I believe that the class should be givien verbal objects as well as written objectives. The objective should be clearly stated. They also need to be reviewed several times during the lesson plan and day.
I like to state my objectives in question form. I will ask probing questions about the material we are about to cover, and then explain to my students that these are the exact questions they will be able to answer upon completion of the lesson.
There are a number of methods I use to highlight objectives for my classes. Dailey objectives can be written on the board to inform students what is going to be covered in classroom and lab in a brief consise set of statements. I also have prepared cover sheets for all my labs that outline each objective and expectations for each portion of the lab. This give the student a clear set of directions and expectations for a specific lab exersise.
The students need the goals set in writting as to what they are and what is expected to complete each goal to a bench mark, and need to be graded consistantly across the board.
I too use the board to guide the students to their objectives. Although each student gets their own daily outline to remind them of what's due & when, confirming it daily on the board engages them.
I like to let the class know the value that they will receive as well as writeing the daily objectives on the board before class. After the lesson We can Discuss what We learned and how it will help them to be succesful.
I like the idea of different colors. I also have tried starting class with a question that is relevant to the previous lecture. Helps check on rentention.
I start by verbally outlining it, while stating what should be obvoius, but isin't: that the objectives and overview of how the day should progress are posted on the whiteboard. At the end of the day, I like to have an informal Q & A session, and I make an effort to get everyone to participate. I believe this helps reinforce the objectives, and the lesson(s) as it were.
I've never thought of putting objectives in different colors. I really like this idea and will try it with my new class next month - thank you for sharing!
Thank you for the response Jason. I believe those are all proven methods and I hope they work well for you. I think that verbally giving clear objectives and a value statement are very helpful in getting students excited about what they are to learn as well as letting them know when they understand the information a facilitator is teaching.
Thanks for the reply Nathaniel. Verbally and written are two proven ways, I like that you also added self discovery. It has been said that a learner learns what a learner has created. That being said it would also be important to add the measure of the task so a student would know completely if it was done properly. An example would be that if they had a task to build or assemble something, criteria was in place for the determination if it operated properly or worked in the manner as it was to be applied.
I have noticed that putting them on the board, students really do look to see what is going on that day. I have seen that just in the short time I have taken the Instructor training, I have came to rely on the objectives also. When I came in one day and there were not any listed, it kind of made me start wondering what was going to happen. I also like what Mr. Nelson said in class about having objectives listed in different colors. For example if there is a test, have it in red. Students come to realize that when they see red, they should expect a test, or if certain things are in blue they always pertain to specific activity.
I like to list my daily objectives on the board and separate them into class, tests, lab so that the students can see where we are going on a particular day so that they can mentally prepare to go with me. I then summarize the objectives verbally.
When getting into particular lessons I will explain what the students will be able to do with the information that they are going to get so that they know what to expect and can actually begin a self check in order to monitor their own performances before they get graded so that they can ask for help sooner.
A few of the ways that objectives can be relayed to the class is verbally or written. I believe that one of the best ways to have students discover for themselves that they have met the said objectives is through practical excercises and task where they will have to test their own knowledge to accomplish a given task.
