1. WRITING LESSON PLANS
FOR BUSINESS
EDUCATION
PRESENTED BY:
Paulann Dunkley
September 2011

2. Objectives
• At the end of the module, participants should be
able to:
– Define what is an instructional objective
– Differentiate between a general and specific
objective
– Construct general objectives
– Construct specific objectives
– Prepare lesson plan using given template
– Select appropriate verb when constructing
objectives

3. Writing Instructional Objectives
Definition –
An instructional objective is an
intent communicated by a
statement which describes a
proposed change in your
students’ behaviour.

4. Writing Instructional Objectives
• Measurement is an integral part of
education
• Meaningful assessment is
inconceivable with out aims and
objectives with which to measure
achievements against.

5. Writing Instructional Objectives
GOAL
AIMS
GENERAL OBJECTIVES
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

6. GOALS & AIMS
• Goals
– Long-term aim one works towards
• Aims
– Something one works towards but is
nearer to the present than a goal.
– Short-term goal

7. General Objectives
• General Objectives
– Nearer to present than goal or aim
– An expression of learning outcomes to be
attained after a sequence of teaching
– Recognizable by words which are too
vague to be measured directly
– Examples: know, understand, appreciate,
etc

8. Group Activity
• In assigned groups, write a general
objective for the following:
– Customer Service
• Managing Challenging Customers
– Accounting
• Petty Cash
– Human Resource Management
• Interviewing Techniques
Flipchart Activity

9. Specific Objectives
• Specific Objectives:
– Refer to the specific behaviours which
taken together, add up to the general
objective.
– Recognized by directly measurable
terms
– Examples: define, demonstrate, solve,
list etc

10. Instructional Objectives
• It is a statement of what your
students will be able to do or how
they will behave after they have
successfully completed the learning
experiences.

11. Instructional Objectives
• It is a description of a pattern of
behaviour (performance) which your
students will demonstrate.

12. Instructional Objectives
• When you write instructional objectives
they must denote attributes which are
both measurable and observable.
• Your tests and examinations must serve
to measure your students’ performance in
terms of the stated instructional
objectives!

13. Instructional Objectives
• Provide the means for your students to
evaluate their progress along the route of
instruction
• Organise students efforts into relevant
activities which will guide them to achieve
the desired objectives

14. Characteristics of Instructional
Objectives
Objectives should be stated in terms of
your students’ behaviour and not in
terms of learning activities or your
purpose
•
Objectives should begin with an active
verb which indicates the behaviour
which your students should demonstrate
at the end of the period of instruction

15. Characteristics of Instructional
Objectives
• Objectives should be stated
– in terms of observable changes in your
students’ behaviour
– precisely by using terms which have uniform
meaning to everyone.

16. Characteristics of Instructional
Objectives
•
•
Objectives should be unitary
– each statement must relate to one
process only.
Objectives should be stated at an
appropriate level of generality.

17. Characteristics of Instructional
Objectives
•
Objectives should:
–
represent intended direct outcomes of a
planned series of learning experiences
–
be realistic in terms of the time available
for teaching and the characteristics of your
students.

18. Criteria for writing Instructional
Objectives
• Performance.
• Condition(s).
• Standard(s).

19. Techniques for writing Instructional
Objectives
Performance
• First, state the terminal behaviour by
name
– specify the exact behaviour which you
will accept as evidence that your
students have achieved the objective(s)
of the lesson.
• Also called behavioural objectives
• Focus & direct learning
• Are expressed in terms of what students
will do at end of learning process

20. Techniques for writing Instructional
Objectives
• It communicates to student the precise
performance expected
• Directs teacher’s efforts in planning learning
experiences to enable student to meet the
objective
• They may be exit objectives
– Met at end of unit, course, programme
• They may be enabling objectives
– Critical to success on the exit performance
objective

21. Techniques for writing Instructional
Objectives
Condition(s)
Secondly, state the desired behaviour further by
describing the conditions under which you
expect the behaviour to occur
–What will you allow your students to use?
–Will they work individually or in groups?

22. Techniques for writing Instructional
Objectives
Standard(s)
• Third, specify the criteria of acceptable
performance by describing how well your
students must perform in order for you to
evaluate that the performance is
acceptable.

23. Group Activity
• In assigned groups develop at least
three (3) instructional objectives for
the following:
– Customer Service
• Managing Challenging Customers
– Accounting
• Petty Cash
– Human Resource Management
• Interviewing Techniques
Flipchart Activity