Music Teacher Tip #8 - #WritingObjectives
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👩🏻🎓 Here is an easy way to be sure you have written an outstanding objective statement (goal) for your students.
✏️ A statement of objective is a statement describing, in measurable terms, what students will be able to do by the end of the lesson or by a specific time. It should be aligned with state standards and should only describe the new learning to take place in that particular lesson. The objective should be stated in student-friendly terms using language and vocabulary that students can understand. For middle and high school (performance-based music classes), it would be normal to have multiple objectives in one class period.
✏️ Here are the parts to a GOOD objective statement:
✏️ W - WHEN will new learning be measured? For example, "By 10:25 today you will be able to..." If you state that you will measure learning, be sure to hold students accountable for that information at the specified time. Plan to administer formative (early/informal) assessments regularly.
✏️ A - AUDIENCE - Who will be learning the objective? For example, "Tenors will be able to..." If different parts/sections have different objectives, be sure to list them separately. For example, the tenor section would likely have a different objective than the sopranos if the goal related to vocal production and the tenors had to use falsetto, but the sopranos were in the lower part of their range.
✏️ B - BEHAVIOR - Include a performance verb that is measurable and observable. For example, "identify and label the pitches..." Selecting verbs from Bloom's Taxonomy is preferable. Avoid the following: "work on, rehearse, practice, know, think, appreciate, learn, comprehend, be aware of, and grasp the significance of" since they are NOT measurable terms.
✏️ C - CONDITION - The specific conditions under which the performance is to occur. For example, "using solfege syllables for your respective parts of mm. 5-15 in "Laudamus Te." Include titles of pieces, measure numbers/sections, etc. Describe only the NEW learning to take place here. If students have already learned pitch and rhythm of the A section, then that should not be included in your objective statement. Each day's statement of objective should show growth compared to the previous class.
✏️ D - DEGREE - The criterion of acceptable performance. For example, "with 90 percent accuracy or better." It is acceptable to reorder the criterion in your objective statement and start with how they will perform. For example, "Students will be able to accurately perform..."
✏️ If the above steps were followed in the given example, the objective statement would be:
"By 10:25 today, you will be able to identify and label the pitches using solfege syllables for your respective parts of mm. 5-15 in "Laudamus Te" with 90 percent accuracy or better."
👍 Happy objective writing! Let me know if I can help you. I've attached a file you may print for your reference if you like. 😁🎶🎶