Many medical educators struggle to develop clear, concise, and measurable course objectives to guide student learning. Poorly structured objectives can lead to disjointed curricula, ineffective assessments, and a diminished student learning experience. Students often request more objectives with increasing granularity, which can overwhelm students.

Given the rapid pace of change in medical education and the growing emphasis on accountability and quality assurance, developing effective course objectives is now more essential than ever. A well-structured approach to objectives can help educators navigate these challenges and ensure that their curricula are aligned with best practices in medical education. The cascading approach, which involves breaking down broad course objectives into smaller, more specific learning outcomes, can help educators ensure that their curriculum is aligned with student needs and professional standards.
Well-structured course objectives provide a clear roadmap for both students and faculty, ensuring that teaching and learning efforts are aligned.

Participants will gain the knowledge and skills to develop objectives that:

1. enhance student learning by clarifying expectations and focus students’ efforts
2. improve teaching effectiveness by aligning teaching activities with specific objectives to meet students' needs and ensure they teach the most important topics
3. facilitate assessment by providing a foundation for developing valid and reliable assessments that accurately measure student achievement
4. promote curriculum alignment by cascading objectives from the course level to the session level, which ensures that all components of the curriculum contribute to achieving the overall learning goals.

By focusing on the interconnectedness between course, weekly, and session objectives, participants will learn to create a cohesive and meaningful learning experience for students.

Agenda & Methods

• 10 minutes: Introduction
  • Welcome, introductions, and topic overview
  • Warm-up activity. Participants will share their experiences with course objectives in their own teaching and challenges they have faced
  • Discussion of importance of well-structured objectives in medical education
  • Explain the benefits of a cascading approach to course objectives for mapping and assessments
• 15 minutes: Course Objectives
  • Discuss the characteristics of well-written course objectives and provide examples. Emphasize the importance of alignment with program objectives.
  • Hypothetical Case Study. Small group. Based on a hypothetical medical school course, participants will brainstorm potential course objectives.
  • Debrief the case study.
• 15 minutes: Weekly or Module Learning Objectives
  • Discuss how to break down course objectives into smaller, more manageable chunks.
  • Provide examples of well-written weekly or module learning objectives.
  • Discuss the importance of alignment with course objectives.
  • Collaborative, small group exercise: create weekly or module learning objectives for the case study course.
• 20 minutes: Session Objectives
  •  Discuss how to write effective session objectives for different types of sessions (lecture, lab, small group, TBL, PBL, etc.)
  • Small group activity on building effective session objectives.
• 20 minutes: Objectives vs Study Guide
  • Large group discussion about relationship between objectives, agendas, and study guides.
  • Small group exploration of how to create study guides and the role of students in their creation.
• 10 minutes: Q&A and Wrap-Up
  • Open floor for questions, comments, concerns
  • Individual: reflection activity about key takeaways and how to apply concepts to their teaching
  • Open discussion of key takeaways
  • Summarize key points of session