2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Learning objectives are often treated as standardized, prescriptive elements of educational design, frequently viewed as bureaucratic requirements that potentially constrain rather than enhance learning experiences (Mitchell and Manzo, 2018). This study draws on collaborative autoethnographic traditions (Sochaka et al., 2018) to challenge these normative perspectives by investigating how three educators with diverse positionalities engage with learning objectives across different teaching contexts.

The research brings together a PhD student teaching a new course, an assistant teaching professor refining an existing course, and a full professor developing a doctoral-level experiential learning course. Through weekly recorded conversations during an academic term, the study is exploring the complex ways educators interact with, interpret, and implement learning objectives. These conversations build on the participant observation tradition in ethnography by providing a space for the researchers to make observations about their participant roles (i.e., their work as educators engaging with learning objectives). Key research questions examine the challenges, contradictions, and emergent opportunities that surface when deeply engaging with learning objectives across varied educational settings.

Preliminary findings reveal critical insights into the planned, lived, and possible roles of learning objectives in instructor’s everyday practice. For example, the study is uncovering how the origin and framing of objectives significantly impact educational experiences, highlighting institutional constraints that may inadvertently limit learning potential. The study is also documenting innovative emergent approaches, such as activities that directly engage students with learning objectives, including student-led questioning and reflective exit tickets.

An overarching theme is the transformative potential of viewing learning objectives as adaptive tools rather than rigid frameworks. The research challenges traditional approaches to educational design by demonstrating how learning objectives can be reimagined to support broader educational goals beyond competency-based assessment, particularly in experiential learning contexts.

The study ultimately aims to empower educators by providing a nuanced exploration of learning objectives in practice. By putting findings in dialogue with faculty development literature and design research, the research seeks to transform learning objectives from bureaucratic hurdles into meaningful instruments that genuinely support and advance student learning.

Bibliography
Sochacka, N. W., Guyotte, Kelly. W., & Walther, J. (2016). Learning Together: A Collaborative Autoethnographic Exploration of STEAM (STEM + the Arts) Education. Journal of Engineering Education, 105(1), 15–42. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20112

Mitchell, K. M., & Manzo, W. R. (2018). The purpose and perception of learning objectives. Journal of Political Science Education, 14(4), 456-472. DOI:10.1080/15512169.2018.1433542