The Logic behind Learning Objectives

Hello, my name is Charles Kovacs. Welcome to my presentation on learning objectives. In this presentation I will discuss why learning objectives are necessary how they are used, and some of the problems to learning that exist even if you have valid learning objectives and excellent educational resources. So, are learning objectives necessary? I believe so Why do I ask? Because I have been reading that some people are questioning whether they are important, and if one person is wondering then there will be others, and perhaps some that see no need for learning objectives at all. So to prove why learning objectives are necessary, I am going to “prove the counter-factual” , that is, that learning objectives are not necessary For this to occur, we must assume that all people know there exists a process which effectively brings about the change needed to succeed This process uses the person’s available resources and effectively produces the desired outcome What is the desired outcome? People successfully adapt to any situation that arises They are aware of and able to access any needed resource and effectively focus on the steps necessary to bring about positive and successful change But, if this were the case why do people not naturally succeed all the time? Well, you could say it’s lack of resources, or lack of a plan but in this analysis, it doesn’t matter. People fail to succeed. So, because people don’t naturally succeed all the time, the premise that all people know a process which can be used to effectively bring about positive change is false, and therefore learning objectives are necessary. So we know why learning objectives are necessary, how are they used? If we assume that people are willing to change, there must be a direction and a goal, or objective. Now, success is the direction, yes it is, because you don’t change because you want to fail And, because the resource ie. the person changes in a way that maximizes the chance for success, that change must accurately be described, be measurable, meaning that there is a difference between the beginning and ending capacity or condition of the resource, and be significant, or responsible for success being more achievable Therefore, an objective which can be accurately measured and shown to correlate to the desired change in the condition of the resource, is required. So that's how we use learning objectives Last. does this finish the story No. I’ve been discussing changing ability, and that depends on being able to change, but people have to be willing to change, and that's different. Cronyism, subsidies, disincentives, inept policy, all indicate imperfection in labor markets and, or, management style. That’s why having leadership that recognizes how to hire and train the best resources available, is so important, and that is part of further discussions on my web site www.nakshinam.com Thank you for joining me to determine why learning objectives are necessary and how they can be used. I am Charles ( nakshinam ) Kovacs. Take care.