FORMULATING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Whar ARE Goats ano Onyncrives aND WHar Is ‘Tun RELATIONSHIP? Goals Goals area way of putting into words the main purposes and intended oxt- comes of your course we use the analogy ofa journey, the destination is the spa the journey i the course. The objectives are the diferent points you pass fvoush on che journey to the destination. Ia most case, the destination i com posed of multiple goals which the couse helps to weave together. Sometimes, Tescher and students reach unexpected places. When you do veer “ff cours,” it may be because you ned o adjust your course fr amore stable destination for your students and so you must redefine and refine your goals. On the other hand, goals can help you stay on course, both as you design the course and as you teach it ‘Stating your goals helps to bring iat fous your visions and priorities forthe course. They are general statements, but they are nt Yague. For example; the {goal "Students will improve their writing” is vague In contrat, “By the end of| the conse seadents wll have become more avare of thei wetingin general and he seo identify the specific areas in which improvement i needed” while gen cal noe vague I also suggests that there wil be other goals which give more Information about the ways in which students wil improve thee waiting ‘A goal tates an aim thatthe course wll explicit address in some way If, for ‘example, one ofthe goals of «course i to help students develop learning sate {sor interpersonal kills, chen class ie will be explicly devored otha goal, [ecsote clas time i limited, andthe number of goal i not, choice i important, “While you may be abe to think of many Isudable goal, they should adress wae can be realistically achieved within the constraints and resources of your course who the students are, thei eel, the amount of time available the Imateials available. They should be achievable within the time frame of the course with that group of sudents sce Figure 51) ‘Ac the same time, goals are future oriented, In his book on curriculum Assign J-D. Brown proposes that goal are “what the students shouldbe able todo when they lave the program.” (1995, p. 71) The following san example ‘ofa goal from a writing courte using compates which illrtrtes thie point “By the end ofthe course students will hate developed the abi to use the ‘computer fora variety of purposes.” Finally, goals are the benchmarks of suc- cexssfora course The course can be deemed succesful and elfecive if the ‘oaks have been reached. I suggest applying thie “frmala” to your goals If ‘we accomplish X goal, will he course be succetsful? This last question fore- shadows the zelaconship between goals and assessment, Fe 8.1: Making Cholees about Goals ef Ser SD GD GD Objectives Objectives ae statements about how the goals wll be achieved. Through obec- tives, goals broken down int lesrnable snd teachable unit By achieving the objectives, the goal wil be reached. For his teasn, the objective must relat the goal. For example in fist passat formulating goals for his course, one teacher stuted one goal a, “Stents will be able to interact comfortably with tach other in English” One ofthe objectives he listed under that goal was for sadenso lean to tel toss. There is nothing wrong with sade lesen to tel stoves, but tling storie generally doesnot sequie interaction, and so for ‘his teacher's goa, leering eo tell stories was not the most appropriate objec tive, The teacher asked himself, "Wil achieving this objective help to reach the {goal?” When he determined that he answer wasn, he eliminated that objective Sad sought othe, more appropriate objectives. The following analogy wa used by two teachers in an EFL reading clas, CCatalyn Layzer and Judy Sharkey, to elp their students understand goals, objectives and vategies Told the students chat a rend wanted to lose 10 pounds that she had gained over the winter Troe *t want olse 10 pounds" ont lets of te board Then aked the dents for some Sdvice on how to achieve her goa. Twroe thei esponses onthe Fight sde ofthe board. Some of hit advice was ety general for ‘kame, “exercise and “don ext unk fod" Told them my fiends sched was very bury and soled what Kind of exerci she Could do given hr tine cones. This eto sme move specie fggestions, for example, “She shoud alway ake the sats ated [Ee clvaton” Sans conld soe hat the more speci the ‘vie the eater would be to flow ke‘Showing how the suggestions could éause the elect of losing weight ilsrates ‘the lationship berween goals and objectives: If work ou atthe gym and stop ‘eating junk food, thea Tam likely to achieve my goal of losing 10 pounds. My fist objective is tose up a regular gym routine; My second objecive i 0 stp ‘entng junkfood ‘Thus another aspect ofthe relationship berween goals and objectives i that ‘of cause and eect I stadents achieve A, B, C objectives, chen they wil reach Y {goal igure 5.2 wis to capture the enue and effect relationship berween goals land objectives, In principle this ig a good idea. In practice, stadens may not achieve the goal or may achieve other goals the teacher hada’ intended. Using ‘he losing weight analogy above, the woskou a the gym may improve muscle tone and densiry, and because muscle weighs more than