Classical Teaching

Learning targets (or objectives) should focus specifically on what students will be able to do after the learning has taken place. They should be as clear and as concrete as possible, and teachers, as well as students, should be able to tell when they've been accomplished. 

Below is a table of some examples of strong and weak learning targets. Some of the examples in the weak category might be desirable as goals, but they won't be very helpful in guiding the teaching process, and they are stubbornly difficult to assess. 

Strong The student will be able to…	Weak The student will be able to…
…label the bones of the hand	…know the bones of the hand
…define what the term worldview means	…be clear about what worldviews are
…recall the causes of the French Revolution	…think about the causes of the French Revolution
…solve and graph inequalities with two variables	…work with inequalities with two variables
…apply the elements of beauty to a new piece of art	…appreciate a work of art
…summarize the impact of the French Revolution	…study the effects of the French Revolution
…describe the causes of the French Revolution	…be clear about the causes of the French Revolution …seek to understand the causes of revolution
…analyze the roles of the key figures in the French Revolution	…see the importance of the leaders of the French Revolution
…explain why a work of art is worthy of praise	…be inspired to admire the work of an artist …marvel at God’s creation
…evaluate the justice or injustice of the actions of the leaders of the French Revolution	…notice that there were warnings long before the outbreak of the French Revolution