How to Write Learning Objectives for a Training Session

Most trainings are built backward. Someone picks a topic, opens a slide deck, and starts filling it with everything they know. Two hours later the room is tired, the trainer is out of time, and nobody can say what anyone is supposed to do differently tomorrow.

Learning objectives fix that. They are the first thing you write, before a single slide. Every activity, example, and handout in the session exists to help people meet them. If it does not, it gets cut.

After more than twenty years of teaching adults, this is the part I would never skip.

What a learning objective is

A learning objective is one sentence that finishes this phrase:

"By the end of this session, you will be able to..."

What comes after has to be something a person does. Something you could watch them do, or check on paper. That is the whole test.

• Weak: Understand the new expense policy.
• Strong: Submit an expense report that meets the new policy on the first try.

You cannot see someone understand. You can see whether their expense report goes through.

Start with the verb

The verb does most of the work. Pick one that describes an action.

Verbs to avoid: understand, know, learn, appreciate, be aware of, be familiar with, grasp. These describe what happens inside someone's head, and you have no way to check them.

Verbs that work: list, name, explain, describe, identify, compare, choose, calculate, write, complete, demonstrate, fix, plan, decide.

Some of these ask for more than others. "List the steps" only asks people to remember. "Choose the right step for this situation" asks them to apply it. Educators often use a framework called Bloom's taxonomy to sort verbs from simple recall up to judging and creating. You do not need to memorize it. Just ask yourself: on the job, do they need to remember this, or use it? Then pick a verb that matches.

Add the conditions and the standard

An approach often credited to the educator Robert Mager breaks a strong objective into three parts:

1. Performance: what the person will do.
2. Condition: under what circumstances, or with what tools.
3. Criterion: how well they have to do it.

For a lot of workplace training, the first part alone gets you most of the way there. Add the other two when they matter.

• Performance only: Write a reply to a customer complaint.
• With a condition: Using the complaint template, write a reply to a customer complaint.
• With a standard: Using the complaint template, write a reply to a customer complaint that includes all three required steps.

The last version tells the participant exactly what good looks like. It also tells you exactly what to check.

Examples you can borrow

Safety training: Identify the three exits from your work area and the meeting point outside.

Software training: Create a new client record and schedule a follow-up without using the help guide.

Supervisor training: Give a coworker specific, private feedback in a practice conversation, describing what happened and what you need next time.

Customer service: Choose the correct escalation path for each of five sample calls.

Compliance training: Explain in your own words when you must report a concern, and to whom.

Notice that each one can be checked during the session itself. That is on purpose.

How many to write

Fewer than you want to. A short session can only change a few behaviors. If you find yourself writing eight objectives for a one-hour workshop, you have two choices: cut, or split it into more than one session. Rushing through all eight means people leave having met none of them.

A good habit: write every objective you can think of, then rank them by what matters most on the job. Keep the top few. Put the rest in a handout or a follow-up.

Build the session from the objectives

Once your objectives are written, plan backward from each one.

• How will they practice it? If the objective is "write a reply," people need to write a reply in the room, not watch you talk about replies.
• How will you check it? A quick exercise, a role play, a short quiz, or a real work sample.
• What do they need to know first? That is your content. Only that.

This is where most trainings get shorter, not longer. When everything has to earn its place by serving an objective, a lot of slides disappear. For more on keeping a session focused, see how to run a training session people remember.

Tell people the objectives

Put them at the start. Say them out loud. Adults learn better when they know what they are working toward and why it matters to their job. Come back to them at the end, and give people a chance to show they can do each one.

If someone cannot meet an objective by the end, that is not a failure. It is information. It tells you what to reteach, what to change in the session, or what support that person needs on the job.

A quick checklist

• Does each objective start with an action verb?
• Could I watch someone do it, or check it on paper?
• Does it match what they actually do on the job?
• Is there a practice activity for it in the session?
• Have I cut everything that does not serve an objective?

Write the objectives first. The rest of the training gets easier from there.

Questions people ask

What is a learning objective?
A learning objective is a short statement of what a participant will be able to do by the end of the training. A good one names an action you could watch or check, not a feeling or a topic. For example, 'Write a complaint response that follows the three-step policy' instead of 'Understand customer service.'

What words should you avoid in learning objectives?
Avoid verbs you cannot see or check, such as understand, know, learn, appreciate, and be aware of. Use verbs that describe something a person does: write, list, explain, demonstrate, identify, calculate, choose, or complete.

How many learning objectives should a training have?
Fewer than you think. For a short session, a few objectives is usually plenty. If you have a long list, you probably have more content than time. Cut or split the session rather than rushing.

What is the difference between a goal and a learning objective?
A goal is the bigger reason for the training, like fewer billing errors. A learning objective is the specific thing each person will be able to do to help reach that goal, like correctly coding the five most common service types. Goals belong to the organization. Objectives belong to the learner.

Do learning objectives have to be measurable?
They should be checkable. You should be able to look at what a person does at the end of the session and tell whether they met the objective. That is what lets you know the training worked instead of guessing.