Creating Objectives for IPP Goals

When creating an IPP, it must include various things, but the most important components of one can be said to be the goals and objectives.  I have previously discussed how to create SMART goals, but under each of these goals there needs to be three objectives breaking up the goal into measurable parts. 

When creating objectives, it is important to keep in mind that they should adhere to the ACT HOW acronym.  This stands for action, context, and terms, and the HOW represents how you are going to measure these things.
A: Action.  This involves the verb of the objective.  It is the action that the student is going to take in order to improve in an area.  It is what they are going to do and learn, and it is what are they going to know when they have achieved the objective.  This can include many things, such as the student will be able to count to 50, or the student will complete written assignments.
C: Context.  The context of the objective is where, when, and under what conditions is the student expected to perform the action.  This may be written in a way such as the student will perform the action twice a week, at home or at school, in a certain classroom, by the end of class, or on the SMARTboard.
T: Terms.  The objective's terms involve writing the criteria for the student's work to be considered a success.  This includes how well or for how long the learning takes place, what percentage they must achieve on the work, or how much of the assignment or learning they must accomplish each time.  These may be things such as the student will achieve 80% on assignments given, or they must accomplish 2 out of 3 assignments.
HOW: How.  This is by what means is the student going to show they accomplished the objective. It is what the student does to show they have achieved their objective.  It also includes how the teacher is going to show that the student has achieved their goals, so how are they going to be assessed?  This may include tests, worksheets, self-reflections, and many other things.

Objectives are very important to an IPP because it makes the goals more specific and breaks them up so the teacher and the student have a vivid start and finishing point.  It elaborates on the goals and makes them seem more achieveable and less overwhelming as well.  A well written IPP should have objectives that follow the ACT HOW model that are specific and pertain to the goal they are under.