Tips for writing goals and objectives and suggestions for involving faculty in the process are also included. Definitions Goals and objectives are similar in that they serve to direct teaching and learning. They describe the intended purposes and expected results of teaching activities and establish the foundation for assessment. Goals are statements about general aims or purposes of education that are broad, long-range intended outcomes. Goals are used primarily in policy making and general program planning.
Objectives are brief, clear statements that describe the desired learning outcomes of instruction.
Attention is focused on the specific types of performances that students are expected to demonstrate at the end of instruction. Because the two terms are often used interchangeably, confusion sometimes arises. Although both goals and objectives use the language of outcomes, the characteristic that distinguishes goals from objectives is the level of specificity. Goals express intended outcomes in general terms and objectives express them in specific terms. Goals are written in broad, global, and sometimes vague, language.