Writing Useful Instructional Objectives in Physical Education

Abstract

Within a physical education curriculum, and presented in individual lesson plans, instructional objectives serve several important purposes: they provide a direct link between the curriculum content and procedures for students to master that content; they provide a clear path for assessment — a way to determine whether students have indeed learned what the instructor intended for them to learn; and they provide clear information to the students about where they are headed and what is expected of them. Following Robert Mager's model, well-written instructional objectives have characteristics that enable them to achieve those purposes: they express intended outcomes, they are specific and measurable, and they are focused on the students. In addition to these overall characteristics, this article describes specific elements of useful objectives including performance, conditions and criteria, and provides several examples of instructional objectives within the physical education context.