fa, weight loss due 0 the reduction in junkfood may be minimized, However, the person may end up feaing moze energetic and not care about che weight los anymore! On the other hand, ifthe goal remains important and is not achieved through dhe means ot objectives desribed aboe, then the objecves may need to be examined and ‘hanged ot refined so tha the goal canbe eache. ause and Efct Relationship between Goals and Objectives = = Z| — Cat eS = thet ae selec Fw ‘then this goal willbe reached. (Objectives are ina hierarchical relationship to gols. Goals ae more general and objectives more specifi. Brown (1998) points ou that one ofthe main dif- ferences between goals and objectives i thet level of speci. For every gal, ‘there will be several objectives to hep achieve tas depicted in igure $3. Gosls ae more long term, objectives more shor term. To return to the weightloss tnalogy above, losing weight could be an objective if thee is «leper goal, for ‘example to improve one's overall heath. Some teachers have found i elpal v0 have se f gala objectives, The impren pon that ach ayer ismore and more specific: ar Every Ganeral Goal There Are Mltiple Specific Ojeetins BAB The Australian Language Levels guidelines have four layers for their goals nd abjecrvs. The goal, which provide dzection forthe teaching and learing, fre written from the teacher's perspective. They are divided into broad goals, ‘which ace the general aims ofthe course, and spec goals, which break down the broad goals and make them more tangible. Objecsivesspll out what the Seudens wil actually ler or be able todo by the end of the couse. General ‘objectives spell ou holistic results and speciic objectives spell out particular knowledge or sills the students will acgire (Vale Scarino, McKay 1996). The relaionship mong these four layer is depicted inthe chart in Figure 5.4 below fea syllabus module on “Sel and others” atthe senior secondary level ‘iar 8.4: A our-Part Soham of Goals and Objectives Frm the Australian Language Levels (ne oe road goals “earinghowtoten” earers wil take a goning responsibly forthe managamort of ter ‘nn lean, 20 tat heya Row tar, and how eh argue to develop he 1 cognitive processing s express values, attitudes, fd Yesinge process ntmatin htk an respond cea) 1 comimzicaon syatogies to sustain communication inthe get lene. “Some genera objectives fo thaso goats ae: 1 tah partin an interview an tery tlk about se ey ame: ‘ake suggesvon, ack question; stat ad ak opinions 1 hoop acon fora specif periato e ‘Some ofthe spect objectives fr tho goraraohetives ae Lees wil be able: 1 generate questions 1 record information rmulatng goals ad objectives helps ro build clea vision of what you wll each. Bocas 4 goal is something toward which you will explicit teach, stating pol lps to define priorities and to make chokes. Clear goals help 10 ‘make teaching purposeful because what you do in lass is related to your overall orpose. Goals and objectives provide a bass for making choices about what ro (rach and how. Objectives serve as bridge between needs and goal. Seating foals and objectives i a way of holding yourself accountable choughout the ours. Goal are nota “wish lis.” For example, if one of your goals is for st ‘dents to be able to identity areas of improvement indir writing, chen you will neds design ways for scadentsto evaluate their writing as well = ways 20 fuss ther effcivenestn denying those ares they ned 1 improve. Finally {ear et of goal and objectives can provide the bars for your assessment plan‘Goals and objectives for Brooks Palmers 120k, 48-hour, ESP comse for professionals i the sciences. Goal: Develop scientific and technical writing skills and strateges Som «cy fi moi in ee fom sr Objectives: Seadents will be able to write amplified definitions lasifications| abstracts esription ofa mechanism description ofa process “mini” research paper of pages including: introduction, materials and methods, results, and a brief description 1 organize and draft a one page ouslne wth main points and Inclide 2-3 diacussion questions ss research topie area using a least 3-4 sources 1 crikique peer products in regards to content and mechanics Goals Develop reading sil and strategies using wide range of reading ‘material including: journals, texts, echnical manuals, catalogues, 2 Students wil be able to 1 skim and scan mater for information read for meaning 1 erve vocabulary meaning from context, 1 sea dictionary Goal: Develop speaking and listening skills and strategies specifically through public speaking and presentation activites involving tech ial waiting prods produced inthe lass. Objectives: Sradents willbe blew: "deliver a 15-minute orl presentation on a technical epic of sadens choice 1 conduce and manage a discussion (10-15 minutes) afterward, Aiscuesng the prot and cons of the topic with audience 1 speak with persuasion and express opinions in cheir presentations 1 cake accurate notes and paraphrase the presentations of pers 1 sor fart infomaton, epson and ciation of {op vocabulary, and techni concepts presented fea es pees From: Graves, Kathleen. Designing Language Courses: A Guide for Syl, ut of persuasion and sapportng details, athens, and ‘Teachers. Boston: Heinle & Heinle. 2000. Pp 75-79: 260. Print. Iogical peentation of informaiton