be “acceptable”. Is the goal you set for yourself and those around you feasible?
- R = realistic . Is your goal realistic? Are you setting too high standards for yourself or setting the bar too high for yourself? Check whether your goal is achievable within the time frame you give yourself.
- T = time-related. Decide for yourself within which time frame you want to achieve the goal. Is it a short-term goal? Then days, weeks or months could suffice. Is it a long-term goal? Then you could choose months or years.
Tips for formulating learning objectives
- Don’t formulate too many. Firstly, you probably place too many demands on yourself and you will lose the overview more quickly.
- Keep your learning objective as short and sweet as possible. No lengthy compound sentences or multiple sentences in a row.
- Don’t make a learning objective too broad. For example, don’t say: “I will be open to other people within 3 months” because this is far too broad and not specific enough. If this is something you want to achieve, you can choose to break it down into smaller chunks. You can make a list where you write down, for example, what you need to do, be able to do, dare to do or know to achieve this. You can use this to create smaller learning goals that are also easier to check off.
- Write down your goals for yourself and use the SMART method to see step by step whether each element is included. An outsider should be able to understand it when he or she reads it, so be clear.
- Stay close to yourself. It may well be that other people tell you what they think you should change, but stick to yourself and choose those goals that you find important. What would you like to work on and what do you need for that?
- To reinforce a learning objective and make it even more concrete, after formulating your main sentence (learning objective), you can explain it by writing, for example: “I want to do this by…”. Here you can describe how you want to approach it. What do you need to achieve your goal?