Richard,
Thanks for sharing your experiences about teaching that you have acquired over the past 16 months. Your input will be of help to beginning instructors.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Susan,
So true and so important if the students are going to retain the needed concepts and core knowledge required for career success.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Clear and measurable learning objectives are critical for planning and assessing the prescribed instruction. Objectives describe the knowledge or skill desired upon completion of the project or lesson.
Clear goals and objectives provide a focus your the teacher as well as the students. It gives the students a clear picture of what they are to accomplish by completing the course. It helps them to understand exactly what they are responsible for and what resources they can use to get them.
You want to have clear goals and objectives so that students know exactly what they need to know, what they need to do as a result of your instruction.
Clear goals and objectives are essential because they tie everything together. Students can sometimes lose sight of the where they should be headed in their learning with all the lectures, readings, assignments, etc. Having clear goals and objectives to refer back to reaffirms that they are heading in the right direction or alerts them that they might be off track. I also think that having clear goals and objectives can lead to reduced frustrations since students would be able to see how an activity ties into the bigger picture.
Although I had a long career in the business world and have only been teaching for the past 16 months, it did not take me long to learn the perils of being unprepared. Knowing not only what the learning objectives are for the scheduled class but how to specifically and effectively utilize the time allotment is critical.
I agree with you completley. the medical field can be overwhelming as it is, so when you pair a simplistic form of an objective to the student- the main concept is that much clearer. Must break down these concepts clearly and concise.
It is important for the istructor to be solid with the direction the students need to headed in the learning materials as well as building creativity in the classroom to get those goals achieved. Specific objectives target the goals even more for the instructors benefit to field any confusions that the students may have. All need to be clear of expectations.
I need to have clear objectives ad goals if I'm going to be effective to my students. By having goals and objectives, it keeps me in the right direction. Instructors need to be sharp on their toes.
Yolanda
Since I teach for Proprietary Schools, they have a curriculum department which sets clear goals and objectives for each class, regardless of which campus it is being taught. This maintains consistency for our students. The area I get to "personalize" is in academic freedom to adjust material and methodology to fit my style as well as my students needs while maintaining the integrity of the objectives set by Curriculum development.
Scott
Deborah,
Good point because that is what we are to do as educators.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
As you have said "Goals are directional indicators"....lets stay off the side streets and keep heading down the highway of knowledge.
Clear goals and objectives are important because they serve to motivate students. If the student understands how and why the subject matter is applicable to their future ambitions, they will give it more attention and better understand its purpose.
It gives clarity for what is ahead. It prepares the brain to receive the upcoming knowledge and give a sense of direction and purpose.
Helps students have a clear direction in what they need to do to meet and achieve their objectives. Helps them to determine what practices they need to implement and/or change to reach their goals.
Susan,
So true and so important.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Students are confused by enough things in their academic career. We can make this time easier and less stressful by having clear goals and objectives.
The students need to have a detailed, clear road map for how to maximize their learning & achievement in the course. If the goals are vague, they may not be able to take initiative for their own learning.
Clear goals and objectives are important to delivering consistency from class to class. They also help "set the stage" for what a student can expect to learn from a course.
