The school I teach for has a master syllabus for each course with clearly established and standardized objectives, which is very nice. It cuts down on having to come up with those myself and ensures each student that takes the course from a different instructor can do the same things once the quarter is over.
I do come up with goals for the quarter myself, however. It's useful to have these goals in order to see how the material I'm covering will compliment and ensure that the students are meeting all of the objectives. When creating my weekly course outline, I will look at the objectives and figure out how to get the students from point a to point b as they complete the reading and other activities.
It's a roadmap for success. Proper planning prevents poor performance.You want to be able to teach the same thing to successive classes. Well you need to have a set plan to be able to do that. My favorite way of being able to teach the same thing to each class without missing anything is to have powerpoints ready for each subject.
Hi Anthony,
Good point about the syllabus. Instructors have to give clear and specific directions for the operation and requirements of the course if they are going to maintain control of the class and how it will operate. If they don't then frustration breaks out for everyone.
Gary
Developing clear goals and objectives for any course must begin with the instructor, then the students. The course sylabus must state clearly the goals (what we are trying to achieve by the course and how) and the objectives(what the students will be able to do or gain) if the set steps in the syllabus are followed. If the teacher do not follow these religiously, the students will be confused and or misled.
i have always found that the class sucess depends on the clear goals and objectives that is provided to students at the begining of the class.
Hi Ann,
Great to hear and thank you for sharing your opinion with us. This should reinforce to other professors that even though it is a lot of work the results are well worth it.
Gary
Writing a detailed syllabus has been so helpful for me as a professor. I find it helps me to really clarify my goals for the course, as well as the day to day steps required to reach those goals. Writing a syllabus is a lot of work, but well worth the effort.
Hi Jan,
The breaking down of the content into smaller chunks really helps the students with their comfort level. It is like the question--"How do you eat an elephant?" Answer--"One bite at a time.". Many students can't get their minds around the smaller parts and become overwhelmed by the large amount of work/study/effort that is going to be required.
You make a good point about the light at the end of the tunnel--they have to be able to see that light.
Gary
Establishing goals is helpful to let students know exactly what they are getting into, and to let them know what is expected of them.
I have found that so many students are overwhelmed by looking at the materials that have been assigned, the textbooks, the syllabus and the first week of classes. By going over the goals and objectives and restating them thru out the course, they can see the progress they are making and that there is light at the end of the tunnel
I like to have a clear goal and objective for each of my classes. I teach the same course four times aday. The objective is still the same with each of them; it maybe accomplished in a different way but the goal will remain the same.
Hi Sylvia,
Good point. With all of the technology and communication devices available today it is easy to assume that everyone knows where they are going and how to get there. But, no matter how much technology is there the human factor still has to be brought to the classroom. By helping students identify their goals instructors are creating a career path for students. Also, the human interaction is what keeps most of us in teaching.
Gary
Goals and objectives are like a roadmap for the students. They need to know where they are going in their learning and what they need to do to get there. They need to see what they are expected to accomplish in writing so that they can track their journey. They will see that they are accomplishing the objectives. That will make them feel positive about their ability to learn the material and motivate them to continue on.
It helps guide the students on their learning journeys.
as I lecture, I try to engage students in the lecture conversation, by having stated the goals and objectives for the class at the very beginning, I can control the class discussion by keeping the discussion pertinent to the subject rather than having open discussion about an off-subject i.e suspension service when we are in an engine service module.
As a fairly new instructor, I have quickly learned that it is important for me to clearly know what the goals and objectives are for a course because the students will be asking why they are learning specific things. Also, it is important to know what your ending point should look like before you try and figure out how to get there!
For my students to better understand each project I present samples of previous best work. This sets the tone for high achievement without any misunderstanding of what the completed project should contain.
My course rubrics are given to the students in their student portal before the first meeting. Some will actually read in advance and ask questions about them on the first meeting. Knowing what they need to complete and the weight of each assignment puts my students at ease. They can better manage their study and assignment completion time. Some will know on the first day whether a tutor is necessary to succeed. Eliminating surprises is essential. I want my students to be prepared for each class meeting with no surprises.
It is important to have clear goals/objectives because they keep you and the student focused on the end result - what is the intent of the course. I've known instructors to get off track from lecture when they haven't utilized the objectives and goals method.
Course goals and objectives determine the direction for a class. It serves as a guide for the instructor and a means of evaluation for use of the students.
