Constructing Good Lesson Objectives
To come up with good quality lesson objectives, the basic but crucial step is establishing an overarching goal. When the goal is set, objectives are easily stated to achieve this core goal. Most importantly, the objectives set should reflect on what is going to be trained, the way it will be trained and the mastery level of the section to be trained.
For the objectives set to work excellently, they have to employ behaviors that are observable in describing the lessons that a learner is looking forward to learning. However, good quality lesson objectives should not only be restricted to cognitive proficiency only but also on the psychomotor as well as effective learning objectives.
Critiquing Lesson Objectives
This process can be subdivided into informal and formal. Informally, a teacher, during every lesson, has to ensure that s/he appraises the learners’ merits in her/his subject. The educator also uses this opportunity to seal one lesson and initiate the following one. On the other hand, formal assessment/evaluation is done from time to time during a given program to determine if the objectives outlined during the initial stages of the course have been met or not (Linn and Miller 64). A point worth noting is that not all learners are equal.
A good critique must come immediately after the learner’s results are out, that is when the results are still vivid in their minds. The evaluation can be done orally or/and in written form. An effective critique should be specific, acceptable, constructive, objective, comprehensive, and organized.
Effects of Testing on Students
Criticism 1: Tests Create Anxiety
When testing methods are introduced in schools, students will always be anxious about the established pass marks and the likes. They start feeling excessive pressure as to how they will succeed in their tests. These signs are usually evident in those students who are low and average performers; the struggling ones. In case they are issued a test that appears to be far beyond their ability, they become frustrated. In such a manner, they always live in fear of what is in store for them whenever a test is delivered instead of even capitalizing and improving on the little skills they have acquired so far.
Criticism 2: Tests Damage Students’ Self-Concepts
Innovation and inventions are the key aspects of a learner that any given school environment should cultivate in all students. They should provide an enabling environment for learners to discover and fully peruse their acquired skills. Instead, testing tends to attract students’ concentration and focus on passing the delivered test. Most of the time, therefore, students will be preparing for the tests, even if it means cramming at the expense of researching to invent solutions to some problems.
In general, the kinds of tests issued rarely investigate the vital traits needed in learners like creativity, passion for learning, and innovation.
Works Cited
Linn, Robert, and Michael Miller. Measurement and Assessment in Teaching. Columbus: Prentice Hall, 2005. Print.