My Topic Activity

Over the last week, the class has participated in Halloween themed lessons focusing on a number of different subjects from math to reading to art.  Today, I have included the lesson focusing on the area of science.  Since growing a pumpkin can take several months, the students will need to start with a seeds already sprouting at the start of the school year in order to complete this lesson within the right time frame.  Using a topic, like pumpkins, will allow specific learning objectives to be covered within the lesson.

               Topics allow the learners to focus on one specific learning objective and fully complete the one learning objective.  “A topic is the lowest-level learning object in a course or other knowledge product.  It is the building block of instruction that accomplishes a single learning objective” (Horton, 2012, p. 285).  As students participate in a topics lesson, they will complete an Absorb, Do, and Connect activities.  In addition, students are often assessed through a test which evaluates the execution of the learning objective.

               Topics have been identified as learning objectives, but what are learning objectives?  “Learning objectives state the observable and measurable behaviours that learners should exhibit as a result of participating in a learning programme” (Swanwick & McKimm, 2010, p. 17).  Learning objectives can also be referred to as instructional objectives.  When learning or instructional objectives are explicit in their description, the learner has a better chance to produce a greater performance outcome while mastering the objective.  In other words, “it is essential that they be written in a manner that makes their meaning clear to the students, parents and educators” (Williams, 2004, p. 4).

               While learning or instructional objectives are vital components in educational planning, there has been a move from the education process to the material being taught and the learning outcome.  “The question arises as to whether the concept of ‘learning or instructional objectives’ is different from the concept of ‘learning outcomes’.  According to Melton (1997) ‘the term “learning outcome” is simply an alternative name for “objective” (Harden, 2002, p. 151). 

While learning outcome may simply be an alternative name for learning objectives, there are a few difference between the two terms.  Learning objectives have a more detailed specification compared to learning outcomes broad statements describing the outcome.  Another difference between the two is where the emphasis on the learning is applied.  When using learning objectives, the emphasis of learning is placed on the details of each objective.  However, in learning outcomes, the details are less specific with a focus on the overall framework.

Since learning or instructional objectives allow the learner to focus on one specific learning objective, the topic lesson plan will have the students focusing on the life cycle of pumpkins.  For my topic activity, I will use a typical topic format to develop the research, analysis, and results of the lesson.  The format will provide the students with an Instruction tab, a Background tab, a Policy tab, a Resources tab, and the Decision tab.

The Instruction tab will tell the students about the activity while providing directions on how to complete the activity.  The Background tab will supply the students with details about the activity including possible alternatives if available and resources.  “The police tab reveals the most important constraints on a solution, namely regulations that govern the situation described in the Background” (Horton, 2012, p. 287).  The Resources tab offers the students a list of links to websites and documents regarding the activity.  In the Decide tab, the students will choose or state the results.

References

Harden, R. (2002). Learning outcomes and instructional objectives: is there a difference? Medical                Teacher, 24(2), 151-155. doi:10.1080/0142159022020687

Horton, W. (2012). E-Learning by design (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Wiley.

Swanwick, T., & McKimm, J. (2010). Clinical Teaching Made Easy: A Practical Guide to Teaching and                Learning in Clinical Settings. London: Quay Books.

Williams, W. (2004, January). Instructional goals and objectives: Learning activities. Retrieved from                                 http://www.uvm.edu/~cdci/tripscy/archivepdf/Inst_Goals_and_Objectives_Lrning_Actites.pdf