Developing Goals, Objectives, and Competencies

Clark Denniston, MDExecutive Assoc Dean for GME

DIO UNC Hospitals

Apples and Oranges, or…

• Goals and Objectives are not the same• Competencies are also different, but linked to

G and O• Outcome-Oriented educational principles are

critical to understanding Competencies• Use “backwards design” concept to frame the

process of developing G, O, C• Bloom’s Taxonomy for Objectives• SMART pneumonic for Outcomes

Definitions

Goals

• Broad and overarching statements about what you desire to achieve with your curriculum

• May include:– Background– Rationale– Philosophy– Performance expectations

Objectives

• Clear, brief, action-verb framed specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are intended results of education

• Differ from Goals in terms of specificity• Often a number of Objectives are defined for

each Goal• Bloom’s Taxonomy gives a cognitive

framework to write objectives

Bloom’s Taxonomy (Revised)Create

Evaluate

Analyze

Apply

Understand

Remember

High

er O

rder

Co

gniti

ve P

roce

ss

Bloom’s Taxonomy(revised):Cognitive Process

Action Verbs

Remember 

Define, Describe, Identify, List, Locate, Name, Recognize, Select, State

Understand Associate, Classify, Demonstrate, Discuss, Distinguish, Explain, Generalize, Illustrate, Interpret, Summarize

Apply 

Apply, Choose, Classify, Explain, Implement, Organize, Prepare, Select, Use

Analyze Analyze, Attribute, Diagram, Differentiate, Discriminate, Distinguish, Organize, Structure

Evaluate 

Appraise, Assess, Compare, Contrast, Critique, Defend, Determine, Estimate, Evaluate, Justify, Rate, Support

Create Compile, Create, Design, Devise, Formulate, Generate, Hypothesize, Integrate, Plan, Propose, Summarize

Competencies

• Measurable endpoints of actual achievement of learning

• Discrete “musts” • Action words describing what knowledge, skill

or attitude is to be demonstrated• Include the criterion for acceptable

performance (rubric)

Competency-based Education

Outcome-Oriented Education

ProcessOriented

•Receive Instruction...

OutcomeOriented

•Demonstrate Competence...

Passive 

Active 

“You have to know where you are going before you can decide how to get there”

Backwards Design

Identify Desired ResultsDetermine Acceptable Evidence

Plan Learnin

g

Identify Desired Results

Determine Acceptable Evidence

Plan Learning

Define Outcomes

Choose/Develop Assessment

Tool(s)Choose Content

& Method

s

Competency = Outcome

Order of Development

First step Goals

Second step Competencies(Outcomes)

Third step Objectives

Why?First step Goals provide general direction for competencies

Second step Competencies/Outcomes establish final destination

“backwards design”

Third step Objectives define actions necessary to reach the Outcomes

SMART

• Specific

• Measureable

• Attainable

• Relevant

• Time-Sensitive

Non-medical SMART outcome

Cooking Class 101 – Knife Skills By the end of a one- hour workshop, all participants

will be able to demonstrate 4 core knife skills with a 9 inch chef’s knife: honing of the blade with a sharpening steel, correct hand position to protect fingers of the non-dominant hand, “tip-to-tang” slicing technique to julienne green peppers, and double hand “rocking chop” to finely chop Italian parsley.

You have to know where you are going before you can decide how to get there

Desired Results Competencies

Outcomes

3 Steps to Educational Success

1. Understand that Competencies = Outcomes

2. Understand the different purposes of “Goals” vs. “Objectives” in defining the path toward Outcomes

3. Employ “backwards design” using the SMART pneumonic to define Outcomes and Bloom’s taxonomy to define Objectives