Technique 7: 4 Ms

The 4 Ms (Manageable, Measurable, Made First, and Most Important) are used to evaluate how effective an objective is.

Manageable: the objective should be manageable in the time allotted (which may be more or less than one class period).

Measurable: measure every class period with an "exit ticket" -- a short activity, question, or set of questions that students must complete and leave with you before departing.  "Even if you don't use tickets, setting an explicitly measurable goal beforehand helps you hold yourself accountable."

Made First: this is Begin with the End

Most Important: focus on what is important when designing an objective.

The author gives some examples of bad objectives:

• "Students will be able to add and subtract fractions with like and unlike denominators."   The author says this is too big of a goal: not manageable.
• "Students will be able to appreciate various forms of poetry, including sonnets and lyric poetry."  What does "appreciate" mean?  It isn't measurable.
• "Students will view scenes from the film version of The Crucible." This is an activity, not an objective.
• "Students will construct a poster to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day."  Again, this is an activity, not an objective.  And, the most important objective might be to understand the importance of Dr. King's work, not to make a poster.

My response:

Good stuff.  Very good stuff.  I don't know if the "exit ticket" system would work in college, although it might in computer science labs...