How Learning Activities Help Achieve Learning Objectives

It is important to communicate to students how the learning activities help them achieve learning objectives as well as how they should use each of the materials. However, there is no one-size-fits-all way to achieve this. Below are suggestions on how you could achieve each of these goals. You often do this in class when you say "In this test or this paper, I am looking for you to demonstrate that you know how to (objective)..."  Try to replicate that same kind of explanation in your online class assignments.

It is important that students understand what the relationship is between the learning activities and the learning objectives. This helps them understand how each activity, assignment, or assessment helps lead them to mastery of the learning objectives. "Learning activities" is a broad term, and it can include everything from a self-assessment on a textbook chapter to a summative midterm project. The important thing is that students understand once they have completed a learning activity which learning objective they have achieved (or are working on achieving). This is true for both module level learning objectives and course level objectives.

There are a variety of ways you can accomplish this, and the examples below are several possibilities. Feel free to pick from this list, adapt an idea from below, or create your own strategy.

  • In the instructions for learning activities include a statement about the learning objectives assessed. For example, you might write in the study guide for the midterm exam: "This exam will measure your achievement of the following learning objectives...".
  • For groups of assignments with similar goals, include a statement in the syllabus or other general course area about the purpose of that type of activity. For example, for discussion activities that ask students to critically analyze current events, you could include in the syllabus a statement that says "The discussion activities will allow you to demonstrate the course level objective of critically analyzing current events".
  • In the directions for each module you could include a statement instructing students to complete the first activity to achieve module level objectives 1, 2 and 3, and then the other assignment to achieve objectives 4 and 5.
  • Include a link with the learning activity to the list of course/module level objectives, and state in the activity instructions that number associated with the objective that they will be demonstrating.
  • Include an alignment document for the entire course showing how each activity relates to the objectives. Just be careful that this document is written in such a way that it can be easily understood by students.

Purpose of Instructional Materials

Names matter. Try to name everything in your course explicitly so students know "this lecture covers this objective, or this video helps explain how to (something).  If students need to progress through the course in a certain order, explain this. Do not assume students will work "top down" as it can be easy to find something such as a discussion on another tab. The student might join an active discussion without first viewing an important lecture. 

It is also important that students understand the purpose of the instructional materials being provided, and how you intend them to use the resources. While this is often implied in the way that you organize your Content modules, students often don't pick up on your intentions for them to complete activities in a certain order unless you make that intention explicit. Therefore, you can use the examples below to help you communicate the purpose of the instructional materials and how you intend them to be used. As with the how learning activities relate to objectives, the examples below can be used in their entirety, you can adapt these strategies, or you can come up with your own methods.

  • Create titles for your content pages that are descriptive of what they will find on that page. It can be easy to just use file names or webpage titles, but in the learning environment it is essential that the titles tell the students what they can find on each page. For example, "Suggestions for editing your paper" is more descriptive than "Purdue Owl: Proofreading".
  • Edit the titles of uploaded documents to be descriptive of the document. When you first upload a file Brightspace will use the file name as the document title on the Content page. We tend to create file names that are meaningful to us in our writing and editing process, but not necessarily meaningful to students. For example "SyllabusSP15-Lit-Final(4)" is not as descriptive as "Spring 2015 Syllabus American Literature".
  • Use the module description template provided in the DDS template to outline what students should do with the resources provided. Or, you can create a file page to convey this information in a printable format. Include both information about a suggested (or required) order they work through the information, and any special instructions. For example, if they need to read the three articles listed in order from top to bottom because they become progressively more complex, then make this explicit to students. Another important example is to tell students if there are any special instructions required for accessing resources on a linked page you provide. An example of this would be how to use interactive web pages and what they need to to with that tool to meet your intended purpose.
  • If you are asking students to complete an activity, such as viewing a video, give them a few sentences of what they are supposed to get out of the experience. For example, include a view important vocabulary words they should listen for, or an essential question to ponder while watching.
  • Make sure to be clear which resources are required, which are remedial if students need extra help, and which are additional enrichment materials.

These suggestions will help you achieve QM Standards 2.4 and 4.2.