Levels of Learning
Within each of the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains, learning varies in level or complexity. Students learning to identify varieties of trees are engaged in a quite different process from those who are developing a woodlot management plan. Participants in a medical ethics workshop who are reading about perspectives on assisted suicide are working at a level different from those who are formulation a policy on the issue for their hospital.
For each domain and level of learning, I give three examples of objectives. Although, traditionally, objectives are usually expressed in the following form, “The learner will be able to…,” I advocate a less formal wording. When students participate in the development of objectives, they may prefer to state, “We will…” or “We plan to learn to…” In more individualized settings, learners may wish to express their objectives in the first person: “I will…” At other times, it may be most appropriate to use the phrasing, “You will…” and there may also be occasions where “Students will…” is still the most comfortable choice. I illustrate various formats here.
Cognitive Domain