Behavioral Performance-Based Objectives

Behavioral performance-based objectives in curriculum refer to lesson objectives for students set by the teacher that are precise and observable, for example, “The student will demonstrate the ability to add integers where regrouping is needed.” Behavioral performance-based objectives have become increasingly important in the field of curriculum studies as teachers work with their students to demonstrate mastery of objectives in high-stakes testing. This type of objective became popular in the 1970s when behavioral science was at its peak and when B. F. Skinner, a prominent behavioral scientist, claimed that all human learning was a result of stimulus-response. Skinner believed that by observing the response we would observe learning. Objectives such as “The student will understand the meaning of place value” were pushed aside to make room for “The student will show understanding of place value through converting number words such as one hundred and one' into its numeric equivalent with 90% accuracy.” Teachers infer knowledge on the part of the student by the student's ability to perform a task. Performance based meant that the learning was reflected through some action by the learner, whether it was serving a volleyball in physical education or solving an algebraic equation in writing. By reducing all learning to behavioral objectives that could be observed, assessment of learning became more precise and more easily measured.

Learning objectives are normally set for each lesson by the teacher, and they should drive the instruction and the assessment of student learning. They are written in response to goals and standards for curriculum usually set by the district and/or state. In this era of high-stakes testing, having students demonstrate learning through behavioral performance is taken seriously in the field of curriculum studies. The focus has shifted from what was taught to what was learned. No longer is it sufficient for the teacher to cover the subject. The students must demonstrate they have learned the skill or concept through their observable actions or satisfactory performance utilizing the skill or understanding.

Each behavioral performance-based objective should have the following four parts: (1) the type of knowledge being inferred, for example, factual, procedural, conceptual; (2) the behavior the learner will exhibit; (3) the conditions under which the learning will be exhibited; and (4) the parameters of the student's performance such as time limits, order of information, and so on.

The focus on writing behavioral performance-based objectives is on the verb, which needs to be an action verb and the level of success expected. “The student will write three sentences using capitals and ending punctuation correctly 80% of the time” is an example of a behavioral performance-based objective. In contrast, “The student will know when to use capitals and ending punctuation” is not a behavioral performance-based objective because there is no observable action to show the student possesses the knowledge. Objectives also should include the conditions under which the [Page 75]performance occurs. Such as “After reading The Scarlet Letter, the student will write a letter to Hester from Mr. Dimsdale's point of view, using appropriate grammar, letter form, and point of view.”

...