How to Write Educational Objectives in Nursing for Critical Thinking

RNs need to think critically.

Educational objectives, whether in nursing or any other subject, are formatted the same way. They always start with an action verb, and state what the student will learn and how the student will be able to apply what was learned. In order to ensure the student is using critical thinking skills while learning the content, it is a good idea to use Bloom's Taxonomy of Thinking to determine what the action verbs will be. Requirements to become a Registered Nurse (RN) have increased in the past several years, and along with those requirements comes a need for nurses to think more critically.

Things You'll Need

• Nursing Curriculum
• Core Requirements
• Bloom's Taxonomy

Instructions

Educational Objectives

1. An educational objective is the specific statement of the skills and knowledge a student will possess at the completion of the course, workshop or task. The objective will define the learning outcomes in terms that the potential student will understand so he or she is fully aware of what is expected of him or her after completing the activity. Course work is aligned to the educational objectives with research and activities designed to ensure the student achieves the desired outcomes.

2. Components of critical thinking in nursing include specific knowledge, application of certain processes and procedures, and a humanistic approach to standards of care. Educational objectives written with strong action verbs that emphasize the particular medical knowledge and standards of care will further define the critical thinking aspects of completing the required nursing curriculum.

3. An example of a strong, critical thinking based educational outcome might be: Compare and contrast critical thinking skills needed for clinical decision-making. A student completing a course with an educational outcome like this one would be able to look at several different critical thinking skills and determine which ones would be best for making decisions in a clinical setting.

4. An educational objective is a term that describes an observable behavior in a student, therefore an educational objective in nursing curriculum for critical thinking will describe the desired performance or behavior of the nursing student. This behavior will show the observer that the student has mastered the content and is able to think critically through to completion of a task with successful results.

Tips & Warnings

• Thinking beyond the end of the task to how others are affected by successful (or unsuccessful) completion of a task is critical thinking.

• Be careful of overthinking something. Too much analysis can effectively derail a project or task just as not enough analysis. Find a balance.

References

• Nursing Education - The Importance of Critical Thinking
• The theory of critical thinking of nursing
• Major Categories in the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives

Resources

• Bloom's Taxonomy
• Applying Bloom's Taxonomy