To enter formal objective statements and properties:
1.On the Main Menu select "Workbench", then "Design Activities" and choose the "Write Formal Objective Statements" activity.
2.Expand the Objective Hierarchy in the area in which you want to work.
3.Access the Properties workscreen for an objective in the Objective Hierarchy by double-clicking on the objective text.
4.On the General tab, enter conditions, a revised behavior statement and standards, as appropriate.
5.On the Training tab, enter the media, training setting, training time (estimated) and any comments that you feel may help the reviewer or the author of content for the objective.
6.
If desired, click the Content tab and enter an objective classification; you may also enter a topic and the content for the objective at this time.
In order to enter content for an objective, the objective must be 'classified.' The classification that you choose will determine the format that VISION will use to help you develop instructional material at a later time.
You can choose any of the classifications available in the drop-down list. You can also choose 'Free Form.' If you choose 'Free Form,' the lesson templates will be very simple: they give you a place to put content and a place to put a practice.
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7. If desired, click the Consolidation tab to review the skills and knowledge components (analysis items) that are consolidated within the objective.
Remember that a skills or knowledge component may be 'consolidated.' This means that it would be treated within an objective, rather than converted to an objective itself. Many skills or knowledge statements can be consolidated into one objective.
On the Properties workscreen, you'll see a tab labeled Consolidation. Select this tab to see all of the skills or knowledge components (analysis items) that have been consolidated into the objective. When content is developed for the objective, it should address every one of the consolidated components.
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8.If desired, click the Questions tab and create or edit test questions for the objective.
9.Close the Properties workscreen by clicking the OK button.
10.Refer to the Cross Reference tab to see cross reference items linked to this node. You can view an item's properties, unlink the item or open its Cross Reference Table. Any changes made from this tab are permanent.
11.Repeat the process until you have entered or edited all of the objective statements and properties.
What's next?
You can run the "Objective Summary" report to facilitate a review of the objectives and properties. Get the report from the Reports window on Outcomes of the Main Menu. Click the Design tab; highlight the report and click the Run button.
Now what? You have the classic choice:
•You can write test questions that match the objectives. To write test items, you are already at the right screen. Test questions are created from the objective Properties workscreen.
•You can organize the Program (structure of courses, modules, lessons, etc.) To do that, click on Workbench on the Main Menu, select Design Activities and click "Sequencing".
Tips for Developing Complete Objective Statements
Implications of choosing or changing an objective's classification
The 'objective statement' refers to the conditions, behavior and standards. These are entered on the General tab of the objective Properties workscreen. The remaining items that are associated with objectives, such as the training media, training setting, estimated training time, content, test questions, etc., are on the other tabs of the objective Properties workscreen.
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Training Media
By selecting a training medium for each objective from the pull-down menu on the Training menu item, certain other reports and calculations can be produced later. For example:
•You can get reports or run a query that lists the objectives by medium. •You can make better decisions about how to group the objectives into lesson units (since grouping objectives into units that use the same medium is generally desirable). •You can estimate development time and costs more accurately, since the medium is a very significant variable in how long it takes to develop the material. |
When you select a training setting for each objective from the pull-down menu on the Training menu item, later you will be able to see how many objectives apply to each possible setting. A training setting may be "on-the-job training" (OJT), a classroom, guided learning center, etc.
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Training time refers to the amount of time it will take the student to learn the objective. Try to make it your best estimate and be sure to include enough time in your estimate for the learner to practice the objective, if practice is relevant. Training time will be used for certain reports that estimate the time a lesson will take to present by summing up the training time for each objective. It will also be used to estimate the development time for the objective content.
 Remember, practice is not the same as “testing.” Practice is a vital part of the learning process. Testing comes later, after you have presented all of the instructional components (including practice) to the learner.
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Conditions and standards are there as an instructional design aid only, to communicate the full intent of the objective. The conditions and standards will not appear on a finished training document unless you purposely put them there during development of the content.
This means that by adding them to the objective now, you are not committing yourself to having to put them in the finished products. They will simply be made available to you when you write the material.
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The Training tab on the Objective Properties workscreen contains a large field for Comments. This is a place for you to make any rough notes or add information that you feel would be helpful during the authoring process. This means you can use the Comments field now like a notepad to record information that might help later on.
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Most developers have their own ideas about how and when they collect the course content. Consider entering content in the Content tab as soon as you get it. For example, you may be working with a Subject Matter Expert (SME) to write the objective statements. If you get useful content while the SME is available, grab it now, while you have it.
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If you enter content in the Content tab fields, and then change your mind about the classification you have chosen, you can reclassify the objective without affecting the content already entered.
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Related Topics
Developing test items for objectives
The type of classification you choose for an objective determines the instructional strategy and template that VISION will assign to the objective. The template will guide the author to enter content in a way that best teaches that type of objective. So, do consider the classification for every objective.
That's not the end of the story, either. If you change the objective classification, any content that was already entered into VISION for the objective might no longer make sense.
For example, if you start with a classification of 'procedure,' the content will be oriented around a set of steps. If you change the classification from procedure to, say, a 'concept,' the content would be an explanation of the concept class, or characteristics of the concept. The original content, a set of steps, may no longer apply.
Nevertheless, VISION will permit you to retain the original content if you change the classification. But realize that from an instructional design standpoint, the original content may not appropriate in the new context. The way that you taught the objective classified one way could be very different from the content that you would use to teach the objective classified another way.
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You'll notice a field called Topic on the General tab of the Properties workscreen. What's it for?
The topic line is a place where you can enter a short, abbreviated form of the objective.
For example:
For the objective statement: "Identify the appropriate color code for each of the five chemicals used to manufacture widgets."
The topic statement might be: "Chemical color codes for widgets."
The topic form of the objective will replace the complete objective statement in certain documents and reports where a short form is more convenient or appropriate. For example, if you generate a complete self-study tutorial that includes content for a group of objectives, the complete statements will be used. But if you generate a reference document or a job aid for the same group of objectives, the short topic form will be used instead.
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The Analysis Links page on the objective's Properties workscreen has the following characteristics:
•The screen displays the consolidated skill or knowledge components. •The screen displays associated analysis components. •You can go directly to any component by double-clicking on the component displayed on the tab. •You can also go to a component by highlighting the component and clicking the Properties button. •You can unlink (unconsolidate) a skills or knowledge component from the objective by highlighting the component and clicking the Unlink button. •Changes made on the Analysis Links page can be undone by clicking the Cancel button. |
