If you dont know your destination then what will be the benifit to follow a way?
Students need to have a clear and consiese path to achieve a better understanding of coarse objectives to be succesful in there carrer path
Developing clear goals and objectives gives the students a heads up of whats to come. It gives them a sense of security. Some of them can be intimidated and sometimes overwhelemed. Giving them clear and concise goals and objectives lets them know where this course is going to take them. The student feels a little less like a "ship lost at sea".
In my course students’ have well defined training, exams, quizzes, and projects that need to be completed to pass the class. The goals and objectives are very straight forward.
Developing clear goals and objectives allows students to see the end result. I believe it allows them to plan accordingly as it helps them prioritize information and focus on key points in the course.
It is simple; if you don't know where you are going how will you lead your students down the road towards the end of the course towards success.
Goals and objectives helps not only your students but also yourself stay on tract to obtain the key points of the course.
When it comes to having clear goals and objectives it is important because, it gives the students a idea on what to expect out of the class. So that they can better prepare themselves for what they will learning.
Bobbe,
So true about the students wanting to know what is expected of them. By them knowing the course requirements, expectations and policies their frustrations and concerns are greatly diminished. They then can concentrate on getting through the course successfully.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Students want to know exactly what is expected of them when they reach your classroom. By stating through presentation (goals and objectives) what the course entails, and the learning stages of the subject and information that the skills they will be attaining, will let the student make their own decision on whether the course meets their needs and assures them that they will attain their present goal in a specific field. They need to know in the long run if they will be able to meet the requirements and be successful in the end (at completion of the course).
Students can know expectations and how they can succeed in the course and acquire their ultimate goal of graduation and a career.
Elidon,
Right you are about the value that comes from clear goals and objectives. They are the road map to course success.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
It is very important to have clear goals and objectives before you enter the classroom. As an instructor you are better prepared and knowing where you at all times. At the same time this benefits the students too because they would like to know where they are at all time to keep in track of their studies.
I agree that goals and objectives are as much for the student as the instructor. Instructors can structure class according to this outline and students can evaluate their learning based on these as well.
With clear goals and objectives, the students know what they are expected to know at the end of the course. It also helps the teacher to stay on track to teach the required material. During writing the goals and objectives, the teacher also arranges them so that the learning is in a proper sequence, so the course also gets well organized.
Allen,
This method reinforces what has been and will be taught. It helps to reinforce the students as they progress through the course. Well done.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
At the start of each and every class I write on the board the objectives that we will cover for that particular session. I will then spend time reviewing the course material from previous sessions to make sure the student is up to date on his/her skills. Since most of my courses are hands on, this makes it easier for me as the instructor to follow a students progress and performance in the clinical skills
Having clear goals and objective for the course helps the students know where they are going and how they are going to get there. It also takes a long of the stress out of your teaching life.
Melonie,
Good outline of the challenges that face instructors. We have only so much time to get through the material so we have to make sure we are making the learning opportunities worthwhile for our students. This means pulling out the critical content from the good to know material and getting that information across.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Wayne, I like your idea of clarifying goals with students. I review my syllabus once with them at the beginning of the module but, on reflection, it does seem to be a valuable exercise to review them briefly at the beginning of each class - this is what you will learn tonight. I befin my lectures with a slide of objectives for the lecture but I need to revamp them to be both more specific and more concrete.
Wow. Well, there is SO much material that could be covered and SO little time. One must be careful to select the most pertinent information that will be required for the students to know upon completion of their course and their program. It is easy for students and instructors to get off topic onto bunny trails that could consume TIME which is much needed for the MOST important information to be learned/presented.
Clear Goals and Objectives allow the Instructor to have a "Road Map" to follow. The students also need to know exactly what is expected of them; how MUCH they are going to learn; HOW they are going to learn it; and how to plan (for themselves) to meet the expectations of the course. They also need to know "WHY" they need to learn it (relativity to their overal career objective).
Confusing and vague goals and objectives create exactly that--confusion! Confusion, (feeling of being lost--lack of direction, no rhyme or reason, unclear purpose, frustration, fear of failure, unproductivity, wasted class time, decreased learning, decreased satisfaction ect;.
