1. KMS2014
Design & Management of
Training Programmes
Unit 3:
Formulation of training objectives

2. Objectives
At the end of this unit you will be able to:
♦ Describe the meaning and the need for training
objectives
♦ Explain the factors to be considered when
selecting objectives
♦ Explain the framework in writing objectives
♦ Write clear objectives for a training programme
♦ Communicate training objectives

3. Introduction
♦ Before training can be prepared, before training
procedures or subject matter or material can be
selected it is important to state clearly just what
the results of that training will be
♦ A clear statement of objectives will provide a
sound basis for choosing methods and
materials and for selecting the means for
assessing whether the training has been successful

4. What are objectives
♦ Description of what trainer wants learners to be able to
exhibit before considering learners competent
♦ Describes an intended result of training rather than the
process of training
♦ Effects change
– Cognitive (knowledge)
– Psychomotor (skills)
– Affective (abilities)
♦ Measurable
– Quantitative or qualitative

5. Why do we need objectives
♦ Provides basis for selecting or designing
training materials, content and methods
♦ For evaluating or assessing the success of
training
♦ For organizing the trainees own efforts
and activities for the accomplishment of
the important training events
♦ Provides basis for improving existing
training programmes

6. Objectives framework
♦ Basic Principles of Curriculum and
Instruction (1949) – Ralph Tyler
– Addresses educational purposes, educational
experiences to be provided to attain the
purposes, effective organization of educational
experiences & determining whether these
purposes are attained

7. Objectives framework (ctd)
♦ Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (1956) – Benjamin Bloom et.al
– Classifies objectives into 3 parts
• Cognitive domain – recall or recognition of knowledge &
development of intellectual abilities and skills
• Affective domain – changes in interest, attitudes & values and
development of appreciations and adequate adjustment
• Psychomotor domain – changes in movement, coordination
and use of motor-skill areas
♦ Preparing Instructional Objectives 2 nd ed. (1975) – Robert Mager
– Proposed useful objectives to possess 3 characteristics –
Performance, Condition & Criteria

8. Setting learning goals
♦ Should learning goals statements articulate the
outcomes we want to achieve?
♦ Recognize that some types of learning differ from
others: affective, behavioral and cognitive learning
♦ Is it possible to design the training programme
with only one of these types of learning or design
a programme that incorporates all of the types?
♦ Are the objectives a response to specific
organizational programmes?

9. Affective learning
♦ Involves attitudes, feelings and preferences
♦ When there is a “won’t do” situation i.e. a lack of
desire to use new knowledge or skills
– Learners to place a VALUE on certain situations,
procedures or product or to be more aware of feelings
or reaction to certain issues or new ideas
– Example: in a bank
• Managers examine to what extent their orientation is either
customer focused or inward looking

10. Psychomotor learning
♦ Involves the development of competences
in actual performance situations
♦ When there is a “can’t do” situation i.e. a
lack of skill
– Learners to PRACTICE skills that were
demonstrated and receive feedback on the
performance
– Example: in an R&D seminar
• Participants practice creative thinking techniques by
applying them to problems at the workplace

11. Cognitive learning
♦ Involves the acquisition of information and
concepts related to knowledge
♦ When there is a “don’t know” situation i.e. a lack
of knowledge
– Learners to comprehend new knowledge and also to
analyze and apply it to new situations
– Example: in a “The Law and the Workplace” seminar
• Participants learn the legal definition of sexual harassment and
applies it to issues in their own jobs.

12. Training programme – all
learning goals
♦ More likely to result in last change
♦ Example:
– A short course on understanding group dynamics that
devote a session on the task and maintenance roles that
members need to play in groups
– The goals are
• Identify the current and future preferences for task
maintenance goals in a group (affective)
• Utilize new task and maintenance behaviors when conducting
meetings (psychomotor)
• Differentiate between task and maintenance behaviors
exhibited by colleagues at a group meeting (cognitive)

13. Selecting objectives
♦ Distinguish between objectives that would be nice
to achieve and those that are necessary
♦ Consider the following:
– Comprehensiveness and representativeness of the
learning outcome: proper balance amongst the three
learning types
– In harmony with the basic principles of learning
especially adult learning needs: readiness, motivation,
retention and transfer value
– In harmony with the philosophy of the organization

14. Specifying objectives
♦ How do we specify objectives?
– A set of learning goals (general) broken down into specific
training objectives. Each learning goal will have one or more
specific objectives
♦ Why do we need to specify objectives?
– Specify objectives in the form that will make them effective tools
for managing, monitoring and evaluating the training
– It will give specific criteria to determine if the course design is
appropriate especially when the training programme is more
technical in nature:
• State what, under what conditions and according to what
standards

15. Stating and expressing objectives
♦ Written in a style that is easy to understand and
straight to the point
♦ Select verbs that must clearly convey the intent,
most precisely specify the learner’s behavior and
avoid commonly misinterpreted terms
♦ Use a format: “upon completion of the course, the
participants will be able to ……..(list specific
objectives)”
♦ Mager’s behavioral objectives
– Concerned with clarity and communication
– Statements of objectives should include three
components: behavior, conditions and criterion

16. The behavior component
♦ Describes in clear terms what a learner has to do
in order to demonstrate successful learning –
terminal behavior
♦ Concerned about words used (e.g. know,
understand, appreciate) that describe mental
operations which can’t be observed but have to be
inferred from behavior
♦ Need to describe the activities which demonstrate
understanding and appreciation, using words
which are open to fewer interpretations

17. The conditions component
♦ States the conditions or limitations under which
the learner has to perform
♦ Need to specify any tools or equipment available
to aid the task, or the range of problems to be
solved or equipment to be mastered
♦ If it is desired that the learner use a particular
method, then this should be stated, together with
any special requirements about location

18. The criterion component
♦ Provides the standard of performance:
how well the learner had performed in order
to be considered successful
♦ Concerned with speed, quality or accuracy
♦ Can be conveyed by specifying how many
questions, problems or tasks have to be
answered, solved or completed correctly

19. Common errors in stating
learning objectives
♦ Describing the trainer’s behaviour rather than the
trainee’s behaviour
♦ Stating the learning objective in terms of the
learning process rather than in terms of the
learning result
♦ Listing simply the subject matter to be covered
♦ Including more than one type of learning outcome
♦ Over-specifying the training objectives

20. Communicating training
objectives to others
♦ An important skill to develop
♦ Amongst problems encountered:
– Confusion with language or jargon
– Put off by the format
– Difficult to read or comprehend
– Lengthy because of over-specification of
training objectives

21. Guidelines for defining training
objectives
♦ State the general training objective as the expected
learning outcome
♦ Place under each general training objective a list
of specific learning outcomes that describe the
terminal behaviour that learners are to demonstrate
when they have achieved the objective
– Begin each specific learning outcome with a verb that
specifies definite, observable behaviour
– Keep the specific learning outcome free of course
content so that the list can be used with different units
of training

22. – Be certain that each specific learning outcome is
relevant to the objective it describes
♦ When defining the general objective in terms of
specific learning outcomes, revise and refine the
original list as needed
♦ Be careful not to omit complex objectives (e.g.
critical thinking etc) simply because they are
difficult to define in terms of specific learning
outcomes
♦ Consult reference materials for help in identifying
the specific types of behavior that are most
appropriate for defining the complex objectives

23. What did I learn from this unit?