Behavioral Objectives

All professionals, they be doctors, engineers, architects and many others start their tasks by defining
clearly their objectives and determining the procedures they will follow to reach the desired end. All the
more, teachers who take their profession as a solemn vow to mold the young minds, are expected to be
knowledgeable in identifying the objectives their students are expected to accomplish and deciding on
the step-by-step procedure that they will follow to achieve intended learning goals.

An objective is a statement that indicates a purpose, aim or goal set for any undertaking. In teaching, an
objective identifies the purpose a teacher plan to execute. It provides guidance in organizing suitable
learning situations and in choosing appropriate assessment methods to find out if said objectives have
been attained.

The best way to state objectives is to specify the expected behavior of the learners. They must be stated
in terms of responses that are observable and measurable, hence the term behavioral or performance
objectives. These very precise and specific behavioral objectives serve as the guide in selecting subject
matter, materials to use, methods to employ, and tests by which to measure achievement. Finally, they
serve as the criteria in evaluating the accomplishment of teaching, at the same time, the competence of
the teacher.

A. IMPORTANCE

Objectives are important because they facilitate the following:

1. Identification of what the students are expected to know (knowledge, facts, information), develop
skills (science processes) and inculcate values (attitudes, habits)

2. Basis for planning and organizing learning activities (methods and strategies to employ, step-by-step
procedure).

3. Choice of appropriate instructional materials, equipment, and simple tools.

4. Decision on appropriate assessment techniques.

B. RULES IN FORMULATING

The five essential rules in writing behavioral objectives are the following:

1. Describe rules the expected behavior of the student.

Examples: Predict the weather for the next 24 hours, identify the flower-bearing plants.

2. Describe the observable behavior in terms of an outcome verb which the student will perform.
Examples: arrange, weigh , measure, classify

3. Describe the criterion for evaluating an acceptable performance of the behavior.

4. Specify important conditions under which the student will perform the behavior.

Examples: run a mile during a sports contest, arrange the books in the shelf according to titles.

C. STATING OBJECTIVES

Behavior can be observed, ate the same time facilitate measurement and evaluation. In order to be able
to specify the expected behavioral change, the use of action verbs to describe the students’ response
could assist greatly in referring back to the purpose and all the way to the measurement of the
achievement of the objective.

A comprehensive list of action words, classified as verbs that are appropriate in formulating objectives is
hereby reprinted from the taxonomy of Educational Objectives prepared by Benjamin Bloom (1982). The
taxonomy is divided into three domains-cognitive, affective, and psychomotor.

1. The Cognitive Domain

Following are the cognitive processes expected of the learner. They are divided into six levels
ranging from simple to more complex.

a. Knowledge. The student can recall, define, recognize, or identify specific information presented
during instruction. The information may be in the form of a fact, a rule, a diagram, a sound and so on.

b. Comprehension. The students can demonstrate understanding of information by translating it into a

c. Application. The student can apply the information in performing concrete actions. These actions may
involve figuring, writing, reading, handling equipment, etc.

d. Analysis. The student can recognize the organization and structure of a body of information, break
this information down into its constituent parts, and specify the relationships between these parts.

e. Synthesis. The student can bring to bear information from various sources to create a product
uniquely his or her own. The product can take a variety of forms-written, oral, practical, etc.

f. Evaluation. The student can apply a standard in making a judgment on the worth of something-an
essay, or a design, etc.
2. The Affective Domain

The affective domain deals with how students are affected by their learning. Bloom’s taxonomy
divides affective objectives into five categories.

They are described as follows:

a. Receiving- The student shows willingness to attend to particular classroom stimuli or phenomenon in
the environment.

b. Responding- The student is required active participation based on the stimuli.

c. Valuing- The student displays definite involvement or commitment toward some experience.

d. Organization- The student has integrated a new value into his general set of values and can give it its
proper place in a priority system.

e. Characterization- The student acts consistently according to the value and is firmly committed to the
experience.
3. The Psychomotor Domain

Examples of skills in the psychomotor domain are eye coordination for viewing visual arts, intricate use
of complex equipment in laboratory tasks and communicating intentions with facial and hand gestures.

The six categories of objectives in the psychomotor domain are:

a. Reflex movements. Students’ actions can occur involuntarily in response to some stimuli.

b. Basic fundamental movements. Student has innate movement pattern formed from a combination of
reflex movements.

c. Perceptual abilities. Student can translate stimulus received through the senses into appropriate
desired movements.

d. Physical abilities. Student has developed basic movements that are essential to the development of
more highly skilled movements.

e. Skilled movements. Student has developed more complex movements requiring a certain degree of
efficiency.
f. Nondisclosure communications. Student has the ability to communicate through body movements.

Robert Mager, in his book, Preparing Instructional Objectives, he recommended a format in three parts
as follows:

a. Student behavior. It states what the student should be able to do or the change in behavior that the
teacher would recognize as evidence that the objective has been achieved.

b. Testing situation. It indicates the condition under which the behavior will be observed or will be
expected to occur.

c. Performance criteria. It states the standard of performance level that is aimed at.

Example:

Given a list of universities in the city (testing situation), identify (verb or behavior) at least
3(performance criteria) which are government-supported.

He recommended action words that could specify behavior objectives from simple to more complex to
show that the student has a form grasp of the concept being taught.

D. METHODS OF TEACHING

Essential Rules to Observe.

In writing worthwhile behavioral objectives, the following are essential rule to guide the teacher.

1. Describe the expected behavior of the student rather than the teacher.

2. Describe observable behavior in terms of an outcome verb which the student will perform. (Example:
identify, arrange, weigh, order)

3. Describe the criterion for evaluating an acceptable performance of the behavior (Example: run a
kilometer in ten minutes, name at least four colors of the rainbow, arrange ten books “authors
alphabetically)

4.Specify conditions under which the student will perform the behavior (Example: arrange four different
flowers before the program begins. Write an excuse letter before entering the classroom)

5. State only one outcome verb in each objective.

6. Subsume sets of specific behavioral objectives under an appropriate, more general objective.
(Example: comprehend, appreciate, understand) A general objective takes on maintaining as it is
understood through the specific objectives it subsumes)

A teacher should try whenever possible to have students write their own objectives. They should write
them for their own, not what they think their teachers expect them to write.