Faculty Development

• Presentation Elements
• Incorporating Adult Learning Principles Into Design Of Educational Activities
• Active Learning Strategies
• Increasing Effectiveness Of Grand Rounds
• Writing Learning Objectives
• Writing Assessment Questions

Writing Learning Objectives for Continuing Education Activities

Learning objectives should reflect what you expect learners to achieve after your instruction. They let learners know what to expect and keep educators focused and organized. Accredited continuing education (CE) must be designed to address a practice gap, which is the gap between what is currently happening in practice and best practice. Designing CE to change knowledge alone is not sufficient to address a practice gap because this has been demonstrated not to change clinician behavior or patient outcomes. Thus, CE must also be designed to change learner skills/strategy (the ability to do something/plan how to use such abilities), performance (what is actually done in practice), and/or patient outcomes. This is communicated through learning objectives.

Learning objectives should

be written from the perspective of the learner rather than the presenter (i.e., what the learner should be able to do as a result of participation in the activity, not what the educator intends to cover)
include an observable/measureable behavior. Since the following verbs are not measurable, they should never be used in learning objectives: appreciate, know, understand, learn, and believe.
reflect learner strategies, behaviors, and outcomes rather than process (i.e., what the learner will be able to do with new knowledge acquired through the education, not how they will aquire the knowledge)

Bloom’s (cognitive) taxonomy is a hierarchical model used to classify educational learning objectives into 6 levels of increasing cognitive complexity. Some consider the three higher levels as parallel rather than hierarchically ordered, though. Since accredited CE must be designed to change more than just knowldege, objectives that require only lower-level cognitive functions of knowledge (e.g., define, list) or comprehension (describe, explain, summarize) are insufficient outcomes; thus such verbs should be used sparingly, if at all. Skills/strategy and performance are reflected by levels 3-6 of Bloom's taxonomy.

Level of thinking	Level attributes	Examples of measurable verbs
Knowledge	Exhibits previously learned material by recalling facts and basic concepts	define, list, name, label, choose, match, locate, identify, select, reproduce, state
Comprehension	Demonstrates understanding of facts/ideas by organizing, comparing, interpreting, and describing.	describe, compare, summarize, explain, demonstrate, classify, interpret, convert, recognize, identify, restate, translate, generalize, rewrite, show, give examples
Application	Solves problems by applying acquired knowledge	apply, solve, illustrate, develop, plan, construct, use, prepare, teach, collect, calculate, chart, interview, operate, simulate
Analysis	Examines and deconstructs information into parts; makes inferences	analyze, categorize, simplify, distinguish, differentiate, relate, correlate, deduce, dissect, diagram, organize, outline
Synthesis	Compiles information in a different way by combining elements in a new pattern	estimate, predict, discuss, elaborate, design, adapt, formulate, assemble, construct, compose, negotiate, hypothesize, develop, propose, devise, produce, collaborate
Evaluation	Presents and defends opinions by making judgments about information	evaluate, criticize, defend, rate, appraise, support, prioritize, prove, judge, recommend, revise, assess, determine, measure, rank, validate

Below is a non-exhaustive list of verbs reflecting measurable/observable behaviors at the level of skills/strategy or performance that are particularly relevant to medical education. CE planners/speakers are encouraged to use the provided examples as a guide to the type of objectives that will be expected for their educational activity.

Verb	Example
Analyze	Analyze features of spells in children to generate a differential diagnosis and appropriate evaluation strategy
Apply	Apply emerging research to develop standardized protocols for operative treatment of the trauma patient
Appraise	Critically appraise clinical research studies to determine validity of results and applicability to patients
Assess	Assess risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea in adults
Calculate	Calculate a drug's loading dose, maintenance dose, and continuous infusion rate
Counsel	Counsel patients about the relationship between dietary food intolerance and gastroesophageal reflux
Determine	Determine equitable healthcare resource allocation in a clinical practice
Develop	Develop a team-based approach to care of the patient with post-COVID conditions
Devise	Devise a strategy to improve effectiveness of team collaboration
Diagnose	Accurately diagnose high-grade dysplasia in Barrett's esophagus
Evaluate	Evaluate patients with suspected aortic dissection
Formulate	Formulate a differential diagnosis and initial management plan for vulvovaginitis in the outpatient prepubertal child
Identify	Identify anatomic landmarks on joint ultrasound
Implement	Implement pharmacogenomics in various clinical populations
Incorporate	Incorporate into clinical practice the latest American Heart Association guidelines for the management of heart failure
Interpret	Interpret common nuclear medicine procedures
Manage	Manage acute respiratory distress in the emergency setting
Measure	Measure outcomes of depression treatment using quantitative rating scales
Optimize	Optimize existing technology to enhance patient access, self-management, and quality and coordination of care
Participate	Participate in end-of-life discussions and decision-making with patients and families
Perform	Perform bedside techniques to diagnose infectious skin pathologies
Predict	Predict the clinical consequences of enzyme-inhibiting and enzyme-inducing drug-drug interactions
Promote	Promote an inclusive, anti-racist culture in obstetrics
Recognize [clinical presentations]	Recognize red flags in the child with persistent pain
Recommend	Recommend an initial management strategy for hepatobiliary infections
Screen	Screen patients for cognitive change using the AD8 dementia tool
Select	Select cost-effective diagnostic strategies for common scenarios in the emergency department

Allyson Zazulia, M.D.