Some Guidelines on the Classroom use of Performance Objectives

Abstract

The literature on the writing of performance (i.e. behavioural) objectives has not spelled out sufficient guidelines for the teacher wishing to know how to use such objectives in the classroom, particularly at the Knowledge and Comprehension level. The present article therefore proposes a set of such guidelines, emphasising (1) the need for the teacher to derive the tasks in the objective from the main teaching points he intends to make, as contained in material that the students will have before them as the lesson proceeds, (2) the importance, for both teacher and students, of keeping the objective on continuous display, (3) the value of the teacher's regular cross‐referencing between the points he is developing and the related tasks on display, (4) the need for immediate feedback after the objective has been performed.