Content Development Quick Guides

We have developed quick guides for helping you build content in your online course. These guides will give you best practice guidelines, examples, and how-to information for devloping your online material.

Instructional Objectives Guide Online Syllabus Guide

Instructional Objectives Guide

Every learning activity should be based on a defined set of instructional objectives. Objectives perform several key functions, they:

inform the learner of what's important and guide the learner through the material,
provide a basis upon which the instruction is designed (much like a map), and
provide a framework upon which to evaluate the success of the learning activity.

"Good" objectives are:

clearly stated
define or describe an action
measurable, in terms of time, space, amount, and/or frequency

Robert Mager wrote what some consider the manual for writing performance-based learning objectives Mager proposed that objectives contain three elements.

A performance: what the leaner should be able to do
A condition: the conditions under which the performance is to occur
A criterion: how well the performance must be done (accuracy)

The Performance

"Performance" indicates the observable behavior that a student (not teacher) will do to demonstrate that the lesson has been learned. The verb used must be an action verb that is measurable (observable). For example, the objectives may state " Upon completion of this lesson, the student will "define terms," or "list procedures," or "recognize a defect." All such behaviors are measurable. Sometimes it helps to consult a list of action words relating to performance.

Poorly written performance objectives indicate that the student will "learn" or "understand" or "become familiar with" the content of the lesson. An instructor cannot observe a student "understanding" content.

The Condition

Any equipment or material required in order for the student to be able to demonstrate the performance is listed here. If a thermometer is required in order for the student to demonstrate how to record a temperature, the condition would be, "Given a thermometer, …" Other conditions might be "Using a compass …," or "In a darkroom, …" etc. In some instances, there are no conditions for a specific performance. If this is the case, then no conditions need be stated.

The Criterion (Accuracy)

The minimum level of acceptable accuracy for the performance is listed in this area. Many times this represents the minimum percentage of knowledge that needs to be demonstrated in order to pass the unit. However, it may also contain restrictions such as time frame, maximum errors, etc. Examples of the criterions are "to a 70% level of accuracy," or "within a 30 minute period," or "with no more than five misspellings." If this is omitted, the performance is assumed to be 100%. In such cases, the performance is pass/ fail. In other words, if the student does not complete the performance perfectly, the student has not acceptably mastered the content.

Examples of Acceptable Performance Objectives

Condition	Performance	Criterion/Accuracy
Given a list of ten dollar values and terms	the student will key compute the net present value	with no more than two errors.
Given a thermometer	the student will record the daily temperature for one week	with 100% accuracy.
Using a compass	the student will draw a circle	within 1% of roundness.

How to Write Your Performance Objectives

Step 1. Describe the information, skills, behaviors, or perspectives participants in the session will acquire through attendance and participation.
Step 2. Clearly identify the outcomes or actions participants can expect to demonstrate as a result of the educational experiences. Use this list of action words for help.
Step 3. Write the learning objectives that relate to these outcomes and that reflect the content of the session, making sure that each contains a performance, a criterion and a condition when applicable.

References

The APHA Guidelines for Effective Learning Objectives
http://apha.confex.com/apha/learningobjectives.htm
Mager's Tips on Instructional Objectives
http://www.gsu.edu/~mstmbs/CrsTools/Magerobj.html

Online Syllabus Quick Guide

It is often assumed that an in-class syllabus can be used for an online version of the same course with little revision. This is not usually the case. There are two online syllabus components that instructors often overlook when developing online syllabi.

Course Requirements

This is one of the most important sections of an online syllabus. The thing to remember is that students need very clear guidance, and need to be very clear about expectations.

Provide a list or description of all the specific activities and assignments that students must complete in your online course.
Provide clear information on where in the course these activities can be found and how students should turn them in.
Instruct students where to locate due dates for all assignments if not included in the syllabus.
If you are using a discussion forum or chat tool in your online course, make sure to include a description of these activities here as well.

Example: As part of this course you will be required to complete individual assignments. Specifics on these assignments can be found in each module. Assignments will be turned in using the Digital Drop Box (or using email) located under Student Tools in the online course. Due dates for each assignment can be found in the course schedule located under Course Information.

Grading Criteria

Students need to know exactly what is being graded, the criteria used for grading the assignment, and how much the grade counts toward their final grade.

In many cases, as in a face-to-face course, grading criteria may be simple. For instance: "online quizzes will count for 20% of your final grade."

In online courses, however, other activities such as discussion forum activities require more explanation. You cannot just tell the students that they must participate in the discussions each week and their participation will count 25% of the grade. Being able to establish criteria for grading discussion participation is dependent upon having clearly defined activities in the forum, such as open-ended, problem-based questions, case study discussions, and other collaborative or group activities.

Discussion assignments will vary greatly depending on the course and the objectives, but below is an example of how grading criteria could be set up.

Example: Discussion participation will count 20% of your grade. You will be required to post one response to the weekly discussion topic. Your response should be at least one substantive paragraph, using correct grammar and spelling, and you should cite one reliable and useful website resource you used to formulate your response. You should also respond to at least one of your classmate's postings each week.

Keep in mind: Students are much less likely, or not likely at all to participate in online activities unless those activities will be graded, whether directly (as with a quiz) or indirectly (as in reading online lectures from which exam questions will be taken.)