Short-term objectives should be very precise and detailed. These characteristic features ensure its effectiveness. The educator should clearly understand the outcome of every intervention, and, hence, the objective should include strong verbs. It is also crucial to make sure that all the details are provided. The details include conditions, time, behavior, criteria. As has been mentioned above, the behavior should be revealed in particular verbs (for example, read a specific number of words, do a particular number of sums, and so on).
The criterion enables the educator to make sure that the student is making progress as specific results will be tangible. Thus, it is vital to include a percentage of correct answers given, several sums are done, and so on. Importantly, when it comes to behavioral objectives, the educator should describe meaningful details concerning the desirable behavior. For instance, the teacher may note that the student should say hello, look at all the people in the room, and smile at everyone when entering a room.
The conditions should also be depicted in detail. If a student says hello and smiles in the middle of a class or activity, it will mean that the student has not achieved the goal set and that the intervention is ineffective. Finally, time is another important factor. It is crucial to identify a particular time frame that will be sufficient to make the behavior a norm rather than an exception. It is possible to provide two short-term objectives. One of them is associated with academic goals, and the other is linked to the behavioral ones.
Short-term (academic) objective: When given a spelling test that consists of 30 randomly chosen words out of 50 items (CVC pattern), Kate will write 85% of words correctly, and this score will be the same (or higher) during four following spelling tests.
- Statement of Expected Outcomes (or Behavior): the student will write 30 words correctly
- Statement of Conditions or Circumstances: when given a spelling test consisting of 30 randomly chosen words out of 50 items (CVC pattern)
- Statement of Criterion: Kate will write 85% of words correctly
- Statement of Time: during five consecutive spelling tests
Short-term (behavioral) objective: When provided with ten opportunities to answer a question during a week, Steve will give a correct answer each time only after raising his hand and being invited to reply.
- Statement of Expected Outcomes (or Behavior): Steve will give a correct answer each time
- Statement of Conditions or Circumstances: When provided with ten opportunities to answer a question
- Statement of Criterion: Steve will give a correct answer each time only after raising his hand and being invited to reply
- Statement of Time: ten opportunities to answer a question during a week
In conclusion, it is possible to note that detailed short-term objectives enable the educator to check the effectiveness of the intervention as well as evaluate the progress of the student. It is vital to pay the necessary attention to all the elements of the short-term objective as they allow the instructor to see the progress as well as particular gaps if any. The two short-term objectives provided include all the necessary aspects and can be instrumental in evaluating the progress of the student, his/her achievements as well as the effectiveness of the intervention.