Teaching Using Learning Objectives

While the new Teacher’s Council provides opportunities for teachers to collaborate, the primary purpose is to teach members of the church (including families) how to learn. Our social norms, both in and out of the church, condition us to operate as Self-Help Junkies, with a higher emphasis on completing the reading task than actually learning something.

With this in mind and using Blooms Taxonomy, I’ve taken two lessons from January’s potential topics on the Godhead and written examples for learning objectives.

Topic: The Godhead

Learning objectives:

  1. List the members of the Godhead.
  2. Describe the features of each member of the Godhead.
  3. What role did each member of Godhead play in the First Vision?
  4. Why was it necessary for Joseph Smith to see the Godhead in the First Vision?
    1. Compare the LDS Godhead with the traditional Catholic/Protestant view of the Godhead.

 

Topic: How can I learn to see Heavenly Father’s hand in all things?

Learning Objectives:

  1. List 3 things during Sacrament meeting that remind you of Heavenly Father.
  2. Discuss how the family reminds us of Heavenly Father.
  3. Explain what a tender mercy is and how tender mercies influence our lives.

blooms_taxonomy

blooms_taxonomy

Published by

Richard Himmer

Author, PhD in Organizational Psychology.

2 thoughts on “Teaching Using Learning Objectives”

  1. I am a priest quorum advisor now and because of all the priesthood business discussed and sharing Duty to God topics, I only have about 15 to 20 minutes to get a lesson in. That time goes fast for me and my goal is for each lesson to have some element that will sustain or help their testimonies of some part of the gospel grow. I’m not familiar with Bloom’s Taxonomy and it looks like a lot to fill in in a short period of time. What do you suggest I do as far as preparing and executing learning opportunities for these boys. Starting this year we are team teaching with one of the boys each week as well.

  2. Hey Remo,
    Look over Bloom’s Taxonomy and then notice how the learning objectives are written. The lower on the pyramid the simpler the learning objective. As one moves up the pyramid, the complexity increases. At first you could start with simple objectives. At the end of each class, go around and ask each member of the quorum what they learned today (Greatest Insights) to verify you accomplished your learning objective. Class management is also an important aspect of being a teacher. Perhaps you could ask the quorum leadership how they could give you more time for the lesson. See what happens.

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