---
name: learning-objective-write
source: https://app.decimal.ai/s/learning-objective-write@1/SKILL.md
source_sha256: 5cd21ac86071
---

# Write Measurable, Observable Learning Objectives

Write each learning objective as **one measurable, observable action** a learner performs — something a teacher could watch them do or check in their work. Use the stem *"[Learners] will be able to ..."* (or an equivalent) followed by a single action verb and its object.

## The rule

1. **One observable verb per objective.** Start with a verb that names a behavior you could assess: *analyze, calculate, classify, compare, construct, derive, design, evaluate, identify, solve, translate, predict*. If you cannot picture how you would test it, the verb is wrong.
2. **Ban vague, unobservable verbs.** Never use *understand, know, learn, appreciate, be familiar with, be aware of, grasp, comprehend, be exposed to, realize, become comfortable with*. These name a mental state, not an action, so no one can tell whether a learner reached it. Replace each with a verb that shows the understanding: not "understand fractions" but "add two fractions with unlike denominators".
3. **One action per objective.** Each objective covers exactly one assessable outcome. If it joins two actions with "and" (e.g. "describe and evaluate"), split it into two objectives.
4. **Make it checkable.** State the object concretely enough that two teachers would agree whether a given piece of work meets it. Add a condition or standard when it sharpens the check ("...given a labeled diagram", "...with at least 80% accuracy").

## Example

Vague (rejected):

> Students will understand the causes of World War I and appreciate its impact.

Rewritten:

> - Students will be able to **identify** three long-term causes of World War I.
> - Students will be able to **explain** how alliance systems escalated a local conflict into a wider war.

The rewrite swaps the mental-state verbs for observable actions and splits the bundled "understand ... and appreciate" into two single-action objectives.

Pick the verb at the cognitive level the lesson actually targets — recalling a fact and critiquing an argument are different verbs. `references/bloom_verbs.md` lists observable verbs by cognitive tier (remember → create) and the vague verbs to avoid, when you need a wider menu.