Learning Objectives

[Learning Objectives Title]

For adult learners in risk management and insurance (RMI), strong learning objectives do more than set the agenda. They help connect instruction to real-world challenges, frame content in terms of professional value, and encourage engagement through relevance and practicality. By clearly defining who the instruction is for, what learners will be able to do afterward, and why those skills matter in their daily work, you establish a direct link between the instruction and on-the-job performance. This clarity not only guides learners’ expectations; it also helps instructors highlight examples and design activities that reinforce meaningful application.

The following sections explore:

  • What Makes a Strong Learning Objective? The essential components—audience, action, and relevance—that transform ineffective statements into precise, outcome-focused goals for adult learners.

  • Transforming Learning Objectives: From “OK” to Impactful: How to specify exactly who is learning, articulate what they will do, and connect each objective to a concrete benefit in their professional role.

  • Aligning Objectives With Adult Learning Principles: Why well-crafted learning objectives are at the heart of adult education best practices, influencing everything from learner motivation to content sequencing and application.

With these principles in mind, you’ll write objectives that outline clear targets, highlight practical value, and contribute to more impactful RMI learning experiences.

What Makes a Strong Learning Objective?

A strong learning objective for adult learners should:

Put the Learner First

Specify your audience. Rather than using general terms like "attendees," identify the specific professional group. For example:

  • Instead of: "Attendees will learn..."

  • Use: "Underwriters participating in this webinar will learn..."

This signals to learners that the session is tailored to their professional role and challenges.

Identify the Actionable

A learning objective should make clear what the learner will be able to do, not just what they will be exposed to. Avoid vague verbs like "understand" or "learn about."

Instead, use actionable verbs that align with higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, such as draft, evaluate, implement, or analyze. These verbs imply deeper engagement with the material and a clearer link to professional skills.

Be Framed With Relevance

Adult learners want to know why they are learning something, and they want to know up front. Learning objectives should explicitly connect the instruction to a workplace application or professional benefit.

For example:

  • "...to improve client communication during high-stakes claims negotiations."

  • "...to reduce errors in coverage analysis and avoid E&O exposure."

  • "...so they can apply new underwriting tools to assess emerging risks more efficiently."

These elements reflect best practices in adult education, which emphasize purpose-driven, experience-based learning that connects directly to workplace performance. By combining these three elements—audience, action, and relevance—RMI instructors can write learning objectives that set the stage for meaningful, engaging, and applicable instruction.

Transforming Learning Objectives: From "OK" to Impactful

Even experienced professionals may fall into the trap of writing learning objectives that are too vague, passive, or disconnected from real-world application. Below are three examples that illustrate how to take an "OK" learning objective and transform it into one that is specific, actionable, and relevant—making the content more engaging and impactful for adult learners.

Example 1

Clarifying the Actionable

  • OK: Students will learn about the components of a Reservation of Rights (ROR) letter.

  • Better: Webinar participants will be able to draft effective, legally compliant Reservation of Rights (ROR) letters, reducing the risk of litigation and the need for follow-up addendums.

Learner / Actionable / Relevancy

The improved version replaces vague language (What does it mean to “learn” and for what purpose is the student “learning”?) with a skill-based verb (i.e., “draft”) and a clear, performance-based outcome that reflects a practical application (i.e., “reducing the risk of litigation and the need for follow-up addendums”).

Example 2

Making Relevance Explicit

  • OK: Students will understand the importance of ethics in the insurance industry.

  • Better: Claims agents will learn strategies to prevent ethical fading, ensuring fair client treatment and protecting the company’s reputation.

Learner / Actionable / Relevancy

This revision improves the learning objective by clarifying the real-world value of the learning. Rather than passively “understanding” ethics, learners will be positioned to implement specific strategies in a way that directly supports professional ethics and organizational goals (e.g., protecting reputation and client relationships).

Example 3

Building From Prior Knowledge

  • OK: Attendees will be introduced to new cyber liability trends.

  • Better: Risk managers will evaluate emerging cyber liability trends in relation to their current risk portfolios, thereby improving their risk mitigation strategies and in turn better protecting their clients.  

Learner / Actionable / Relevancy

The revised objective explicitly acknowledges the learners’ existing expertise (i.e., familiarity with current portfolios) in preparation for higher-order thinking. Learners are not just introduced to trends—they are applying new insights to a familiar, job-relevant context and producing actionable outcomes (e.g., risk mitigation strategies for clients.)

Aligning Objectives With Adult Learning Principles

Getting your learning objectives right is essential because they serve as the blueprint for your entire session. Well-defined objectives guide every decision, such as choosing real-world examples and designing hands-on activities to selecting appropriate peer-led instructional opportunities. When objectives are identified at the outset and closely tied to adult-learning best practices, they keep you focused on what truly matters for RMI professionals. Conversely, objectives that aren’t aligned will lead to content that feels off-target, activities that miss the mark, and outcomes that fail to impact learners’ day-to-day.

Effective learning objectives reflect the following core principles of adult education:

  • RMI professionals are busy and goal-oriented. They come to learning opportunities with a clear sense of purpose, whether it’s improving client service, reducing errors, or meeting compliance expectations. Learning objectives should clearly signal how the session will support those goals from the outset.

  • RMI professionals are problem-solvers by nature. When learning objectives clearly connect to their day-to-day responsibilities (e.g., managing client risk, handling claims efficiently, or navigating compliance), they’re more likely to view the session as a worthwhile investment of their time.

  • Many RMI professionals bring years of industry experience into the learning environment. Objectives that acknowledge and build on that expertise (e.g., referencing current workflows, common challenges, or familiar tools) foster trust and engagement from the outset.

  • RMI professionals tend to be solution-oriented learners. Framing your objectives around solving real-world issues like improving policyholder communication or reducing errors in underwriting, grounds the learning in the practical, high-stakes decisions they make regularly.

  • RMI professionals are often balancing learning with other responsibilities. Well-sequenced, scaffolded objectives help them track their progress, connect new insights to what they already know, and build confidence in applying the material in complex, often time-sensitive situations.

By anchoring each objective in these adult-learning tenets, you ensure your RMI instruction stays focused, engaging, and truly impactful for experienced professionals.