Lesson on writing learning objectives

[ErinBecker]

I'd like to propose including a "how to write learning objectives" lesson sometime during Day 1. Writing learning objectives at the outset is a great way to:

• narrow down what we'd like the curriculum to cover
• organize our thoughts as we go through curriculum development to ensure we stay on track
• and ensure that we're clear in communicating goals to learners

I've never taken part in a hackathon before, so I'm not exactly sure what the process is for proposing a lesson/discussion or what the parameters are for implementing this. My initial thoughts are to have a quick intro (<5 minutes) on why learning objectives are useful and how they work followed by interactive exercises in modifying poorly written LOs and a brainstorming session for writing some LOs for the curriculum under development.

Any thoughts/suggestions/advice?

@tracykteal @kariljordan

[iamciera]

I love this idea. I need to get better at formalizing learning objectives myself!

I find lists like these very useful.

[ahofmann4]

I like this idea as well! It always helps to have clear learning objectives!

[ErinBecker]

If there's interest in this, I'm happy to put together something and help lead a session. What sort of time-chunk should I plan for? An hour? 90 minutes?

[kariljordan]

I lead an exercise like this at an instructor training session a few months ago and it was very successful. An hour is plenty of time for this type of exercise, especially if they work in pairs or triplets.

[ErinBecker]

Hi @kariljordan, would an hour be enough time including time for brainstorming LOs for the curriculum that will be developed at the hackathon?

[kariljordan]

Hi @ErinBecker, I forgot about the brainstorming. 90 minutes to 2 hours would work.

[lwasser]

👍 great idea @ErinBecker ! i agree with @iamciera lists are super helpful. i have one at my desk actually when i write lessons i use it as a reminder to ensure i can evaluate things successfully :) i'd love to see (and can always benefit from as i'm always trying to improve my lessons) a short session like this by you erin!

[hlapp]

@ErinBecker is this best done before we tackle breaking into subgroups (which will probably align with prospective lessons), or is it sufficient if we do this afterwards?

[tracykteal]

Thanks @ErinBecker @kariljordan. This is great. We'll be defining LOs in our subgroups, so planning for an hour overview is good. Then we can use that information to define our learning objectives on the specific subgroup topics.

[kariljordan]

Hi Tracy, ok I didn't realize you'd be defining LOs in subgroups as well, so disregard my email about needing 90 minutes. This is going to be great. Kari -- Kari L. Jordan, Ph.D. Deputy Director of Assessment Data Carpentry www.datacarpentry.org

…

On Jan 8, 2017, at 2:49 PM, Tracy Teal ***@***.***> wrote: Thanks @ErinBecker @kariljordan. This is great. We'll be defining LOs in our subgroups, so planning for an hour overview is good. Then we can use that information to define our learning objectives on the specific subgroup topics. — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or mute the thread.

[ErinBecker]

Ok - so it looks like this will be morning of Day 2. I'm planning:

• Very short intro to the purpose/utility of learning objectives and good qualities for LOs
• Some interactive exercises to improve suboptimal LOs
• Breakout into subgroups to start brainstorming LOs for individual lessons

The breakout will be organized in the Etherpad and one member of each subgroup will be responsible for monitoring the Etherpad to see what the other groups' LOs look like. This will help us keep consistency of style and detail-level across lessons.

I assume we're going to be breaking into subgroups after lunch today. If everyone could keep in mind the goals for your lesson as we start our discussions this afternoon, that will help with the LO writing exercise tomorrow!

[hlapp]

Verb wheel: http://teachonline.asu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Verb-Wheel-Updated.png