Analyzing your learning situation refers to the micro process of breaking down a specific course goal into instructional steps and prerequisite steps. The outcome of this process is a well-defined set of objectives and expectations for students. The culminating objectives are typically used as the basis for creating assessment items. This process has five specific components:

1. Write a Goal

Goal analysis is the process of clarifying "fuzzy" or vague goals. For instance, you may have a goal for students to "appreciate music." This vague goal can be clarified by listing indicator behaviors for that goal (e.g., student knows about composers, student listens to music outside of class). Write more concrete goal statements from your indicator behaviors (e.g., "The student will choose to listen to more classical music."). Goals:

• are stated in terms of the learner ("The student will...")
• describe an explicit behavior ("...write," "...draw," "...act")
• refer to the outcome of instruction ("...Elizabethan sonnets")

2. Place the goal within a domain of learning.

Your learning goals can be categorzied into different domains of learning. Psychomotor and attitudinal outcomes are unique, while verbal information, intellectual skills, and cognitive strategies represent cognitive learning outcomes.

3. List/diagram all steps required to achieve the goal (i.e., instructional analysis).

For goals within psychomotor domains, conduct a "procedural analysis." Identify the end point and the starting point of the motor skill. Identify the first step following start point and every other discrete movement until end point is reached. View a sample of procedural analysis.

For goals within the verbal information domain, conduct an "elaboration analysis," or "cluster analysis." Identify the main concept, determine how the knowledge is structured (e.g., parts, kinds, classes), identify first-level headings, second-level headings, and so-forth. Try to identify what is related to the information being taught. View a sample of elaboration analysis.

For goals within the intellectual skills domain, conduct a "hierarchical analysis." Identify the final outcome, ask yourself "what must the learner do to accomplish this task," continue to identify prerequisite skills for each sub-task. View a sample of hierarchical analysis.

For goals within the cognitive strategies domain, conduct an "expert analysis." Interview, observe, or tape experts as they perform a task, and list processes and behaviors.

4. Note prerequisite steps that precede instructional steps.

For each analysis above, you can compare what your students already know against the steps identified. You can distribute a pre-test or background knowledge probe to determine your learners' prerequisite understandings. Draw a dashed-line onto your instructional analyses where everything below the line has been mastered by students. Everything above that level requires instruction and will be taught.

5. Write specific objectives for instructional steps.

Behavioral objectives should be written for each instructional step identified or for a related group of steps. Objectives:

• are stated in terms of the learner ("...the student will...")
• describe an explicit behavior ("...organize web evidence that supports clear-cutting practices," "...classify types of corn,")
• contain conditions ("Given the Inspiration concept mapping program...")
• contain criteria ("...at least nine")