Tips for Writing Goals and Objectives

Although many different courses will cover in depth writing goals and objectives for health promotion programs, grants, and organizations, we have compiled a few tips to help write your goals and objectives early in your career.

What are goals and objectives?

A goal is an overarching principle that guides decision making. Objectives are specific, measurable steps that can be taken to meet the goal.

For example

Goal

Develop an increased understanding of careers in health education by the end of the Fall 2006 semester

Objectives

Find five job descriptions for health education related jobs by the beginning of December
Interview two current health education professionals by the end of November
Identify three organizations that employ health educators by the end of September

A common way of describing goals and objectives is to say that:

Goals	Objectives
Goals are broad	Objectives are narrow
Goals are general intentions	Objectives are precise
Goals are intangible	Objectives are tangible.
Goals are abstract	Objectives are concrete.
Goals are generally difficult to measure	Objectives are measurable

These are not the only definitions of goals and objectives. Goals and objectives are used in different ways for different purposes and several of your classes will offer you greater insight into using goals and objectives.

Throughout your master programs, you will come to appreciate the importance of measurable goals. Measurable goals and objectives are essential for evaluating progress. Your personal goals are no different. A useful way of making goals and objectives more powerful and measurable is to use the SMART mnemonic. While there are plenty of variants, SMART usually stands for:

Letter	Stands for
S	Specific
M	Measurable
A	Attainable
R	Relevant
T	Time-bound

For example, instead of saying “I will talk to people about health education” say “I will interview three current health educators including questions about their position and career development by December 1, 2006”.

Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Objectives

Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive objectives, originated by Benjamin Bloom and collaborators in the 1950’s, describes several categories of cognitive learning. These stages can be useful when writing your goals and objectives.

Category	Description
Knowledge	Ability to recall previously learned material.
Comprehension	Ability to grasp meaning, explain, restate ideas.
Application	Ability to use learned material in new situations.
Analysis	Ability to separate material into component parts and show relationships between parts.
Synthesis	Ability to put together the separate ideas to form new whole, establish new relationships.
Evaluation	Ability to judge the worth of material against stated criteria.

Useful Verbs for Writing Goals and Objectives

Knowledge	Comprehension	Application	Analysis	Synthesis	Evaluation
Define Identify List Name Recall Recognize Record Relate Repeat Underline	Choose Cite examples of Demonstrate use of Describe Determine Differentiate between Discriminate Discuss Explain Express Give in own words Identify Interpret Locate Pick Report Restate Review Recognize Select Tell Translate Respond Practice Simulates	Apply Demonstrate Dramatize Employ Generalize Illustrate Interpret Operate Operationalize Practice Relate Schedule Shop Use Utilize Initiate	Analyze Appraise Calculate Categorize Compare Conclude Contrast Correlate Criticize Deduce Debate Detect Determine Develop Diagram Differentiate Distinguish Draw conclusions Estimate Evaluate Examine Experiment Identify Infer Inspect Inventory Predict Question Relate Solve Test Diagnose	Arrange Assemble Collect Compose Construct Create Design Develop Formulate Manage Modify Organize Plan Prepare Produce Propose Predict Reconstruct Set-up Synthesize Systematize Devise	Appraise Assess Choose Compare Critique Estimate Evaluate Judge Measure Rate Revise Score Select Validate Value Test