Preparing Instructional Objectives

by Robert F. Mager

A Bob Mager classic! Before you prepare instruction, it is important to be able to clearly state what the desired outcomes of that instruction should be. In the largest selling book ever written on this subject, Bob Mager gives you the tools to do that by describing the characteristics of well-stated objectives and showing you how to write objectives that match the instructional results you are seeking to achieve. Preparing Instructional Objectives is your systematic guide to identifying, selecting, and writing well-stated objectives that create the foundation necessary to reach your instructional goals. The book will help you master the essential elements of writing a well-stated objective, including how * Describe performances you expect to achieve, * Identify the conditions under which you expect the performance to occur, and * Set criteria for acceptable performance. The book also includes a new Objectives Checklist to help you distinguish good objectives from those that need work.

193 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1900

About the author

Mager is a heavyweight in the field of training and performance improvement, and popularized the concept of Criterion Referenced Instruction.

Mager achieved A.B. and M.A. degrees from Ohio University and finished his Ph.D. in Psychology at the State University of Iowa.

Reviews

[Rhonda D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was the beginning of a new emphasis in education. It hasn't always been standard to clearly define your goals and outcomes clearly before you begin to design instruction. Mager was the first proponent of this trend.

I don't normally laugh out loud reading textbooks, but Mager is entertaining as he informs.

A quote I read just the other day in James Clear's newsletter was from this book: If you're not sure where you are going, you're liable to end up someplace else--and not even know it.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Using the book Preparing Instructional Objectives, write (type) a review after completing this book that is grammatically correct and includes the benefits of the book.

The audience for this book is the corporate Instructional Designer. I read this book during my master’s program and have just now read it a second time later in my career. This book covers objectives, the importance of being explicit, defines objective origins, qualities of useful objectives, specifies learner performance, conditions, and criteria for success. While lots of sub-par training can be a knee jerk reaction to solving a problem, this book helps to get all participants on the same page as to what to expect from learners and a training by starting with the critical step of objective writing. This book reads like a Choose Your Own Adventure book allowing you to skip around and check the results of your choices. The academic in me would have liked Mager to consider including a taxonomy for objectives like Blooms but I can see why he might have chosen not to. Highly recommend it.