Defining performance objectives

Dick, Carey, and Carey (2005) outline a set of requirements for performance objectives in an instructional unit, including audience, behavior, condition, and degree. The audience is the target population to complete the assigned objective. Behavior includes an action verb to describe what the learners are expected to know and/or be able to do. Cues, stimuli, tools, scope, and complexity are part of the condition in a performance objective. Finally, the acceptable performance is defined by the degree. A complete objective would have all four components, for example, "provided with a list of insects, first graders will write the list of insects in alphabetical order with 90% accuracy."