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Learning Goals

Learning goals help you focus your development as a Creative Technologist. They translate broad learning outcomes (such as analyzing iteratively or designing with ethical awareness) into personal and concrete objectives you can work on in projects. For example, instead of saying “I want to be better at prototyping,” a learning goal could be: “In the next project I will build at least three iterations of my prototype and test them with five users to validate interaction design choices.”

Why is this relevant to you? Because your role combines creativity, technology, and research. Clear learning goals guide your growth in areas like analysis, advising, designing, realizing, process management, and personal leadership. They help you take responsibility for your development and show evidence of progress.

Starting Points

  1. Connect to the official learning outcomes for the Creative Technologist profile.
    Example: From Analyzing, create a goal like: “I will use two different usability test methods to analyze my prototype and compare results.”
  2. Make goals concrete and measurable using the SMART method.
    Example: “I will document my process weekly in GitHub with code commits and reflections.”
  3. Focus on growth, not perfection.
    Example: “I will practice pitching my advice three times to different audiences (peer, teacher, client) and reflect on the differences.”

Key Points

  1. A good learning goal is specific (what exactly will you do) and linked to a learning outcome.
  2. You justify your goals: explain why this is meaningful for your growth.
  3. You reflect on progress: what evidence shows that you worked on your goals?
  4. Learning goals can target different areas:
    Analyzing: applying methods to test and improve prototypes.
    Advising: making recommendations with clear impact.
    Designing: integrating creativity, technology, and ethics in solutions.
    Realizing: building and validating working prototypes.
    Manage & Control: documenting and structuring processes transparently.
    Personal Leadership: showing initiative, reflection, and openness to feedback.

Example Learning Goals

  1. Analyzing
    “During the next sprint, I will test my interactive prototype with at least five users using both observation and think-aloud methods. I will compare the findings and use them to improve the interaction design.”

  2. Advising
    “For the upcoming client meeting, I will prepare a five-minute pitch supported by test data and visuals. My goal is to present at least two alternatives, explain their pros and cons, and justify my recommendation clearly.”

  3. Personal Leadership
    “Throughout this project, I will ask for feedback from at least three different sources (a peer, a teacher, and a stakeholder). I will document this feedback in my learning log and reflect after each sprint on how I used it to improve my work.”