Start with the End

Set Learning Objectives

ensure you know what you hope to achieve in your training session before you go anywhere near a classroom.  ask yourself:

1. what are the key learnings for this training, for these students, today?  
2. can this be achieved in the time we have available?
3. what will the students be able to do at the end of the session that they couldn't do at the beginning? or,
4. which specific skills will you have developed?

don't worry too much if these questions can't be answered when you start writing your lesson plan, the answers do/will emerge as you contemplate the training.  However, never go into the classroom without the answers to the above sitting at the front of your mind.

It is strongly suggested a maximum of three learning objectives are written for each lesson plan.  this is to ensure the objectives take place during the lesson itself and the trainer is able to explain what will happen, and then action it.

Example:  students will learn how to bake a cake

having set the general task (or goal) of baking a cake, take each word and pull it apart.  What does it mean?  Will I be able to train this, or do I need to think about what needs to happen before this can be introduced.  This will allow you to create an objective: 

1. what sort of cake will the students make and then bake?
2. will the students actually make the cake, will they talk about making a cake, or will they be expected to just listen to you talk about making a cake?
3. do the students need to understand the ingredients and the background to baking? and will this need to be explained before the baking begins or in a previous class (also known as pre-teaching)
4. will the students need to buy & bring the ingredients to class?
5. will the cake need to be edible after it's been cooked?  what happens if it isn't?
6. will the cake need to be decorated?  if so how?
7. what about serving the cake?  will the students need to decorate a table for afternoon tea? and does this need to be pre-taught?

at the beginning this can all seem like too much thinking.  all these questions!  and even worse, deciding upon the answers.  however, this thinking and preparation allows us to now write the following: 

students will learn how to:
     a. make an edible, 7", victoria sponge cake 
     b. bake this cake
     c. apply raspberry jam as a filling

Benefits:

1. the other answers to the questions stated above will help in writing the lesson plan
2. by being specific, learning objectives can be set for the lesson

3. lesson planning is easier when you have specific objectives
4. when students go off on a tangent during class, the trainer is aware the lesson is off-track and then can be more responsive in bringing it back towards the objectives

5. students respond positively to an organised class and relevant learning - their time is not being wasted, there is a reason to be in the training
6. students know what will be assessed
7. the trainer knows what should be assessed and can carry out relevant assessments of the students

Practice:

1. write 3 objectives for a task you have planned to do tomorrow, or later in the week
2. start each objective with the a verb (or doing word)
3. is the verbs the correct one to use?  think about this carefully, can a more relevant verb be used?
4. can the objectives be more specific? and once they are more specific, ask again, can the objective be even more specific? 
5. write another 3 objectives for the follow on lesson