From Teaching Open Source

(This content is common to all learning objectives pages.)

Each section in a chapter MUST have a learning objective tied to it, which MUST follow a common format. Each chapter MUST list an overview of the learning objectives for the chapter.

• S(kills): What students should be able to do by the time the course is completed.
• K(nowledge): What students should know and understand by the time the course is completed.
• A(ttitudes) What the students’ opinions will be about the subject matter of the course by the time it is completed.

This S-K-A formula is from http://web.mit.edu/tll/teaching-materials/learning-objectives/index-learning-objectives.html . The page includes detailed suggestions of this method:

1. Learning objectives SHOULD start with a phrase such as, "By the time you finish the section, you should be able to ..."
2. In writing, supply a strong action verb, such as: explain, list, describe, demonstrate, calculate, report, compare, analyze, present, check-in/check-out, write (code), edit (content), etc.

Some examples:

• By the time you finish the section, you should be able to check code in to and out of a Subversion repository.
• By the time you finish the section, you should be able to communicate with another student exclusively via IRC for the purposes of collaborating on a project.
• By the time you finish the section, you should be able to explain watch a code patch is.

If a section covers multiple learning objectives, you can list them in this fashion:

• By the time you finish this section, you should be able to ...
  1. Research and interview another person using Internet Relay Chat (IRC).
  2. Write a biography of another person using a wiki.
  3. Explain the five step waterfall method of writing technical documentation.
  4. Etc.