If I had a dollar for every time I saw a slide that said, “At the end of this module, you will understand the new safety policy,” I could retire on a yacht in the Pacific.

Here is the hard truth: “Understand” is not a learning objective. It is a wish.

As Instructional Designers, our job isn’t to hope the learner “gets it.” Our job is to change behaviour. You cannot measure “understanding.” You can’t see it, you can’t test it, and you certainly can’t prove to a stakeholder that it happened.

To write objectives that actually work, you need to stop being vague and start being specific. You need to master the tool that has been saving designers since 1956: Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Here is how to write objectives that don’t just fill a slide, but actually guide your design.

The Problem with “Fuzzy” Objectives

An objective is a contract. It tells the learner: “Give me 20 minutes of your time, and I will give you this specific skill.”

When you use words like Understand, Know, Appreciate, or Be aware of, you are breaking that contract.

• Vague: “The learner will understand how to put out a fire.” (What does that mean? Can they define fire? Can they recite the chemistry of combustion?)
• Specific: “The learner will select the correct extinguisher for a grease fire and demonstrate the PASS technique.”

See the difference? One is a feeling; the other is an action.

Enter Bloom’s Taxonomy (The Verb Ladder)

Benjamin Bloom created a hierarchy of learning. It moves from the bottom (basic recall) to the top (complex creation).

As an eLearning designer, your choice of Verb dictates the difficulty of the course and the type of assessment you build.

Level 1: Remember (The “parrot” phase)

• The Goal: Recall facts.
• The Verbs: List, Define, Label, Identify.
• The eLearning: Simple drag-and-drop or multiple-choice quizzes.
• Use when: You just need them to know the jargon.

Level 2: Understand (The “Explain” phase)

• The Goal: Comprehend meaning.
• The Verbs: Describe, Explain, Summarise, Discuss.
• The eLearning: Sorting activities or “What comes next?” scenarios.
• Use when: They need to grasp the concept, not just the word.

Level 3: Apply (The Money Zone)

• The Goal: Use information in a new situation.
• The Verbs: Demonstrate, Calculate, Solve, Operate, Use.
• The eLearning: Software simulations or branching scenarios.
• Use when: This is where 90% of corporate training should be. We pay people to do things, not just know things.

Level 4, 5, & 6: Analyse, Evaluate, Create (The Expert Zone)

• The Goal: Deep critical thinking.
• The Verbs: Analyse, Defend, Critique, Design, Construct.
• The eLearning: Complex case studies with no “right” answer, or project-based tasks.

The Golden Formula: ABCD

If you are struggling to write a sharp objective, use the ABCD formula:

1. A – Audience: Who is it? (The Sales Manager…)
2. B – Behaviour: What will they do? (…will overcome a pricing objection…)
3. C – Condition: How will they do it? (…using the “Feel, Felt, Found” script…)
4. D – Degree: How well? (…identifying the correct response within 30 seconds.)

The Result: “The Sales Manager will overcome a pricing objection using the ‘Feel, Felt, Found’ script.”

Why This Matters for Design

Your objective is your compass.

If your verb is “List,” you build a bullet-point slide and a multiple-choice quiz. If your verb is “Fix,” you cannot build a bullet-point slide. You must build a simulation where something is broken, and they have to repair it.

If your objective matches your assessment, your course is aligned. If it doesn’t, you are confusing your learner.

The Bottom Line

Stop writing objectives for the sake of the “Introduction” slide. Write them for yourself. Let the verb dictate the design.

If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. So, banish the word “Understand” from your vocabulary and start designing for Action.

Bloom’s Taxonomy is the alphabet of Instructional Design. If you want to write better eLearning, you need to know the language. Book a coaching session with me to master the basics of ID theory.