• You need to know where you're going so you'll know when you get there.
• If others need to follow your plan (supervisors, substitute teachers, etc.), they will know where you plan to go with this lesson.
• So that when you deviate from your lesson plan, you will know what you are deviating from, and to what degree.

 

Now, you may wonder-- what is the difference between a behavioral objective for a lesson plan and one that is written for an I.E.P.??

• For a lesson plan, the behavioral objective is very short term. You write an objective that will be met during that class period.
• For an I.E.P., you are writing an objective that will take longer to reach-- weeks, months, or a year.

 

This does not, however, change the components of a behavioral objective.

This is the easy part, but don't leave it off! "The students", "The fourth graders", "Susie"...

This is the key part of the whole thing. Notice the word "behavior" in "behavioral objectives"? Behaviors are things that you can do. They are actions. They are observable.

Here are some examples:

run, write, add, put together, search, compose, speak, jump, read, draw

Here are some non-examples:

understand, listen, participate, enjoy, think, know, review

This is a little trickier. Conditions are the circumstances under which your student(s) will perform the behaviors. Only include the conditions that are important for this particular objective.

Examples:

with a word processor, using Netscape, using a calculator, with teacher assistance, with a peer tutor, in cooperative groups, silently, aloud, in the resource room, in the general education class, independently, during class discussion

Now, I think this is the easy part if you let it be easy. Don't trip yourself up! Here is the "big question" to ask yourself:

How will I know that my students have completed the objective to my satisfaction so that I can go on to the next lesson?

Please, please, please: do not rely on percentages!!! Many things are not measurable in this way!

Your criterion must be both reasonable and possible. By reasonable, I mean: Is this a level of accuracy that my students can obtain by the end of this lesson? For example, if it's an introductory lesson, they may not be able to achieve 9/10 correct, at least independently. By possible, I mean that the measure must match the product. You can't "write a paper with 80% accuracy", nor can everyone in a class answer you at least twice if you are only asking three questions. Be logical!

Examples:

4 out of 5 times, one page, with no more than three spelling errors, with 18/21 correct, giving at least three answers, two days in a row, including 4 out of 6 components

• Write a draft of your lesson plan first, or at least think through it, before writing your behavioral objective.
• Read your behavioral objective aloud. Is it a sentence? Does it make sense?
• Compare your behavioral objective with what happens in your lesson: Is there a match? Have you targeted the main idea of your lesson? If not, you need a different behavioral objective.
• Try to be concise.
• You may end up re-ordering the four components to get a sentence that "flows" better. This is okay.
• If you have more than one objective for the lesson, list and number them. Do not write them as a paragraph.

• Use the words "be able to".
• Use the words "will demonstrate understanding of x by x-ing".
• Use the words "in order to".

Rewrite the following objectives so that they are behavioral objectives, with all four parts. You are welcome to work in groups and to hand these in to me for feedback.

• Add two-digit numbers with regrouping.
• Understand Romeo and Juliet.
• Know parts of speech.
• Use apostrophes correctly.
• Read the story and comprehend it.
• Answer the questions at the end of the chapter.
• Write a five-paragraph paper.
• Count to ten.
• Complete the crossword puzzle.
• Define the spelling words.

Look at resources on the web that have lesson plans. In most cases, the "objectives" listed for the lesson are not written in behavioral terms. Choose some of these and practice writing a behavioral objective that would work for the lesson.

How to write behavioral objectives, by Dr. R. Kizlik. This is a detailed site, with other worthwhile links.

Rubric for Evaluating Behavioral Objectives may be useful for you in thinking about how to write excellent objectives. Common mistakes are included in the rubric.

A site for helping new teachers write objectives.

An LDOnline article about writing short term objectives for an IEP.

Alberto, P. A., & Troutman, A. C. (2003). Applied behavioral analysis for teachers, 6^th ed. (Chapter 2) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.