Aim to Align

When designing a course, it is best practice to align three items: The learning objective, practice activities, and evaluations or assessments. When these components are aligned, participants’ learning pathways are supported and clear.

Learning objectives are what you want your course participants to know or do when they are done taking your course. Aligning your learning objective to your practice activities will help your learners:

• Get a clear picture of the learning journey

• Reduce anxiety about expectations

• Reinforce learning objective

Learning objectives are most clear when they follow Bloom’s Taxonomy. Carnegie Mellon University has a helpful chart and more examples and details for using Bloom’s Taxonomy when creating learning objectives.

When designing evaluations or assessments, choose questions or activities that measure whether or not the participants have achieved the learning objective.

For the best learner outcome and maximum successful results, make it a priority to align your learning objective, practice activities, and evaluations.