How to Write Training Objectives

Training objectives, also called instructional or learning objectives, are a crucial tool in developing courses. Effective training objectives help course developers create strong training programs and enable students to learn more successfully. There are three key parts to a good training objective: behavior, standard of performance and conditions.

Instructions

1. Define what the learner must do. State the specific behavior or task that the learner must demonstrate after completing the learning activity. The behavior or task must be observable and measurable. Use an appropriate action verb to describe the desired behavior or task. Examples include "list," "explain" and "define."

2. Determine how well the learner must perform the task or behavior to achieve competency. Standards are values such as frequency, accuracy, volume, amount, situation or a combination. Only include time limits if they are required on the job. Examples of standards include "at least 4 items per hour," "exactly 10" and "90% accuracy."

3. List all the conditions that explain how the learner must perform. Conditions can be tools or resources that the learner can use, any special circumstances or a combination. Examples include "using the job aid," "referring to the chart" and "without supervision."

4. Draft the training objectives. Each objective must specify the desired behavior or task, performance standards and all applicable conditions. A good example of an effective training objective is "Using the job aid and sample data provided by the instructor, create and save three new client information records in the database." A bad example of this same training objective might read, "Understand how to create database records."

5. Revisit the training objectives as you continue developing the training program and course materials. Make sure that the learning activities are appropriate for the objectives and vice versa. You may need to revise the objectives, course materials or both.

Tips & Warnings

• Have a colleague read the training objectives to make sure that they are clear, measurable and contain all three key parts. Familiarity with the subject matter can make it difficult to edit your own training objectives. If you are on your own, set the training objectives aside for a while so you can review them with a clear heard.

• Verify that instructions and criteria for any course assessments remain consistent with the stated training objectives.

• Do not start objectives with verbs that you can't observe or measure. Don't use terms like "understand" or "know." Remember that the learner has to demonstrate specific and concrete behavior.