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1.2: Using Learning Objectives

  • Page ID
    24551
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    Found at the top of each page, learning objectives will help prepare you for what you are about to learn and help check your understanding of the material on each page. These learning objectives explain what you will be learning to do. You can use the learning objectives to find the material you want to further explore within the course. The front page of each module lists the learning objectives covered in that module at the top of the page, and also presents the titles and links to the pages. If there is a particular concept or body system within this course that you are struggling with, you can always go to that system and search for objectives that mention the concept. 

    Example \(\PageIndex{1}\)

    Learning Objectives

    For example, the learning objective on this page is: “Discover and execute the metacognitive cycle as you move through the CC-OLI Anatomy and Physiology”. The title of the page is “Using Learning Objectives”. The title informs you that learning objectives might have intended uses. Then, because the objective is to discover and execute the metacognitive cycle, you can infer that the use of Learning Objectives is a part of the metacognitive cycle! 

    One of the first things you will want to do when presented with a learning objective will be to assess your ability or inability to achieve that objective. Think about how these statements can serve as a learning framework. These learning objectives can guide your focus-- for topic depth and breadth as well as time commitment. As you read each page and complete the activities, revisit the objectives to help you identify and self-assess the learning you should be accomplishing. This task, assessment is the first step in your metacognitive cycle. If you don’t think about what you have to do to meet success criteria, how can you be sure of being successful?

    In addition, the verbs used in learning objectives indicate the cognitive processes in which you should be engaging. As you study each body system, you will be learning at the knowledge and understanding level as well as developing your reasoning proficiency.

    Knowledge and understanding requires you to recall previously-learned information and to show that you have a basic grasp of that material. While that is important, higher-level cognitive reasoning proficiency requires you to: use facts to find relationships between parts of the whole (application and analysis), combine ideas to form a new whole (synthesis), and/or make decisions based on the information (evaluation). In the following activity, for each of the following sample learning objectives associated with this course, assess the skills you will most likely be applying.

     

     

    learn by doing

    An important part of the metacognitive cycle is being able to assess the task so you know what you will need to do to successfully meet the learning criteria. Let’s look at some body systems you will be studying and most people have a basic knowledge about. 

    For each of the following sample learning objectives associated with an organ system in this course, assess the level of cognitive process you will most likely be applying:

    Identify the structure and location of the kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder and urethra.

     

    Reset this Activity

    You will find that some of the learning objectives are at the information recall level and may seem easier to master. Other higher-level learning objectives, you may not understand immediately. However, as you work through the learning activities, study and practice, they should become clearer. Once you have achieved them, you will not only understand the concepts but be able to restate them in your own words.


    This page titled 1.2: Using Learning Objectives is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Open & Free Course.

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