STEP 1: ANALYZE.

1. Goal - One of the keys to successful instructional design is beginning with a clear picture of your desired end result. In other words, you have to know exactly where you want to go!

   Begin by reviewing the overall goal of your technology project. Consider the following questions before formulating and writing your goal statement on the planning form:

   • Why are you doing this project?
   • How do you hope this project will enhance learning for your students?
   • What learning challenge(s) is this project expected to conquer?
2. Audience - Another key to successful instructional planning is having at least a general idea of the learning characteristics and needs of the students.

   Continue your analysis by listing the probable characteristics of students who will be the target audience for your project. Consider the following questions to help guide your thinking as you develop your learner profile:

   • What classification of students generally take this course?
   • Are most of them majors or non-majors in the discipline?
   • What have they struggled with most in the past?
   • Why do most of them take the course (general education, major requirement, elective, etc.)?
   • How much background knowledge do they typically have on the subject?
   • Generally speaking, what are their attitudes toward the course content?
   • What is the extent of prior experience with the content for most students who take the course?

STEP 2: DESIGN AND DEVELOP

1. General topics - The first step in designing your specific learning outcomes is to define the scope of the project. You began thinking about the scope when you stated the overall goal. Continue by listing the major topics of information and/or knowledge you expect students to study.

   Before listing the general topics that will define the scope of your project, consider the following questions:

   • What is the big picture?
   • What are the major topics studied in this class?
   • What topics are listed on the syllabus?
   • What are the general chapter headings in the textbook?
2. "Performance-Based" Learning Outcomes - The terms listed below are essentially synonymous. They refer to course goals that:
   1. specify the information and/or skills to be mastered AND
   2. specify what students will do to demonstrate mastery.

• learning outcomes
• performance-based outcomes
• learning objectives
• performance-based learning outcomes
• course objectives
• performance-based objectives
• performance outcomes
• performance-based learning objectives

Once developed, these learning outcomes are included in the course syllabus for two reasons. First, they clarify for students exactly what they will be expected to learn. Second, they tell students exactly what they will have to do to earn grades reflecting various levels of mastery.

When developing performance-based learning outcomes, it is important to keep the following distinction in mind:

• activities designed to help students master information and skills ARE DIFFERENT FROM
• activities designed to allow students to demonstrate the extent to which they have mastered the information and skills

When developing performance-based learning outcomes, it is important to keep the following distinction in mind:

• activities designed to help students master information and skills ARE DIFFERENT FROM
• activities designed to allow students to demonstrate the extent to which they have mastered the information and skills