3 Steps for Creating Effective Learning Objectives [INFOGRAPHIC]

By: Justin Ferriman • August 26, 2013
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Over the years I have been a part of countless online and live training initiatives that involved organic development.  No matter what topic we were training to, the tool being used, the type of content (procedure, information, etc.), one thing remained the same across every single training implementation: learning objectives.

It can be easy to breeze over this part of the process, but in reality learning objectives are the most important part of the entire endeavor. Without proper objectives, you run the risk of incorrectly training your audience.  What’s more, you make it more difficult to measure the effectiveness of your training after implementation.  As a general rule, it is important to ensure your objectives are measurable and are not broad sweeping statements.

You should also make sure to include objectives not only at the course level, but the lesson level as well.  Constant reinforcement of these objectives is important not only to the learning, but also to any instructional designer who is building a course.  Doing so will help guide the course progression in a way that is in-line with the objectives so that key points are effectively communicated.

There are countless of websites and articles that discuss the importance of learning objectives and best-practice when building them. As such, I found the following infographic (author unknown) to be a good place to start if you are new to the training development and delivery.  One final note, writing objectives is an art that takes practice.  Make sure you continually practice and refine your objectives over time.  You will find that the process becomes easier with the more exposure you get in the field as you get a few successful learning implementations under your belt.

learning-objectives

Justin Ferriman

Justin started LearnDash, the WordPress LMS trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. He is currently founder & CEO of GapScout. Justin’s Homepage | GapScout | Twitter