eLearningbyDana

Goal

A broad statement of the result or change a learning initiative is intended to support, providing direction for more specific outcomes, objectives, and design decisions.

Goal

Give the learning initiative a clear direction.

A goal is a broad statement of the result or change a learning initiative is intended to support. It helps explain where the project is trying to go before the team defines the details of how learning will help get there.

A goal may focus on performance, behavior, business results, learner capability, or another meaningful change connected to the reason the project exists.

Goals are broader than learning objectives. They provide direction; more specific outcomes, objectives, activities, and measures can then be aligned with that direction.

A Goal Helps Keep the Project Pointed in the Same Direction

A useful goal gives stakeholders and the project team a shared understanding of the change they are working toward.

Connects to the Need Keeps the project tied to the problem, opportunity, or result that prompted the work.
Guides Decisions Provides a reference point when deciding what content, practice, support, or other elements belong in the solution.
Creates Alignment Helps sponsors, SMEs, designers, and other stakeholders work toward the same intended result.
Supports Measurement Gives the team a starting point for deciding what evidence could show whether meaningful change occurred.
A goal gives the project direction without trying to describe every detail of the solution.

Write the Goal Around the Change You Want to Support

A goal becomes more useful when it describes a meaningful result rather than simply naming the learning deliverable.

Useful Question What should be different if this initiative is successful?
Focus on the result. “Improve safe equipment operation” provides more direction than “create safety training.”
Connect it to a real need. The goal should reflect the reason the organization is investing time and resources in the initiative.
Keep it broad enough to guide. Save detailed behaviors, conditions, and performance criteria for more specific objectives and measures.
Make sure people mean the same thing. A short conversation about the goal can uncover different stakeholder expectations before design begins.
Start with the change—not the course, workshop, video, job aid, or other deliverable.

A Goal Sets Direction; an Objective Gets More Specific

The terms are sometimes used loosely, but separating them can help a project move from a broad intention to specific expectations.

Goal

Describes the broader result or change the initiative is intended to support.

Example
Improve supervisors' ability to address workplace performance issues effectively.

Learning Objective

Describes more specifically what learners should be able to do as a result of the learning experience.

Example
Given a performance scenario, select the appropriate coaching response.
The goal explains the broader destination; objectives help define the learner performance needed to move toward it.

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