Abstract:

Contribution:
Creating SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound) learning objectives is fundamental for effective curriculum design. However, it can be a challenging task without proper training. In this study, we discuss the effectiveness of our educational technology tool EdGUIDE (Educators Guidebook for Understanding Instruction by Design and Experience) for designing SMART learning objectives. Using Bloom's Taxonomy, the tool provides a platform for educators to learn about creating a curriculum where content, assessment, and pedagogy are aligned with learning objectives.

Background:
Mostly, course instructors and professors do not receive formal training on course development and rely on the mechanism through which they were taught a similar course. While effective in some cases, the approach has limitations, such as not having an aligned curriculum, leading to discrepancies between what is taught and tested. Considering that creating SMART learning objectives is the first step towards aligned course design, we examine how the EdGUIDE tool effectively builds participants' knowledge of learning objectives.

Research Questions:
In this study, we hypothesize that using EdGUIDE will impact participants' knowledge of creating SMART learning objectives. More specifically, we address two research questions:
1. How do the usage analytics vary between participants who had prior knowledge about Bloom's Taxonomy vs those who did not?
2. How does participants’ knowledge of creating SMART learning objectives vary between pre and post use of EdGUIDE educational technology?

Methodology:
In this quantitative study, the data will be collected from about 30 participants’ usage analytics embedded in the EdGUIDE tool. Within the application, data will also be collected regarding participants’ prior experiences with Bloom’s taxonomy. The participant pool will consist of instructors, undergraduate, and graduate students. Participants will be quizzed on their ability to recognize SMART learning objectives before and after using EdGUIDE to create learning objectives. To answer the first research question, we will use mean comparisons between participants with prior knowledge on Bloom’s Taxonomy and participants with no prior knowledge to analyze usage analytics (i.e. time spent on each step and numbers of errors while creating the objectives). For the second question, we will use mean comparisons on the participants’ pre and post quiz scores to measure the change in knowledge.

Findings:
The paper will discuss the results of the research questions and report the effectiveness of the EdGUIDE technology tool. The findings will report on participants’ experience of using EdGUIDE to create learning objectives, and whether the experience varied significantly between participants with prior knowledge on Bloom’s taxonomy and those without. The study’s results will demonstrate the effectiveness of EdGUIDE, for instructors both familiar and unfamiliar with Bloom’s Taxonomy, for creating SMART learning objectives.

Keywords:

Education, technology, development, learning objectives, curriculum design.